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Plate 22.3 A full-size replica of Zheng He’s treasure ship in Nanjing Treasure Shipyard Relic Site Park
and this was a consideration for the planners of the 600th Between the 580th anniversary in 1985 and the 600th
anniversary. A fleet of 62 ships of this size (the number of anniversary in 2005, the possibility of building a replica for
ships given in the Ming shi for the first voyage) would have the big celebration stimulated a substantial amount of
required about 1,525,200 trees. Moreover, the ships would research into the size of these ships. Scholars made all sorts
have lasted only about ten years before they had to be of speculations and calculations, attempting to make sense of
completely rebuilt. Therefore, over the 28 years of the the dimensions given in the Ming shi. One scholar suggested
voyages, they would have needed to be reconstructed three that the length and beam of the ships may have been
or four times, bringing the total up to 4,575,600 or even six reversed, and a decimal point introduced, yielding
million trees. This would have included not only fir, but dimensions of 18 zhang long by 4.4 zhang wide. Another
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also more expensive and exotic woods of teak and cedar for argued that the measurement given as length was actually
parts of the ships requiring extra strength, such as rudders the product of the length multiplied by the beam. Still
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and tillers. Shipbuilding was not the only demand on others dispensed with the Ming shi entirely and looked back
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China’s forests at the time; the new capital was being built in to the dimensions of earlier ships in China’s long maritime
Beijing from approximately 1407 onwards, which also tradition. The trouble with comparing ships from other
required huge amounts of high-quality wood. Thus the periods and contexts is that in the end it is difficult to draw
effect of just these two of Emperor Yongle’s ambitious precise conclusions about Zheng He’s ships from these
projects on the environment and the economy, even if the earlier ships. The essential difficulty with the issues
ships were half the dimensions given in the Ming shi, was surrounding Zheng He’s ships is that not enough
enormous, not to mention the pressure on the infrastructure information about them survives.
which would have been required to transport the trees from Despite the reverence in which the Ming shi is held by
their points of origin. some scholars, it should be remembered that in general the
Another issue is time: there does not seem to have been official histories of China are secondary, not primary,
enough time for ships of such a large size to be built. sources. Although they were compiled from primary
Emperor Yongle came to the throne in the second half of sources, this did not occur until the subsequent dynasty.
1402. In 1403 he announced the plan to launch these Thus while Zheng He’s expeditions took place between 1405
expeditions, and the first voyage set sail in July 1405. This and 1433, the Ming shi was not completed until 300 years
means that all 62 ships had to have been built in less than later, almost 100 years into the Qing dynasty. By that time,
two years, which is remarkable given that a single replica not only those involved in the voyages, but even those who
half the size, which is now being built with modern could remember the voyages were gone. The history was
technology in Nanjing, has been under construction for also compiled, not by shipbuilders or scientists of any kind,
almost six years (Pl. 22.3). More will be said about this but by literati, educated in the Confucian classics. The most
replica later. likely explanation for the unrealistically large dimensions in
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