In ancient times, there was no engine, how did Zheng He cross the Indian Ocean to Africa

Zheng He went to the West during the Ming Dynasty, and he went down seven times, and in these several trips to the West, Zheng He used the wind to move the ship, and finally even crossed the Indian Ocean and reached Africa. If you study history, you know that the world's first electric motor appeared in the early 19th century, and this 19th century was about a few hundred years later than the Ming Dynasty. However, Zheng He went to the Western Ocean without a so-called engine, purely using the power of nature, the magic of nature, using the wind, and finally successfully crossed the Indian Ocean to Africa, and also successfully returned to Chinese mainland.

The power of nature is so great and so magical. We can know through historical records that every time Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, hundreds of ships would set off together, and there were also giant ships at that time. Here, many people may ask, why do you need so many ships for the next Western Ocean?

What are so many ships for? We must know that Zheng He went to the West to obey the emperor's orders, and Zheng He went to the West not to play, but to have a political mission, and these things to wear in addition to the needs of the ship's personnel, are more Chinese specialties, so as to establish good relations with neighboring countries and learn some things. <>

Zheng He went to the Western Ocean, on the one hand, he relied on the wind to propel the ship to move, which is why Zheng He had to choose a season every time he went to the Western Ocean, because in this way he could sail with the wind. As for how to grasp the direction at sea, it is to rely on one of China's four great inventions, that is, the compass. and speculation at night by stargazing.

Zhuangzi wrote in "Wandering Away", "Pengzhi migrated to the south of the earth, the water hit three thousand miles, the one who swayed up ninety thousand miles, and the one who went to rest in June." From here we can see that as early as this time, the ancients knew the power of natural "wind".

According to the records of the ancients, Zheng He used the wind to cross the Indian Ocean to Africa, and the ancients found that the problem of power can be solved by going with the wind and following the flow of the sea.

In ancient times, there were indeed no engines, and when Zheng He went to the West, he rode sailboats, relying on the wind to flow, plus with the help of monsoons and ocean currents, so they could come to the east coast of Africa smoothly.

Zheng He went as far as the Red Sea coast and the southeast coast of Africa to the Western Ocean, and if it weren't for the fact that Zheng He had to carry a large number of supplies and treasures with his ships to distribute them to other countries along the way every time he went to sea, he spent a lot of manpower and material resources, so that he had to stop sailing when the Ming Dynasty's treasury was empty.

The farthest places Zheng He traveled to the West were the Red Sea coast and the east coast of Africa. In July 1407, that is, in the third year of Yongle, Ming Chengzu ordered Zheng He to lead a large army to sail on a sea ship. Their formation was very large, with about 240 official ships, and there were about 20,000 followers.

More than 30 countries were also visited, which are located in the Pacific and Indian Ocean regions.

Zheng He's voyage to the West deepened exchanges between China and Southeast Asia and East Africa. These experiences of going to the West made Zheng He physically exhausted, and on the way back to China from the last trip to the West, he died of overwork. There are also folk stories that call Zheng He's experience of going to the West as the Three Treasures Eunuch going to the West.

Zheng He went to the West to Java, Sumatra, Tianfang, Guli and other countries, and reached the farthest place on the east coast of Africa and the Red Sea coast. Others say they may have been to Australia as well. The giraffe from Africa was turned into a picture by the painter of the Ming Dynasty court as a commemoration, which was a proof of friendly exchanges between Asia and Africa.

Although the ancient ships did not have engines, their own wisdom is very impressive. Zheng He was a very powerful navigator, and he was also very experienced, and Zheng He's treasure ship at that time mainly crossed India to Africa with the help of two factors: human paddles and wind propulsion.

Because the concept of the engine was not invented at that time, there were many people who rowed in the bilge of the ship to keep the ship moving forward at a certain speed and maintain a stable direction, Zheng He's treasure ship had a large sail, and this sail could use the wind to make the treasure ship move forward faster. And because Zheng He is very experienced, every time he sets sail, he will see the time and wind direction, and set off when the wind direction is right, so as to save a lot of manpower.

Zheng He's funds for going to the West were provided by the Ming Dynasty royal family, so there was no need for Zheng He to worry about this, and with strong financial support, as well as Zheng He's rich sailing experience, Zheng He relied on the wind and compass to keep the treasure ship moving in the right direction during the day, and at night. Zheng He observed the stars in the sky and cooperated with the compass to keep the treasure ship from getting lost in the vast sea, so through unremitting efforts, Zheng He's treasure ship finally reached Africa.

