Battle of Palembang | |||||||
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Part of the Ming treasure voyages | |||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||
Ming China | Pirate fleet at Palembang | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Admiral Zheng He | Chen Zuyi | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
Unknown | 5,000 pirates killed Ten ships destroyed Seven ships captured |
The Battle of Palembang was a naval battle fought between Ming China's treasure fleet commanded by Admiral Zheng He and the pirate fleet led by Chen Zuyi at Palembang, Sumatra, in what is now modern Indonesia. It happened in 1407. The battle resulted in the defeat of Chen Zuyi, who was captured and sent to China for execution.
Chen Zuyi was a pirate leader who had seized Palembang on Sumatra. [1] [2] He dominated the maritime route of the Malaccan Strait. [1] The chronicler Ma Huan wrote that Shi Jinqing informed Admiral Zheng He about Chen Zuyi's depredations. [3] The Haiquo Quangji by Shen Moushang states that Shi Jinqing secretly reported Chen Zuyi's plans to attack Zheng He to him. [4]
In 1407, while returning homewards from their voyage, Ming China's treasure fleet led by Admiral Zheng He engaged the pirate fleet led by Chen Zuyi in battle at Palembang. [1] [2] [4] [5] The Chinese fleet defeated Chen's pirate fleet in this encounter. [1] [4] During the confrontation, 5,000 pirates were killed, ten pirate ships were destroyed, and seven pirate ships were captured. [4] [6]
The Mingshi records that Zheng was initially sent to Palembang to negotiate the pacification of Chen and others, [7] but it also states that Chen and the others plotted to attack Ming China's forces. [7] [6] The Taizong Shilu records that Chen tried to evade and withdraw from active engagement with Ming China's treasure fleet. [2] Dreyer (2007) characterizes the much-later account of Chen in the Mingshi as a disparaging attempt to portray him as an evil pirate and thereby contrast him from the Chinese merchants of Palembang who submitted. [6]
Ming China's treasure fleet took three prisoners, including Chen, back to the Chinese capital Nanjing for decapitation. [4]
On 2 October 1407, Chen Zuyi and his lieutenants were executed. [8] On 29 October 1407, the Yongle Emperor of Ming China issued an order to reward the officers and other crew members who went to battle against Chen's pirate fleet at Palembang. [9]
Ming China's imperial court appointed Shi Jinqing as the Pacification Superintendent of Old Port, which established an ally at Palembang and secured access to this important port. [7]
Zheng He was a Chinese admiral, explorer, diplomat, and bureaucrat during the early Ming dynasty (1368–1644). He is often regarded as the greatest admiral in Chinese history. Born into a Muslim family as Ma He, he later adopted the surname Zheng conferred onto him by the Yongle Emperor. Between 1405 and 1433, Zheng commanded seven treasure voyages across Asia under the commission of the Yongle Emperor and the succeeding Xuande Emperor. According to legend, Zheng's largest ships were almost twice as long as any wooden ship ever recorded, and carried hundreds of sailors on four decks.
Zheng Jing, Prince of Yanping, courtesy names Xianzhi and Yuanzhi, pseudonym Shitian, was initially a Southern Ming military general who later became the second ruler of the Tungning Kingdom of Taiwan by succeeding his father Koxinga's hereditary title of "Prince of Yanping", reigned as a dynastic monarch of the kingdom from 1662 to 1681.
Ma Huan, courtesy name Zongdao, pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese explorer, translator, and travel writer who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma was a Muslim and was born in Zhejiang's Kuaiji Commandery, an area within the modern borders of Shaoxing. He knew several Classical Chinese and Buddhist texts. He learned Arabic to be able to translate.
A Chinese treasure ship is a type of large wooden Chinese junk in the fleet of admiral Zheng He, who led seven voyages during the early 15th-century Ming dynasty. The size of the treasure ships, the largest ships in Zheng He's fleet, has been a subject of much controversy, with some old Chinese records mentioning the size of 44 zhang or 44.4 zhang, which has been interpreted by some modern scholars as over 100 m (330 ft) in length, while others have stated that Zheng He's largest ship was around 70 m (230 ft) or less.
Liang Daoming was an abscondee of the Chinese Ming Dynasty who became king of Palembang in Srivijaya. He hailed from Guangdong province and was of Cantonese descent. According to the Ming records, he had thousands of followers and a sizable military contingent in Palembang. Liang Daoming's rule over Palembang was acknowledged by the Ming emperor and protected by Zheng He's armada (1403-1424).
Piracy in the Strait of Malacca has long been a threat to ship owners and the mariners who ply the 900 km-long sea lane. In recent years, coordinated patrols by Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and Singapore along with increased security on vessels have sparked a sharp downturn in piracy.
