Admiral Cheng Ho started his life as Ma Ho and was born about 1371 in the southern province of Yunnan. Yunnan had previously been the centre of the Nan Chao kingdom, which was a powerful militaristic society that had resisted Chinese domination for hundreds of years, until it was destroyed by the Mongols under Kublai Khan in the 1250s. In order to try to pacify the region, which ranged in terrain from mountainous uplands on the border of Tibet to the sub-tropical Xishuangbanna on the fringes of Burma and Laos, where wild elephants still roam, the Mongol dynasty (known as the Yuan) had stationed many troops in the region and settled many Muslim people there. Ma Ho came from one of these families and grew to prominence as a military rather than a learned man. This came at some personal cost since, as Cheng Ho, he was required to become a court eunuch.
While Ma Ho rose in rank, China was suffering internationally from a number of military reverses which had had the effect of greatly diminishing her reputation and the fear and respect with which the imperial court had traditionally been held throughout the region. These reverses were instrumental in the creation of the Admiral's voyages and the massive amounts of labour and resources necessary to outfit them. The length of time required to prepare for the voyages was sufficient for numerous political intrigues to break out - after all, the power and influence that Mandarins in the court could wield (to say nothing of the money that could be diverted into personal coffers) might be radically changed by such an event. Changing emperors also had their own preferences and priorities. However, eventually the voyages did take place.
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