明朝洪武四年，也就是朱元璋建立明朝的第四个年头，一个叫马三保的孩子出生在了云南。这个孩子，是一个典型的官N代。
The seven voyages of Zheng He to the Indian Ocean in Ming dynasty were common knowledge in China, but not many people know about the whole life story of this famous Chinese navigator.
马三保的六世先祖赛典赤·赡思丁是元初来自中亚的色目贵族，是布哈剌国王穆罕默德的后裔。曾任云南行省平章，是从一品官，相当于今天的云南省省长。马三保的曾祖父在元大德十一年任中书平章；父亲封滇阳候，族人自称咸阳世家。
Zheng was born in a noble family in Yunnan in southwest China in 1371, the 4th year of Emeperor Taizu's reign in Ming dynasty. He was originally named Ma Sanbao. His father and grandfather were officials of the Yuan dynasty.
然而，这个官N代的生活却没有看起来那么美好。
元朝已被推翻，但云南仍处在元朝所封的梁王的统治之下。就在马三保出生的那一年，明朝收复四川，云南的政治局势即刻紧张起来。在这兵荒马乱的年代里，马三保一家共有兄弟姐妹六人，其生活困难的程度，是可想而知的。
Before Ma was born, the Yuan dynasty was overturned by the Ming dynasty, but his hometown Yunnan was still ruled by Yuan officials. At the year of his birth, life got difficult for his family as Ming dynasty started to claim Yunnan as part of its territory.
洪武十三年冬，明朝军队进攻云南，年仅10岁的马三保，被明军掠走至南京，净身之后，14岁那年，他进入后来的永乐帝，也就是当时皇子朱棣的燕王府。
In 1380, the army of Ming dynasty attacked Yunnan. And the boy, 10 year-old then, was unfortunately captured. He was brought to Nanjing, the then capital of the empire, castrated and sent to serve Zhu Di, the prince.
1402年，朱棣以“靖难”之名篡位登基，成为明成祖。靖难之变中，马三保为朱棣立下战功。1404年，朱棣认为马姓不能登三宝殿，因此在南京御书“郑”字赐马三保郑姓，改名为和，马三保正式变成了“郑和”。
In 1402, Zhu Di usurped his nephew and became the third emperor of Ming dynasty. Ma Sanbao rendered outstanding service in the usurpation and was given a new surname "Zheng" by the new emperor.
登基之后，坐拥老爹朱元璋留下的大好河山和充盈的国库，同大多数“二代”一样，朱棣也不是个省油的灯，“我大明朝如今国运昌盛，是时候该派人出去炫耀一番了。”（顺便找找神秘失踪的建文帝？）
恩，有了想法就得行动。该派谁去呢？
Zheng grew up alongside the emperor, served the army for years and accumulated great experience in military command. So when the emperor wanted to send envoy to foreign countries across the sea, Zheng, the trusted subordinate was selected.
郑和呀~
明成祖朱棣
“郑和少年时就在朕身边长大，跟着朕南征北战，是“靖难之役”的有功之臣，懂兵法，有谋略，英勇善战，具有军事指挥才能。担任下西洋总兵正使一职，率领船队下西洋，扬我国威，再适合不过了。”
于是，三宝去也~
公元1405年的7月11日，郑和统率当时世界上规模最大的船队从江苏太仓港起航，向着南方的辽阔海域出发了。
On July 11th, 1405, Zheng He, leading a fleet of over 200 vessels, some fully loaded with Chinese treasures, set sail towards the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean.
郑和先后访问了占城（今越南）、爪哇、旧港（今印度尼西亚巨港）、苏门答腊、锡兰山（今斯里兰卡）、古里（今印度科泽科德）等国家和地区。他每到一地，都受到热烈欢迎，人们惊奇地发现，世上竟有如此强大的国家和舰队。
The fleet visited many Southeast Asian countries, such as today's Vietnam, Java, Indonesia, Sri Lanka and India and impressed foreigners with the strong fleet and the prosperity of Ming dynasty. The first voyage was concluded in October, 1407.
郑和于1407年10月2日回到南京，结束了第一次下西洋的航行。
此后每隔几年，郑和就带领船队远航。
从1405年到1433年的28年间，郑和共进行了7次远航，几乎走遍了东南亚、北印度洋沿岸地区以及阿拉伯半岛，先后到访了30多个国家。
In the following 20-odd years, Zheng went on six other voyages with his super fleet, travelled as far as to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa, and visited over 30 countries.
注：明代，人们以婆罗、文莱为界，东面称为东洋，西面称为西洋。
像郑和下西洋这样的大型工程，为什么没有正式详细的官方记载呢？
也许是劳民伤财，有人看不惯就把档案毁了吧。
Though these voyages were generally believed to be gestures to flex the muscles of Ming dynasty, some people think that they might also be the efforts to search for the mystically disappeared nephew of the emperor or expand maritime trade or some sort of defense strategy.
据《殊域周咨录》记载，郑和下西洋的档案《郑和出使水程》原存兵部。明宪宗成化年间，皇上下诏命兵部查三保旧档案，兵部尚书项忠派官员查了三天都查不到，原来是被车驾郎中刘大夏事先藏起来了。
项忠追问官员，库中档案，怎么能够失去？当时在场的刘大夏说，“三保下西洋费钱粮数十万，军民死且万计，纵得奇宝而回，于国家何益！此特一敝政，大臣所当切谏者也。旧案虽存，亦当毁之，以拔其根，尚何追究其无哉！”
《郑和出使水程》包括大量原始资料，如皇帝敕书、郑和船队的编制、名单、航海日志，帐目等。大批郑和档案究竟有没有被刘大夏销毁，至今仍然是个谜。
As an important event of Ming dynasty, Zheng's voyages should have been detailedly recorded officially in history. But the records were somehow lost. According to a book about neighboring and associated countries from Ming dynasty, the official records were destroyed by an official who loathed the voyages for the huge economic burden they had on the country.
虽然郑和下西洋的官方档案已经无从考究，但从民间留下的各种古迹，我们依旧能一瞥三保下西洋的盛况。
马来西亚的郑和文化馆 Cheng He Cultural Museum in Malaysia
Nonetheless, many historical sites and relics remained, reminding us of the epic voyages over 600 years ago.
为了纪念郑和，我国于2005年把每年的7月11日，也就是郑和首次下西洋的时间，定为“中国航海日”。
To remember Zheng He, China set its Maritime Day at July 11th, the day of departure of Zheng's first voyage, in 2005.
郑和下西洋都带了什么人，下西洋过程中有什么轶事？他最后的归宿又在哪？
且听下回分解~
Source: WeChat（丝路云帆）