Archival story from China

["Mr Robert D Shuster" <Robert.D.Shuster@wheaton.edu>]

I have been reading WHEN CHINA RULED THE SEAS by Louise Levathes, an 
account of the huge trading and exploring fleets that were sent out 
under the admiral Zheng He during the reign of the third and fourth 
Ming emperors.  He led seven expeditions that traveled from Java 
to Madagascar and when he died, his records of a generation of  
trade, cross cultural contacts, linguistic studies, diplomacy, and 
more were placed in the imperial archives.  These documents form a 
priceless record of a fascinating part of China's heritage.  

Or they would if they still existed.  The 
book contains an interesting example of a common practice in history: 
when the past shows you something you do not like, rewrite history 
to reflect a more palatable truth (all that follows is from the book):

" In 1477 there was one last attempt to revive Chinese seafaring.  A 
powerful eunuch named Wang Zhi, head of the imperial secret police, 
called for the logs of  Zheng He to stimulate interest in naval 
expeditions.  The vice president of the Ministry of War, Liu Daxia, 
confiscated Zheng He's documents from the archives and, according to 
some histories, either hid or burned them.  He dammed the records as 
'decietful exaggerations of bizzare things far removed from the 
testimony of people's eyes and ears' and said that the products the 
treasure ships brought home --'betel, bamboo, staves, grape-wine, 
pomegranates and ostrich eggs and such odd thinmgs'--contributed 
nothing to the country.  Liu reported to his superior, the head of 
the Miniistry of War, that the logs of Zheng He's expeditions had 
been lost.

"How is it possible for official documents in the archives to be 
lost?" said the minister incredulously.

"The expeditions of San Bao to the West Ocean wasted tens of myriads 
of money and grain," responded Liu, "and moreover the people who met 
their death (on these expeditions) may be counted in the myriads.  
Although he returned with wonderful, precious things, what benefit 
was it to the state?  This was merely an action of bad government of 
which ministers should disapprove.  Even if the old archives were 
still preserved they should be destroyed in order to suppress (a 
repetition of these things) at the root."

"The minister rose from his chair, understanding now what had 
happened.  "Your hidden virtue, sir, is not small.  "Surely this seat 
will soon be yours."

The loss of the logs of Zheng He and his voyages was another tragic 
result of China's internal conflicts at this time.  For the 
Confucians, foreign trade and contact with the outside world was 
linked to eunuchs and all that was wasteful and extravagant in the 
empire.  A desire for contact with the outside world meant that China 
itself needed something from abroad and was therefore not strong and 
self-sufficient.  The mere expression of need was unworthy of the 
dragon throne.

Robert Shuster
Billy Graham Center Archives
Wheaton College
Wheaton, IL 60187
(630) 752-5910
email: bgcarc@wheaton.edu
Web site: http://www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/archhp1/html