Opinion | The Chinese eunuch who beat admiral Zheng He to Malacca, and the exchanges that followed between its rulers and China
Merchants from as far as the Middle East and the Ryukyu kingdom (present-day Okinawa) called at its port. A 17th century map of Malacca. Photo: Getty Images His monumental visits, accompanied by a fleet of the biggest ships the world had ever seen at the time, spawned many stories of dubious historicity that continue to … Read more
