Zheng He's voyages promoted the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia
In recent years, many domestic scholars have conducted in-depth research on the influence and significance of Zheng He's voyage to the West in the fields of politics, economy, culture and science and technology. However, there are relatively few research results on the relationship between Zheng He's voyage and the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia, which is partly related to the lack of relevant historical data.
Overall, the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia, especially in Indonesia and Malaysia, was closely linked to Zheng He's voyages. In the current process of China's further opening up and going global, the study of this issue is of great academic value and great practical significance.
For example, in the spread of Southeast Asia, from the Egyptians to the Berbers, after the Berbers became Muslims, Islam was brought to other peoples in North Africa and Spain, and to the east was first transmitted by the Arabs to the Persians in West Asia, and then from the Persians to the Turks, Mongols and other peoples in Central Asia.
The spread of Islam in Southeast Asia began in the 15th century and spread at an astonishing rate, completing the process of Islamization in less than 100 years. Today, the island region of Southeast Asia is an important part of the Islamic world, with about 1There are 800 million Muslims, accounting for nearly one-fifth of the world's Muslims.
There is controversy in academic circles about the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia** and the way, some believe that it was introduced from India, others believe that the main propagators were Arabs and Persians, and in recent years, some people have suggested that it was spread by Chinese.
Is Zheng He's voyage related to the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia, when the Chinese Muslim navigator Zheng He made seven voyages between 1405 and 1430 to many parts of Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, and East Africa?
From the route, time, and manner of the spread of Islam throughout the world, as well as the lineage, life and activities of Zheng He recorded in Chinese documents, as well as the relics and folklore along Zheng He's route, we can find some important and interesting connections.
First, the massive and rapid spread of Islam in Southeast Asia occurred after Zheng He's seven voyages to the West, that is, after Zheng He's voyages. Secondly, the most widespread and rapid spread of Islam in Southeast Asia was precisely the Manchurian, Sumatra, Java and other regions where Zheng He's voyage was most active, and Zheng He did not touch the inland areas of Southeast Asia during his voyage, and Islam was basically not introduced in these areas.
Moreover, Zheng He himself is a Muslim, but judging from the relevant historical data, his first few voyages were not much related to Islam, but the later voyages brought more and more Islamic colors, such as returning from the third voyage to his hometown of Kunyang, Yunnan Province, to attend the Islamic Ramadan activities, from the fourth voyage to bring Ma Huan, Ha San and other Muslim attachés, before the fifth visit to Quanzhou to pay homage to the tombs of Islamic sages, and later to help rebuild mosques in Nanjing, Xi'an and other places. On the seventh voyage, he sent Hong Bao, Ma Huan and others to visit Mecca, the holy land of Islam.
These issues require further study and analysis, but we may be able to conclude that Zheng He's voyages did have an important connection to the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia.
If we want to prove the connection between Islam in China and Southeast Asia in the 15th century, we first need to prove that Chinese Islam had the conditions to spread to Southeast Asia at that time.
Soon after the introduction of Islam in China, it was introduced to China through the "Silk Road". According to historical records, during the Tang Dynasty, there were many Dashi and Persians living in China, some were merchants, some were envoys, soldiers, and scholars, and they brought Islam with them.
During the Song Dynasty, the sea was more developed, more West Asian Muslims came to China, Islam was further spread, and some spectacular mosques appeared.
By the time of the Yuan Dynasty, China and West Asia were ruled by the Mongols, and the land transportation was unimpeded, and a large number of Muslims of various ethnic groups from Central Asia and West Asia moved into China, forming the national community of "Huihui".
As a result, Chinese Islam entered a period of great development during the Yuan Dynasty. At the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, the development of Islam in Chinese society reached its heyday, forming the Hui people, mainly concentrated in Gansu, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Yunnan and other places in China, as well as along the coast of the south of the Yangtze River and on both sides of the canal.
At the same time, Islam in Southeast Asia is relatively backward. Although the Arabs and Persians established a foothold along the sea route to China, Islam had little influence in much of the region at least until the end of the 13th century.
It was not until the 15th century that Islam began to spread in Southeast Asia. Thus, in the 15th century, there was a clear "gap" between Islam in China and Southeast Asia, and as long as there was a passage connecting the two sides, the water from the higher places would flow to the lower places, and this passage was Zheng He's Seven Western Oceans.
Zheng He's voyages overseas not only eradicated piracy militarily and stabilized the coastal order, but also actively spread Islam. In places such as Old Port, Java, and Malacca, Zheng He established Chinese-Muslim communities, relying on Chinese-Islamic ties to ensure that these areas were under Chinese control.
He also encouraged the local Chinese to "Javanese", spreading Islam through them, and turning Java from Buddhism to Islamic rule. Zheng He played an important role in the conversion of the king of Malacca, Bairimi Sura, to Islam, making Malacca a Muslim state.
Zheng He also established Muslim-Chinese communities in Brunei and Kalimantan, through whom Islam was propagated. These activities are closely related to the introduction and development of Islam in Southeast Asia before the arrival of Europeans, showing the important role of Chinese Muslims in this period.
4. Although Zheng He's relationship with the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia is closely linked, there are few records in Chinese historical sources. This may have something to do with the policies of the early years of the Ming Dynasty and Zheng He's family lineage.
The Ming Dynasty adopted a policy of tolerance towards Islam, but Muslims were still regarded as aliens. Therefore, some Muslims who did not want to assimilate chose to emigrate overseas, and many of them crossed the sea and emigrated to the South Seas in the early Ming Dynasty.
Ming Chengzu chose Zheng He as the Ming Dynasty's envoy to the voyage, probably considering his Muslim status. Although Zheng He himself was a Muslim and had the obligation to spread Islam, his seafaring mission was diplomatic activities, and his main tasks were to "Xuandehua and Rouyuan people" and "show off the foreign land and show China's prosperity and strength".
Therefore, his Islamic activities must be consistent with his mission. However, the dominant religion in China at the time was Buddhism, so it is only natural that Zheng He's Islamic activities were not recorded in the official history.
Zheng He's family history was also a factor influencing his record in this area.
Although there are still different theories about the origin and development of Islam in Southeast Asia, few people have paid attention to Zheng He's connection with Islam in Southeast Asia. Although China is not an Islamic country and does not have the conditions and ability to spread Islam to the outside world, Muhammad once said to them when Islam was introduced, "Knowledge, even if it is far away in China, should be sought."
Thus, the main objective of the Arab Muslims who came from the East was to place their activities (missionary and business) in distant China, rather than in Southeast Asia, which was on their way to China. By the 15th century, Islam had matured and spread to Southeast Asia with the change of dynasty of the Yuan and Ming dynasties and Zheng He's voyage to the West.
Although Zheng He was not the first to bring Islam to Southeast Asia, he at least greatly contributed to the development and spread of Islam in the island regions of Southeast Asia. Zheng He's Islamic activities abroad were a political and diplomatic activity that served the main purpose of his seven voyages to the West.
We can even think that Islam is a means of Zheng He, with the purpose of strengthening China's relations with Southeast Asian countries and strengthening China's influence and role in this region, but its actual effect is to promote the development and spread of Islam in Southeast Asia.