Zheng He's Loss (Middle) - The Heavens and Places in the West Wind Belt

Liu Gang

The giants of thought became navigators

In Zhang Jian's article "On the Age of Great Navigation and Its Four Stages", it is pointed out that "from the first voyage of Zheng He to the Western Ocean in 1405 to the entry of the Dias fleet from the Atlantic Ocean into the Indian Ocean in the late 1980s, it can be regarded as the first stage of the great voyage."

In this way, he regarded Zheng He as the navigator of the great navigation era. At the same time, as Needham said, the "century of the Chinese" and the "century of the Portuguese" are divided, of course, we can also use the sea to distinguish, the "century of the Indian Ocean" and the "century of the Atlantic", and the ship used by Dias to open up the "century of the Portuguese" is the Caravel sailing ship, why not the Carrick sailing ship that can better show the great seafaring strength of the Europeans?

Carrick sailboats, suitable for trade and war, are not suitable for adventure. Because exploration is the work of navigators, relying on a few people to act, without the participation of so many merchants and soldiers, thousands of tons of behemoths, also do not help scientific research and discovery. The Caravel sailboat, although the tonnage is only about 100 tons, is at best less than one-tenth of the Size of the Carrick, and the volume is not large, it does not seem to be conspicuous, but it is tailor-made for exploration. In Zheng He's fleet, there were many sailboats like Carrick, but none of them were specially customized for exploration. In the past navigation age, the theme was trade, and the great navigation age, although it still took trade as the theme, established a new purpose outside of trade and formed a new symbol, that is, the word "exploration".

From the perspective of world history, the famous navigation era has probably been three times: the first is the Mediterranean era represented by ancient Greece and ancient Rome; the second is the era of interaction between the Indian Ocean and the Chinese Sea between the Song and Yuan dynasties and the Arabian Sea; and the third is the era of global navigation centered on the Atlantic Ocean. Strictly speaking, Zheng He is not a representative figure of the first stage of the Third Great Voyage, and its epochal and cultural attributes have made him the last representative of the Second Age of Navigation, and the first representative of the first stage of the Third Age of Navigation should not be Zheng He, but should be Prince Henry.

The enlightened princes of the Renaissance, with a very strong thirst for knowledge, gave a new vision to the great navigation, clarified the new purpose of the great navigation, combined the ideological emancipation movement with the practice of the great navigation, and the giant of thought became a navigator. The first successful man was Prince Henry, who proposed a new theme for the advent of the Age of Discovery, that is, exploration, to discover the unknown, which brought about great geographical discoveries, but also brought colonies, which was a new achievement beyond trade beyond trade, and the greatest return on investment for the sake of intellectual curiosity.

Prince Henry was primarily a thinker for navigation, strategizing for that era, pooling all the impetus to bring together a variety of forces, such as trade and war, exploration and discovery, missionary and colonial.

He not only had the authorization of the Portuguese royal family, but also the authorization of the Holy See, in the form of theocracy, to formulate the ideological line for the great voyage, whether it was mercantilism or liberalism, he was consistent, running through two basic points, one is sea power, the other is religious power. Since then, these two points have become the core of Western political power.

In this regard, we can say that he was a giant of thought who opened up the Great Navigation Age, and we do not see such ideological nature from Zheng He, that is, compared with Prince Henry, Zheng He lacks a little bit of ideologicality. This is not surprising, because Zheng He was not originally a thinker, he was an actor, the commander of the last great voyage of dynastic China.

From the curiosity of knowledge, the colony was harvested

So, as an actor, what about Zheng He Bidi diaz? Three generations of the Dias family, his grandfather and father, as well as himself, were followers of Prince Henry, and he translated Prince Henry's maritime ideas into the motivation and mode of action of three generations of grandchildren. In contrast, we found that Zheng He lacked a little motivation.

What motivation? The motivation for the expedition, of course. Zheng He is a messenger of the state, not an explorer, he wants to be safe first, not to explore the unknown, even if he has a strong desire for knowledge, he does not dare to make a desperate bet on the mission of the country. The purpose of Dias's voyage, on the other hand, included the motivation to explore, to bypass the Cape of Good Hope, which he called "The Cape of the Storm", and he did not need to have national instructions, but as long as he had a thought, he could try, and exert his curiosity into the unknown.

In August 1487, Dias sailed the Caravelle schooner, left Lisbon and sailed south along the west coast of Africa, arriving at Mina Fort on the Gold Coast, a Portuguese stronghold in Ghana.