During the Ming Dynasty, shipbuilding technology and navigation technology have reached a very advanced level, especially when Zheng He built a treasure ship for navigation, he took into account a lot of practical problems, and the treasure ship he built can save a lot of manpower, and can be applied to navigation in various waters. In order to ensure that the direction of sailing is accurate, the sail can be turned according to different wind directions to reduce the resistance caused by the sea water to the boat's travel, and different sail directions can also use the wind direction to make the boat move faster and more accurately to the destination. However, when there was no wind at sea at all, he relied on complete manpower to rock the oars to keep the treasure ship moving forward and not to stand still, so it was not easy for Zheng He to cross India to reach Africa.

To solve this problem, it is first necessary to have strong funds and ships that can sail long distances. The problem of funds is easy to solve, Zheng He is backed by the Ming Dynasty royal family, and funds are not a problem at all. According to the "Manuscript of the History of the Ming Dynasty", it is recorded

And wait to build a big ship, build 44 zhang, 18 zhang wide, and accommodate hundreds of people. From this, it can be seen that the large ship in the fleet is 44 zhang long and 18 zhang wide, and if it is converted to the current common unit, it is a huge ship with a length of about 147 meters and a width of about 51 meters. Such a huge ship is enough to undertake the task of long-distance voyage, after all, our current aircraft carrier is only more than 300 meters long, only the size of two Zheng He's treasure ships.

The power of ancient ships** was mainly human and wind. Manpower is a group of sailors paddling in the bottom compartment of the ship, and a large amount of manpower is used to realize the navigation of the ship; Wind is the raising of the sails of a ship and the use of the force of the wind to make the ship sail. Therefore, Zheng He did not go to the West to sail at sea at a random point in time, but to find the right season.

In addition, when Zheng He's treasure ship was designed, an appropriate amount was taken between manpower, the length of the oar, and the space for the oar, so that people could exert less force when rocking the oar.

Zheng He's ships in the Western Ocean are mainly powered by manpower and wind, that is, to calculate the direction of the wind on the sea, and move forward with the help of the wind.

Zheng He's treasure ship relied on the ocean monsoon and ocean currents, as well as the necessary human and animal forces, by changing the angle of the sails, exploring the ocean currents and wind directions, and along the coastline to Somalia.

Leaning on the sails and oars, because the wind is relatively strong at sea, you can use the wind to move forward when the wind direction is right, and when there is no wind, you can let people row.

The Ming Dynasty did not have an engine, and Zheng He's ships were able to cross the Indian Ocean mainly because they relied on the wind.

It is said that the reason why Zhu Di sent Zheng He to the West back then was for two reasons: first, Zhu Yunwen has always been a thorn in Zhu Di's heart, before he found Zhu Yunwen, he never slept well, Zhu Di once received a news that Zhu Yunwen ran south by boat, Zhu Di thought that Zhu Yunwen went overseas, so he let Zheng He go to the West; Second, the Ming Dynasty has always had a tradition of "subduing foreign countries", and Zhu Di wanted to use Zheng He's trip to the West to promote national prestige.

In four years, Zhu Di ordered the construction of more than 1,000 ships, and according to historical records, the largest of these more than 1,000 ships reached a height of 55 meters and a staggering 125 meters long, the size of a football field, which was unimaginable at the time. Zheng He went to the Western Ocean seven times, and each time he accompanied as many as 200 ships, these huge ships, without engines at that time, were able to travel thousands of miles and gallop in the ocean, completely relying on the wind.

The astronomy of the Ming Dynasty was quite powerful, and it was found that the northeast monsoon would blow every year, and this monsoon would blow from the northeast, and the ships would go with the wind, and as long as they determined the direction, they could sail without power. Of course, during the voyage, you only need to constantly adjust the attitude of the sails according to the direction of the wind, and you can make the boat sail in the given direction. According to modern physical analysis, the ship will be mainly affected by the resistance of the water and the thrust of the wind during the voyage, and the thrust will be decomposed into the force that pushes the ship forward and the force on the front side, which can offset the resistance of the seawater, so that the ship can sail forward.

