Zheng He Visits Bengal and the Maldives

1417

The treasure fleet's fifth voyage reached the court of the Bengal Sultan and the coral atolls of the Maldives, establishing Chinese diplomatic presence across the full breadth of the Indian Ocean world. Ming envoys exchanged bolts of silk and blue-and-white porcelain for pearls, coconuts, ambergris, and the leopard skins that Chinese scholars valued for writing-desk decoration. The reach of Chinese soft power was unmatched by any contemporary navy in any ocean.