Previously, the Portuguese Gomez sailed here, the first to find this with gold, so called "Gold Coast", by the Portuguese royal family to give the title of "Mina", "Mina" means mineral deposits, here more gold mines, so "Mina Fort", can also be said to be "Gold Fort", on the Gold Coast, standing Gold Castle, has become a colonial landmark.

There are two things that are indispensable in choosing a colony, that is, gold and slaves, and the exploration from the curiosity, but the result is the harvest of the colony, what greater business in this world is there? The world was so big back then! There are so many areas to be found, and when the Portuguese opened their eyes to explore new seas and constantly discover new worlds, what did the larger and more luxurious Zheng He treasure ships that sailed south along the east coast of Africa discover? From a historical point of view, he found nothing, neither the Gold Coast nor the establishment of a gold stronghold like Mina Fort.

Departing from Mina Fort, Dias and his party continued their journey south with their dreams of the Gold Coast.

To the side of the storm corner, the fleet is close to the "roaring west wind belt", it is located between 40 degrees and 60 degrees south latitude, always the west wind blows strongly, blowing up a vortex-like cloud, continuously, flying eastward, making the stars sink and the moon hidden, the sky is discolored, in a year, the height of the hundred-day wave is more than 6 meters, "the wind and waves are calm", the wave height is also more than 2 meters, and the huge waves are as high as 15 meters, the momentum is like a mountain, from time to time to hit the ship's side, issuing a roar, that is the soul torture of the explorer.

Torture one after another, between 40 ° and 50 ° south latitude, into the "roaring forty degrees", that is the torture of the fierce wind, like the roar of the lion, between 50 ° and 60 ° south latitude, torture escalation, there is a "violent fifty degrees" of the huge wave torture, between 60 ° and 70 ° south latitude, the coast disappears, there is no side, in the face of the endless waves of unobstructed waves, people lose their souls, only scream, so it is also called "screaming sixty degrees", which is the ultimate torture of people, that is, the torture of the soul.

Fortunately, the storm cape where Dias was first in distress was located at latitude 35 south, not in the roaring west wind belt, but was swept away by the west wind belt, and his fleet spun around, not knowing where he was, fortunately, although the storm pushed off the coast and drifted south, he did not get involved in the west wind belt, but entered a haven. Later, he called the harbor that saved his life "Shepherd's Bay", which was very pastoral.

When the storm subsided, he left the harbor, came out to see the coastline, he knew that he had bypassed the southern tip of the African continent, and wanted to continue with the terrified crew, but no one responded, and after escaping death, the crew wanted to go home, as long as the earth-shattering discovery was brought home, his mission was completed. On the way back, in order to commemorate the adventure, he named the southernmost headland "Cape of the Storm", and later turned to the Cape of Good Hope, which was not his business.

From Cape Storm to Cape of Good Hope

The fate of the arrangement, there is someone else, that person is Da Gama. Vasco da Gama heard the news and followed suit, leading his fleet around storm horns into the Indian Ocean, through Africa, through Muslim countries, straight to India.

While Columbus was still using the New World he had discovered as India, Vasco da Gama had already established himself in the real India. This move, not only Da Gama punched Columbus in the face, but also Portugal punched Spain, the beginning of the Western Warring States era, Portugal became the first winner, Prince Henry sowed the seeds of thought, and finally opened the flower of power in the hands of Da Gama.

What a hope for the country! With Da Gama, the Cape of Storm also changed, becoming the Cape of Good Hope.

But for Dias, nothing had changed, the storm horn was still the storm corner, it was a corner of fate that was deeply rooted in his life, and when he came to the storm corner again, the storm came with him again, but this time, fate did not take care of him, because his mission was completed, and he had to let the roaring west wind torture his soul, let him make the last scream in the "scream sixty degrees", and let his still wandering soul become the spirit in heaven.

It should be said that Zheng He faced the torture of the roaring west wind earlier than Diaz, and when he responded with the cosmological concept of "heavenly round place", he was more cautious than Diaz, and at the end of the earth, he finally stopped advancing.

In the west wind belt, there has never been any "east wind blowing, war drum beating", and some are the strength of "the west wind overwhelms the east wind", which tames the boundless ocean current, so that it surges around the earth from west to east, forming a west wind drifting. Let's imagine what Zheng He could do if he sailed here and faced the oncoming westerly wind. I had to turn around and go back.

If you come from the west, drifting along the west wind to the east, when the people are on that day, although there is a risk, they are in the upper wind and the water, the wind direction is well mastered, and they can also use the west wind to boost the speed, if on the contrary, from the east to the west, they will not only face greater risks, but also sail against the wind and sail against the current, then it is really a ghost gate that is more difficult and more dangerous. The Westerners who drifted east across the Gold Coast by the west wind finally sang the strongest sound in their history here, "Ode to the West Wind":

Think of me as your harp, like a grove of trees:

Even though my leaves have fallen, what does it matter!