In fact, at that time, when ships were sailing, they generally adopted the "zigzag" sailing method, which was also known as "wind-grabbing boat", which was a very difficult to control sailing technique. All in all, Zheng He's ship was able to cross the Indian Ocean mainly because of the force of the wind.

It is mainly by relying on wind and water power that it can go west smoothly。As a rare feat in human history, Zheng He's voyage to the West was definitely an epoch-making act, at that time, it was far less developed than it is today, and there was no engine to power the ship, but that's it, Zheng He still completed the seemingly impossible feat. <>

Zheng He went to the West seven times, and behind all of this was a lot of money to support。After all, before Zheng He, no one had this kind of behavior at all, maybe they had ideas, but they were only limited to ideas, because the cost was too expensive. For the sake of one of his own ideas, it is really worthwhile to put all his financial resources and even the financial resources of his family on the line.

However, Zheng He, who has the support of the royal family, obviously wants a lot, according to the public, Zheng He went to the West to find Emperor Jianwen at the beginning. At that time, after Nanjing was defeated, Emperor Jianwen was never seen, and it is very likely that he fled. Since I haven't been looking for a long time in China, so most of them have gone outside.

So there was Zheng He's behavior of going to the West, the purpose of which was to find Emperor Jianwen, and also to promote the national prestige by the way, killing two birds with one stone, but it was a bit expensive. <>

In Zheng He's time, sailing at sea for so many days was a complete miracle。Because Zheng He's fleet had a lot of ships, and according to records, they were all large ships, which are similar to the size of cruisers today. In ancient times, as long as the manpower could be controlled, a group of people paddled under the bed.

Although effective, it is very labor-intensive, and it is not very efficient. The second is to use wind and water power, which depends on culture. You have to calculate in advance how the sea water flows, and how the wind blows, otherwise it is impossible to go to the place you want to go smoothly, which shows that Zheng He is not messing with the West.

In today's technology, it couldn't be easier to go to the West。But at that time, it was indeed a big event, and few countries in the world were able to do it.

No. The first Chinese to visit Africa was Du Huan.

I always thought that the first Chinese who had been to Africa was Zheng He of the Ming Dynasty, but I didn't expect it to be lonely and unheard! It turned out that about 650 years before Zheng He, Du Huan's footprints had reached Africa during the reign of Xuanzong Tianbao of the Tang Dynasty.

Du Huan was the first Chinese to go to Africa.

Du Huan, a Chinese traveler in the Tang Dynasty, is also known as Du Huan. A native of Xiangyang County (now Xiangyang, Hubei) was born and died unknown. In the tenth year of Tang Tianbao (751), Gao Xianzhi went to the Western Regions with the four towns of Anxi.

Gao Xianzhi's army was defeated when it clashed with the army of the newly rising Islamic nation of the Great Food State. Du Huan was captured and transferred to Arabia.

Duhuan's westward route was from Shiguo (around present-day Tashkent, Uzbekistan), across the Zhenzhu River (present-day Syr Darya), to Kangguo (present-day Samikhan, Uzbekistan), across the present-day Amu Darya River to Molu (in present-day Turkmenistan), and then along northern Iran to Yakuro (present-day Kufa, Iraq), the capital of the Abbasid dynasty of the Great Food Eater. Du Huan received preferential treatment in Yajura, which allowed him to travel around West Asia with the Great Food Nation's mission, passing through Egypt and Sudan to the neighboring countries of Morocco in Ethiopia.

Become the first Chinese to visit Africa.

After traveling in Central Asia, West Asia, and North Africa, Du Huan returned to his homeland by merchant ship from the Arabian Peninsula via the Persian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman, the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, and the South China Sea in the first year of Zong Baoying of the Tang Dynasty (762). From the expedition to the Western Regions to the return to the motherland, it lasted a total of 11 years, and the total journey was about 80,000 miles.

After Du Huan returned to China, he wrote the book "Jing Xing Ji" Unfortunately, this book has been lost. Later, in Du You's "General Dictionary" (written in 801), some contents of the book "Jing Xingji" were quoted, with a total of more than 1,500 words, which have been preserved to this day.

The Book of Travels is the earliest ancient book in China that records the teachings of Islam and the production techniques of Chinese craftsmen in Dashi, and also records the history, geography, products, customs, and customs of several countries in Asia and Africa.