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emperor and his senior government. There were clearly both The situation, however, changed from 1431 onwards. The
proactive and reactive elements in the Hongxi emperor’s strength of the Ming state had largely recovered, the effect of
decision to suspend state-sponsored maritime voyages. the Hongxi emperor’s initial edict had faded, and Xia
The Hongxi emperor and his circle of advisors turned Yuanji had by then passed away. The three main obstacles to
away from the Yongle emperor’s taxing and outward- resuming maritime voyages were thus largely neutralised.
looking policies, and to an extent returned to the policies of Under these circumstances, the Xuande emperor could
the late Hongwu and Jianwen reigns, in order to enable venture to resume sending fleets overseas. Moreover, unlike
society to return to a path of peace and stability. This his father, he had enjoyed a very good relationship with the
marked the beginning of a period known as ‘the rule of Ren Yongle emperor, so he did not completely renounce the
and Xuan’ (Ren Xuan zhi zhi 仁宣之治), referring to the policies of the earlier ruler, but instead tried to reach a
Hongxi (Renzong 仁宗) and Xuande 宣德 (宣宗, r. 1426–35) compromise between the positions of his two predecessors.
reigns, which saw a more practical and stable kind of This was his approach on the matter of state-sponsored
governance. This change was not only a turn to stability maritime voyages: after an initial suspension, he resumed
from one emperor to the next, but also an example of a wider them once conditions allowed, making possible Zheng He’s
process in which imperial rulership moved from the seventh and final voyage that took place from 1430 to 1433.
founding of a dynasty, towards pioneering activities, then In his later years, the Xuande emperor had to issue
stable development. Moreover, compared to his father who multiple edicts aimed at lightening the burden on ordinary
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possessed an extroverted martial character, the Hongxi people of his own excessive spending on courtly pleasures
emperor was more inward-looking and focused on and entertainment. Despite this, he had no intention of
preserving the achievements of the past. This difference in suspending state-sponsored maritime voyages. Ming
temperament is demonstrated in the divergent directions imperial porcelain decorated with sea creatures and waves,
that the two men took in their policies. Even if the Ming which appeared during the Yongle reign and were related to
state had remained strong, and tensions did not exist maritime activities, became more widespread under the
between him and his father, the Hongxi emperor still would Xuande emperor. The motif can be found on a variety of
not have actively advocated for the continuation of state- surviving vessels in the same way as auspicious flora and
sponsored maritime voyages. fauna patterns. These porcelain pieces were daily wares
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that accompanied the emperor in the imperial court. To an
Suspension and resumption of the voyages during the extent, the motif of sea creatures and waves, painted in
Xuande reign (1426–35) different colours in a lively and refined manner, must have
In the first five years of his reign, the Xuande emperor did expressed the emperor’s interest and attitude towards
not dispatch fleets on state-sponsored maritime voyages. maritime voyages. On the 21st day of the ninth month of
Then in the sixth year of his reign (1431), Zheng He and his 1434, the Xuande emperor issued an Edict to Suspend Collecting
fleet was sent to the ‘Western Ocean’ once again. There are Materials in Response to Disaster (Xuzai tingzhi wuliao chi 恤災停
three main reasons for this change. Firstly, before 1431, 止物料敕) that ordered the Ministry of Works to stop
Ming society and economy had not fully recovered to the collecting raw materials from Southern Zhili 南直隸 region
level of the early Yongle reign. Secondly, since the Hongxi (present-day Jiangsu, Anhui and Shanghai), which was
emperor had declared the suspension of the voyages in his suffering from natural disasters. The edict did not,
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enthronement edict, the Xuande emperor could not however, suspend preparations of materials for use on ships
overturn this decision in the short term. In his own initial intended for maritime voyages; instead they would continue
edict, the Xuande emperor had explicitly stated that he as planned.
would abide by the orders given by his father when he Yet, three months later, on the first day of the first month
ascended the throne. Resuming state-sponsored voyages in of 1435, an Edict to Hasten Labour (Chiyi chi 馳役敕) was issued,
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the first few years of his reign would have given the addressed to the Ministry of Works and Li Long 李隆, a
impression that he had betrayed ancestral instructions and military official guarding Nanjing, which for the first time
broken his own promises. ordered the termination of all purchasing and
Thirdly, the presence of the senior official Xia Yuanji was manufacturing activities related to ships intended for
an important factor in preventing the Xuande emperor from maritime voyages. It is likely that this edict was issued by
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quickly resuming maritime voyages. Xia served as the senior officials under the emperor’s name, since by this time
Minister of Finance in the latter part of the Yongle reign, and the Xuande emperor was gravely ill and unable to attend
resolutely opposed costly expansionist projects. His views court audiences. He would pass away two days later. On the
were crucial in shaping the content of the Hongxi emperor’s day of his death, another Edict to Stop Collecting and Capturing
enthronement edict, which the Xuande emperor followed. (Tingzhi caibu chi 停止採捕敕) reaffirmed the ban on activities
The Xuande emperor was also personally close to Xia, since related to maritime voyages, in addition to the cancellation
the official had guided and advised him when he was still the of the gathering of rare flora and fauna.
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imperial ‘grandson-heir’ during the Yongle reign. After he Curiously, the Edict to Stop Collecting and Capturing was
became ruler, the Xuande emperor continued to ask for Xia’s issued on the same day as the Xuande emperor’s
advice on many aspects of government, so that Xia occupied posthumous edict. Normally an emperor’s posthumous edict
a pre-eminent position within officialdom. The emperor would be drafted by an official appointed to the task, and
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would not have easily resumed state-sponsored voyages as issued under the deceased emperor’s name. The timing of
long as Xia continued to oppose them. the Edict to Stop Collecting and Capturing, and the fact that it

110 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450