The July 2005 issue of National Geographic has a very nice article about Zheng He, China’s great eunuch admiral. The article, by Frank Viviano with photographs by Michael Yamashita, is titled China’s Great Armada and covers pages 28 though 53.

Just to whet your appetite and to drive you to the nearest newsstand to purchase your own copy, here are the first few paragraphs of the article:

Exactly 600 years ago this month the great Ming armada weighed anchor in Nanjing, on the first of seven epic voyages as far west as Africa – almost a century before Christopher Columbus’s arrival in the Americas and Vasco da Gama’s in India. Even then the European expeditions would seem paltry by comparison: All the ships of Columbus and da Gama combined could have been stored on a single deck of a single vessel in the fleet that set sail under Zheng He.

Its commander was, without question, the most towering maritime figure in the 4,000-year annals of China, a visionary who imagined a new world and set out consciously to fashion it. He was also a profoundly unlikely candidate for admiral in anyone’s navy, much less that of the Dragon Throne.

The greatest seafarer in China’s history was raised in the mountainous heart of Asia, several weeks’ travel from the closest port. More improbable yet, Zheng was not even Chinese – he was by origin a Central Asian Muslim. Born Ma He, the son of a rural official in the Mongol province of Yunnan, he had been taken captive as an invading Chinese army overthrew the Mongols in 1382. Ritually castrated, he was trained as an imperial eunuch and assigned to the court of Zhu Di, the bellicose Prince of Yan.

Within 20 years the boy who had writhed under Ming knives had become one of the prince’s chief aides, a key strategist in the rebellion that made Zhu Di the Yongle (Eternal Happiness) emperor in 1402. Renamed Zheng after his exploits at the battle of Zhenglunba, near Beijing, he was chosen to lead one of the most powerful naval forces ever assembled.

In proper National Geographic style, there is an excellent map of Zheng He’s voyages. There is a wonderful drawing comparing the size of a Ming treasure ship with Vasco da Gama’s flagship, the Sao Gabriel. There is an interesting painting of Zheng He as he prepared for his first voyage. Most interesting is a reproduction of a mural of him in his hometown.

JesusA (imported) wrote: Fri Jul 01, 2005 1:23 pm The July 2005 issue of National Geographic has a very nice article about Zheng He, China’s great eunuch admiral. The article, by Frank Viviano with photographs by Michael Yamashita, is titled China’s Great Armada and covers pages 28 though 53....

Thanks, Jesus, for bringing this to our attention.

I went out and purchased this current issue yesterday. It's indeed a well written article about an apparently very great man. His exploits and accomplishments demonstrate that one need not have balls to be a full man and to become accomplished. In fact, part of the rationale for recruiting leading bureaucrats, etc., as eunuchs is that they'd be devotong less time to raising children and could focus singularly on serving the regime. I don't know that the article mentions that Zheng did though maintain a wife throughout his career. It also fails to mention that Zheng might have come to North America prior to Columbus, but that rumour may be fiction. The modern history of the world would've indeed been different if Zheng had not lost the battle within the regime to maintain the Chinese maritime presence. Many saw it as a drain on the imperial treasury.

Of course, the US' Lance Armstrong is demonstrating once again in France this week that one can remain a star athlete following the loss of one testicle and a bout with testicular cancer. He's not leading at this time, but there's still a good chance he'll secure his 7th crown in the Tour de France.

Hi ~ Here I'd like to rectify a tiny mistake that you have made . In Ming dynasty of ancient China , the castration taken for punishment of prisoners was a removal of penis only and the balls remained. The ancient record of Chinese court has described him as a "manly,handsome and gentle eunich"and had beard confirmed this saying . The removal of both was adopted in the late of Ming dynasty . Zheng lived at the start of the dynasty. Sincerely yours~

Thanks for pointing this out, but once was enough. Do you have links to source material on your claim here?

swordsman (imported) wrote: Mon Jan 28, 2013 5:32 am Hi ~ Here I'd like to rectify a tiny mistake that you have made . In Ming dynasty of ancient China , the castration taken for punishment of prisoners was a removal of penis only and the balls remained. The ancient record of Chinese court has described him as a "manly,handsome and gentle eunich"and had beard confirmed this saying . The removal of both was adopted in the late of Ming dynasty . Zheng lived at the start of the dynasty. Sincerely yours~

Do you have a source for your post? I have read a great many books and articles that touch on the subject of Chinese eunuchs, though most of them are in languages that I read fairly well (English, Japanese, French, German), and only a few items in Chinese, which I can read but slowly. The only Chinese language source for that period that I have on my bookshelf is Ming dai huan guan (明代宦官- Eunuchs of the Ming Dynasty) by Tsai Shih-shan (蔡石山), published in Taibei in 2011. It certainly does not indicate any such thing.

I also have photographs of Han Dynasty tomb figures of males, females, and eunuchs with enough details shown in the genital region to be certain that the eunuchs had both testicles and penis removed, although that was for a period over a millennium earlier.

I would certainly appreciate any information that you have….