Your huge ensemble is vibrating with music

Will be stained with woods and my deep autumn feelings:

Sad and sweet. Oh, may you give it to me

Furious spirits! Oh brave, let's unite!

Please blow my dead thoughts into the world,

Let it lead to new life like dead leaves!

Oh, listen to this spell-like poem,

Just put my words like ashes and Mars

From the unquenchable fire to the world!

Let the trumpet of prophecy pass through my lips

Wake up the sleeping earth! West wind oh,

If winter comes, will spring be far away?

This is Shelley's Psalm, translated by Mudan, reciting a great historical turning point.

If we put it in the "Roaring West Wind Belt" and read it in the historical process from "Cape of Storms" to "Cape of Good Hope", and read it to the two historical backs of Zheng He and Diaz who disappeared in the storm of fate, how will the East and the West have different civilizations react? The last question, Zheng He could not understand, he went to the South Sea and went to the West, didn't he all come by the east wind? Why ask the westerly wind? He certainly didn't know that the east wind had disappeared in the west wind belt.

But in Diaz's mind, it was a question he wanted to ask, but he had not yet had time to ask—the autumn wind of the Atlantic Ocean had already brought winter from the westerly wind, and would spring be far away on the Gold Coast in the east?

Shelley's poem expresses a poetic spirit of history, as if to recite the voice of Dias: Please treat my life as a harp, let the roaring west wind play it, just as the west wind plays the woods in late autumn, and the fallen leaves flutter rapidly in the wind, or as if a dead leaf can know the depth of autumn, and a thought swept by a storm is transformed into a pioneer prophecy.

The spirit of the times appeared at the turning point of history, sounded the trumpet of prophecy, in addition to the factor of awakening people, but also to the heavens, the place, to the roaring west wind belt for help, the eternal west wind, it blew the trumpet of the great navigation era, and the endless west wind drifting, but also played the banner of the geographical advantage of the great navigation age.

As for the human factor, we have already mentioned two points earlier, one is in thought, the Westerners' "earth circle theory" since ancient Greece has made intellectual preparations for the arrival of the great navigation era of globalization, and the other point in action, the Westerners' eternal spirit of exploration in pursuit of wealth and knowledge, which is another roaring west wind belt in their hearts, that is, the dream to promote the great navigation age, which was recited by Shelley with the poem "Ode to the West Wind".

Needham's statement and Liang Qichao's question

Zheng He was hindered by the west wind belt, the Atlantic Ocean became his sea of isolation, he could no longer know the existence of the Atlantic, he could only regard the Indian Ocean as his Western Ocean, he thought that he had reached the southernmost tip of the Western Ocean, and the front, that is, the edge of the earth, could only turn the sails. Some people say that he arrived near the Cape of Good Hope, and some people say that he did not go so far, and when he arrived at the island of Madagascar, he returned to the island, Liang Qichao said in "The Biography of Zheng He, the Great Navigator of the Motherland".

In the biography, he made an investigation of Zheng He's route, saying that "it is now slightly presumed that his route is as follows":

(1) Sail from the South China Sea to the southern tip of the Indochina Peninsula (Saigon).

(2) Sail east of the Gulf of Siam (i.e., the Gulf of Bangkok) to Bangkok (present-day Siem.

(3) Sail south to Singapore on the west coast of the Gulf of Siam and follow the Malay Peninsula.

(4) Detour sumatara island for one week.

(5) One week detour from the Java Islands.

(6) Sail the Bay of Bengal to the East Indies (Garajida) via the Andaman Islands.

(7) Sail south along the east coast of the Bay of Bengal to Ceylon for a week around the island of Ceylon.

(8) Sail north along the east coast of the Alaboa Sea to West Indies (Mumbai).

(9) Sailing north from Mumbai along the east coast of the Persian Gulf to the mouth of the Tagris River (present-day German Asia Minor).

(10) Sail south along the west coast of the Persian Gulf and return along the west coast of the Alaboise Sea for a week to Aden.

(11) Sail north to Mecca across the Gulf of Aden along the east coast of the Red Sea.

(12) Sail south from the Gulf of Aden on the west coast of the Red Sea, and sail south through the Mosembik Strait (also known as the Mosan Nose Strait) on the east coast of Afrika, and return to the southern end of the island of Madagascar.

