China Stamps - 1985 , J113 , Scott 1992-95 580th Anniv. of Zheng He's Expedition to Seas, Block of 4 w/Imprints - MNH, F-VF - (9199B)

China Stamps - 1985 , J113 , Scott 1992-95 580th Anniv. of Zheng He's Expedition to Seas, Block of 4 w/Imprints - MNH, F-VF : During the reign of the emperor Zhu Di the Ming Empire became stronger and the its economy flourished. To make China's strength known to the world and to spread Chinese culture, Zhu Di sent Zheng He with his ship team on oversea voyages. Zheng He was a eunuch from a family of Hui nationality. From 1405 to 1433 Zheng made seven voyages and performed miracles in the history of ocean????going navigation.Zheng He's ocean ??going team had a hundred vessels and a crew of 30,000. It was the largest one in the world at that time.The large vessel Zheng He used was 120 metres long and 45 metres wide. The twelve sails on the ship could be adjusted in accordance with the wind directions. The ship had separate water????tight cabinets to keep the ship afloat. Because the cabinets were separated and water????tight, even if the ship stroke a reef at some cabinet, the whole ship would not sink. In the 18th century, this structure arrested the Westerners' attention and was gradually adopted by them.Zheng He's team used the compass, the most advanced navigation instrument of the world of his day. They detected directions by the compass and located geographical positions by observing the altitude of stars. The combined application of nautical astronomy and compass navigation greatly increased the accurateness of their position fixing during the voyages. This technical advancement offered Zheng's ship team greater freedom.Zheng reached India 90 years earlier than Vasco da Gama's arrival there by way of Good Hope Cape, and 80 years earlier than Christopher Columbus' arrival at America, the so????called New Continent.