East and Southeast Asia · Trade
Ming founded 1368; Zheng He expeditions, 1405-1433 CE · Lower Yangtze, southeast coast and Indian Ocean routes
Early Ming governments established new institutions after Yuan rule, and the Yongle and Xuande courts dispatched seven major state expeditions through Southeast Asian and Indian Ocean ports between 1405 and 1433.
Nanjing shipyards, river depots, coastal ports and fortified administrative centers connected inland production with seaborne diplomacy.
Agent citation
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINACIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
Setting and material context · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812
Registered households supplied taxes and labor, while sailors, soldiers, interpreters, merchants and coastal communities negotiated state maritime policy.
Agent citation
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINACIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
Lifeways and community · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812
Shipbuilding, navigation, provisioning, porcelain and textile production, translation and record keeping enabled repeated expeditions.
Agent citation
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINACIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
Work, tools and exchange · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812
Court rites, Buddhism, Daoism, local sea cults and Muslim communities all shaped the expeditionary world.
Agent citation
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINACIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
Belief, ritual and evidence limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812
Historical geography
The local map uses modern coastlines only for orientation. The marker identifies this record's geographic anchor, not the full reach of a community or polity.
Map geometry loads only when requested. Modern outlines are orientation only; historical geography and identities changed through time.
Agent citation
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINACIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
Historical-geography anchor and stated limits · 2 registered source URLs · registration is not semantic proof · audit HEM-AUDIT-20260812
Evidence register
Each registered source ID is paired with its institutional URL for independent checking. Source count is transparent, and duplicate URLs count only once.
CIT-COLUMBIA-CHINA
https://afe.easia.columbia.edu/timelines/china_timeline.htm
Asia for Educators, Columbia University
CIT-ESA-SMITHSONIAN-ZHENG-HE
https://asia-archive.si.edu/learn/for-educators/teaching-china-with-the-smithsonian/interactives/timelines/timeline-of-chinese-history-art-and-culture/
Smithsonian National Museum of Asian Art