Zheng He: Did you mean...?

A 19th century CE oil painting of a traditional Chinese junk ship, used for ocean-going trade voyages since medieval times. (National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, London)

A Qing Dynasty (1636-1912) illustration showing pirates attacking merchant ships in the South China Sea. From the Qing Scroll. (Maritime Museum, Hong Kong)

Ancient peoples were as curious as ourselves about the wider world and even if the transport at their disposal meant travel could be long, arduous and dangerous, they still managed to get about and visit different cities, sacred sites and...

The Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) marked the restoration of native Han Chinese rule after the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368). Founded by the Hongwu Emperor (Zhu Yuanzhang, reign 1368-1398), the Ming state reasserted centralized...