Of the 12 routes, 40 countries were involved, which he also listed, but did not mention the Cape of Good Hope. Needham shared his views and made no mention of the Cape of Good Hope. But then new views continued to emerge, and some people even thought that the fleet sent by Zheng He not only reached the Cape of Good Hope, but also bypassed the Cape of Good Hope and went to the west coast of Africa, and what is more, an Englishman named Meng Xisi wrote a book "1421 China Discovers the World" pointed out that all Westerners have been to places, Zheng He has arrived, and all the new worlds discovered by Westerners through great navigation, Zheng He has long discovered, although he has the same ambitions in the history of navigation as Joseph Needham in the history of science and technology. But his claims are clearly not as convincing as Needham's.

What we have adopted is the statement of Liang Qichao and Joseph Needham, madagascar is also at the southern end of the Indian Ocean, not too far from the Cape of Good Hope, and the power of the westerly wind belt can also be felt, and if a historical headland on the African continent can echo an island of civilization in the Indian Ocean, what a vivid scene of East-West dialogue, but unfortunately missed.

We can only say that Zheng He came early, as the saying goes, it is better to come early than to come by chance, the Portuguese came at the right time, it is the time to replace the historical scene, it is no longer the East Zheng He going to the West, with the posture of the heavenly kingdom, maintaining the East-West Sea Communication, but the Western Da Gama came to the East, not only to make a fortune, but also brought the Western Warring States Era.

Times have changed, Ren Gong does not know? However, the arrogance was in his chest, and he still couldn't help but ask:

"And looking at Zheng Jun, then the so-called great seafaring man in the history of the world, who can stand shoulder to shoulder with him, how widowed! Zheng Jun's first voyage, more than sixty years before Columbus was found in America, and more than seventy years before Vigo Da Jama was found on the new route of India. Gu He's achievements in Gordon and Vickers can open a new era in the world. And Zheng Jun's lie, along with Zheng Junzhi did not die. Although the people of the mainland have eaten a little of their gifts, they have also had a few hopes. Then after Columbus, there is an immeasurable number of Columbus, after Vigo da Jama, there is an immeasurable number of Vigo da Jama, and after I Zheng He, there is no second Zheng He, is it the sin of Zheng Jun? ”

This question is also quite similar to Joseph Needham asking about the history of Chinese science and technology and the foundation of civilization.

Some people say that Zheng He is the "Da Gama of China", which is of course an inverted statement. Such a statement not only reverses the relationship between the sages and the descendants, but also because they are different.

Their differences are not only manifested in the regional differences between the East and the West, but also in the epochal differences in the course of world history, and these two differences are presented as two distinct forms of civilization, and Needham contrasts them.

He believes that there is a great age of navigation in the East and the West, the era of great navigation in the East is the "century of Chinese", and the era of great navigation in the West is the "century of the Portuguese", and the two centuries have their own representatives. The representative of Chinese is Zheng He, and the representative of the Portuguese is Da Gama, is there not Columbus? Why not mention him as a representative?

This, of course, is seen from the historical traditions of the East and the West, and vasco da Gama has finally opened up the eastern and western ends of the history of the world that has been isolated for two thousand years, and in this regard, he is the first person to advance along the historical tradition for two thousand years and thus influence the course of world history. Columbus, on the contrary, went against tradition and opened up a new historical route, so the two of them, the so-called "successor to the future", Da Gama, is the "successor", and Columbus is the "open".

Liang Qichao said that Columbus sailed for India, India did not reach, and opened a new world, is the one who has lived his hopes. Vasco da Gama sailed for Indochina, indochina, and only through India, and was not a hopeful, but his original goal of "seeking a new land to colonize itself" had been achieved. Therefore, he asked: Outside the continent's borders, its hope is at peace?

There is no hope of the people, only "the ambition of the lord, the desire to win the tender and distant people, so that all nations will have the same false reputation, and talk about entertaining themselves", which makes "Zheng He's achievements" limited, limited to "those who have been hesitant and full of ambitions by Ming Chengzu".

For this reason, Liang Shi sighed: Woohoo! The reason why this clan has been a people for a long time, I used to be Zhang Bowang and Ban Dingyuan, not only is there more than enough to say! He regretted that Zheng He had not been able to become Zhang Qian and Ban Chao of the Han Dynasty, but regretted that he had not been able to hollow out the Western Ocean like the Han family had chiseled the Western Regions, resulting in the Han family's "Bowang" and "Dingyuan" being far away from Daming but close to Portugal. Vasco da Gama's expedition to the Indian Ocean, was it not "fixed"?

Therefore, Zheng He is not "China's gamma", and da Gama can be described as "Western Ban Dingyuan".

(The author is close to "Cultural Rivers and Mountains", volumes 1-7, CITIC Publishing House)