Shi Jinqing was a late 14th century chieftain in Palembang. He was a Muslim whose ancestors were Hui people from Hangzhou. The Ming imperial administration appointed him as chieftain xuanweishi of the Palembang district for his contribution in helping Ming admiral Zheng He defeat the pirate leader Chen Zuyi. Shi Jinqing had already been appointed an official civil servant of the Majapahit kingdom of Java, sent to Palembang to serve as a minister after the Majapahit defeated Srivijaya in the year 1377.
The Xingcha Shenglan is a Chinese historical work written by Fei Xin. Fei Xin served as a soldier in the third, fifth, and seventh Ming treasure voyages under the command of Admiral Zheng He. The book contains descriptions of foreign places that the Chinese mariners had seen. The literary term "star raft" refers to an ambassador's flagship.
Namunukula, literally "Nine Peaks" in Sinhala language, is the name of a mountain range in Sri Lanka's province of Uva. Its main peak is 2,036 metres (6,679.8 ft) high. The nearby town is also sometimes called Namunukula Town.
The Galle Trilingual Inscription is a stone tablet with an inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, located in Galle, Sri Lanka. Dated 15 February 1409, it was installed by the Chinese admiral Zheng He in Galle during his grand voyages.
The Ming–Kotte War was a military conflict between the expeditionary forces of Ming China and the Sinhalese Kotte Kingdom in the southern territories of Sri Lanka. The conflict happened when Ming China's treasure fleet arrived at Sri Lanka in 1410 or 1411. It resulted in the overthrow of King Alakeshvara and the ascension of Parakramabahu VI.
Chen Zuyi ; died 2 October 1407) was a 15th-century Chinese pirate from Guangdong, and was one of the most feared pirates to infest the seas of Southeast Asia. He ruled the city of Palembang, and raided the Strait of Malacca to plunder shipping and prey on both native and foreign merchants for several years. His fleet was defeated by the Ming dynasty Admiral Zheng He at the Battle of Palembang (1407). Chen was captured and sent to Chinese capital Nanjing for execution.
The Ming treasure voyages were maritime expeditions undertaken by Ming China's treasure fleet between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching ocean voyages to the coastal territories and islands of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the fleet for the expeditions. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle Emperor's reign and the seventh voyage occurred during the Xuande Emperor's reign. The first three voyages reached up to Calicut on India's Malabar Coast, while the fourth voyage went as far as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. In the last three voyages, the fleet traveled up to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.
The Ming treasure voyages had a diplomatic as well as a commercial aspect.
Xia Yuanji was a Ming dynasty government minister. He was born in Xiangyin County, Hunan Province, which was then part of Huguang Province. His ancestral home was Dexing, Jiangxi. Xia read the Classic of Poetry and became a Xiucai at the age of 23, joining the Guozijian. Early in his career, he saw service under the Hongwu Emperor and Jianwen Emperor. After the Yongle Emperor came to the throne, he was sent to inspect Suzhou Creek. Xia opposed both Zheng He's overseas voyages and the Yongle Emperor's campaigns against the Mongols.
Palembang is the capital city of South Sumatra province of Indonesia. Currently, this city is the oldest existing city in Indonesia, dates back to 7th century. Palembang was once the capital city of Srivijaya, a Palembang empire which ruled parts of the western archipelago and controlled maritime trade routes especially in the Strait of Malacca. Palembang incorporated into Dutch East Indies in 1825 after the abolishment of Palembang Sultanate. Palembang is chartered as a city on 1 April 1906. Palembang today is the second largest city in Sumatra and the ninth largest city in Indonesia. The city has become host of several international events, including 2011 Southeast Asian Games and 2018 Asian Games.
Zheng He Mosque, officially the Islamic Mosque of Mohammed Zheng He in Srivijayan Palembang, is a mosque dedicated to Muslim Chinese people located in Jakabaring Palembang, South Sumatra, Indonesia. The name of the mosque is in honor of the acclaimed Muslim Chinese admiral, Zheng He. The mosque was founded by the initiative of the elders, advisers, and administrators of the Chinese Islamic Association of Indonesia (PITI) of South Sumatra, as well as Chinese community leaders around Palembang. Previously the mosque was led by renowned imam, Ustadz Choirul Rizal, who had memorized 30 juz' from the Quran. Ustadz Miftah who serves as an imam today, is also a hafiz.
This is a timeline of the Ming dynasty treasure voyages from 1405 to 1433.
This entry is about sailors during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). China has a long history of navigation and sailing, and in the early Ming, Chinese navigational power was even stronger than the European powers. The founder of the Ming dynasty, the Hongwu Emperor, strictly prohibited sailing abroad, but one of his later successors, the Yongle Emperor, preferred to use large fleets to build a tributary system and to show the Ming empire's national power. After his death, however, emperors were disinclined for supporting such explorations to the world overseas. The revival of maritime trade happened in mid 16th century when the Portuguese were allowed to trade in the port city of Macao and the Longqing Emperor opened Quanzhou as a port for legal international trade.
Old Port Pacification Superintendency was a pacification superintendency established by Ming dynasty during early 15th century located in today's Palembang, Indonesia.