HE’s one of modern China’s greatest heroes.

Admiral Zheng He.

More than 600 years ago the eunuch led a fleet of 300 ships on a fantastic voyage in search of new lands.

It was a massive undertaking.

Tales of extraordinary ships laden with gold, silk and porcelain have echoed through the ages.

Some say he even visited Northern Australia during his quests, though there is no trace of this.
Likewise, there is little evidence the enormous ships said to form the core of Zheng He’s fleet ever actually existed.

Beijing wants to find it.

Since 2015, archaeologists have been sent into the Indian Ocean with the most advanced military sonar and sensor equipment.

Their job was to find proof these ships were real.

In October last year, the Chinese Academy of Sciences posted an article saying researchers had returned “positive results”.

Have they found a wreck? Have they found and identified artefacts?

We don’t know. We do know new survey missions are underway.

We also know the discovery of any treasure is just an aside.

Instead, what President-for-life Xi Jinping and his Chinese Communist ruling party want is validation.

Xi recently referred to Admiral Zheng He as a “friendly emissary” leading “treasure-loaded ships” to build “a bridge for peace and East-West co-operation”.

More bluntly, he wants his expansive “One Belt, One Road” initiative to wield economic, military and political influence across Asia, the Middle East and Africa to be justified by historic precedent.

Over the land roads, traditional Silk Road trails are already being used for such substantiation.

Over the sea belts, evidence is much harder to come by.

WHAT’S OLD IS NEW AGAIN

Emperor Yong Le had a point to prove. His reign, which began in 1402, was widely seen as illegitimate after a bitter family struggle for the throne of heaven.

He purged his government’s officials. He destroyed all records of his rivals. He moved China’s seat of power to Beijing.

But he needed something big. Something to win acclaim. Something to inspire loyalty.

His solution has passed into legend.

He reputedly assigned a loyal court eunuch, Zheng He, to oversee the construction of a fleet of the finest ships possible.

Some were said to be colossal treasure ships. At 125m long with nine masts each, these would have been extraordinary technical achievement for the time.

It was also a controversial move. China’s powerful bureaucracy was convinced such an enormous undertaking was a waste of vast resources.

But Emperor Yong Le had his way.

Zheng’s initial mission was to take his force of 300 scout ships, warships and treasure ships to nations such as Korea, Japan and Vietnam. He would carry with him rich gifts. In return, the rulers of these lands were to sing Emperor Yong Le’s praises and acknowledge his strength.

And one this was done, Zheng would set forth to find new lands for the same purpose.

HERO OF THE HIGH SEAS

It was no trade mission. It was gunboat diplomacy at its finest.

Zheng’s enormous-for-their-time ships were heavily armed.

Their intimidating presence was designed to both impress and cow regional rulers.

A demonstration of their power came in the strait of Malacca, near the modern city-state of Singapore. Zheng’s fleet crushed that of Chinese pirate Chen Zuyi. Some 5000 sailors reportedly died.

Those nations that welcomed Zheng with open arms were lavished with gifts and asked to supply ambassadors to Beijing’s imperial court — along with tokens of their appreciation.

Those that resisted, such as the island of Sri Lanka in 1411, were attacked with overwhelming force. New, more amenable, governments were installed.

In all, Zheng’s fleet embarked on seven such expeditions.

He was supplying what Emperor Yong Le needed most.

And it wasn’t the treasure.

Yong Le craved validation. And among the envoys, treasures and marvels Zheng returned were giraffes out of most distant Africa. To the awe-struck Chinese, these were the living incarnation of the mythical qilin — a magical beast embodying the ideals of peace.

That one had finally appeared in the flesh was a most auspicious event.

HELL ON HIGH WATER

Zheng He’s fleet opened up a new “belt” of trade through what is now Indonesia and Malaya, the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea, to Arabia and Africa.

Of his 300 vessels, some 60 were reputed to have been designed as treasure ships.

They carried gold and silver along with stocks of China’s finest porcelains and silks.

These were to be gifts to foreign rulers.

In return, rare precious stones, ivory and exotic artwork were to be stored in their cargo holds for return to China.

But things did not always entirely go Zheng’s way.

One such clash came at some point between 1410 and 1411.

The king of Sri Lanka (then Ceylon) had amassed an army of about 50,000 fighters.

His force had successfully engaged and blocked Zheng’s fleet.

So Zheng took several of his ships, carrying about 2000 elite warriors, to bypass any resistance.

These broke through to launch a surprise attack on King Alakeshvara’s palace.

He, his family, courtiers and retainers were all captured and taken back to Beijing.

But Zheng’s fleet had suffered heavy losses in the process.

Among them were reputed to be several of his treasure ships.

With the death of Emperor Yong Le in 1424, Admiral Zeng He and his fleet gradually fell out of favour. When the admiral died after one last adventure in 1433, his ships were broken up.

China’s bureaucrats quickly took their revenge: Zeng He’s achievements were largely erased from history.

His tale only returned to popularity with the publication of tales of his voyages in 1904.

ETERNAL MISSION

Zheng’s fleet may yet still be loyally serving its nation.

The hunt for his ships has been underway since 2010.

Finding actual evidence of China’s legendary maritime supremacy would be a significant propaganda win.

Possible sailing routes across China, Asia the Middle East and Africa have been systematically surveyed for signs of timber shipwrecks.

So far the proof is circumstantial.

The ruins of a dry dock matching the dimensions of Zheng’s ships has been found in Nanjing. And a giant rudder was found in the mud off Zhejiang.

Otherwise, the only other evidence of Zheng He was the discovery of a stele (message stone) bearing his name on Sri Lanka and similar objects in Malacca.

But the South China Morning Post recently reported a new expedition to Sri Lanka was set to be launched late last year.

It quoted a Sri Lankan archaeologist as saying China was going to supply advanced sonar systems capable of generating very high resolution images of the seabed. A new Chinese submersible capable of diving up to 7km beneath the waves was also to be deployed.

The outcome of this mission, if completed, is yet to be reported.

Meanwhile, President Xi Jinping’s push across the Middle East and Asia continues.

He’s funding ports, bridges and railroads for underdeveloped nations. These are gifts that return massive international acclaim.

He then takes them back when those countries fall behind in debt repayments.

And his massive new navy has begun making forays among ancient seaways, asserting a new claim to what Xi says are China’s ancient entitlements.