The Image of Zheng He and the Expeditions to the Western Ocean (1405–1433) in the Chinese Middle and High School Textbooks of the 21st Century

This article, for the first time attempts to comprehensively study the representation of one episode from the Chinese history — the expeditions of Zheng He (1405–1433) — in middle and high school textbooks of modern China. The corresponding sections in textbooks on the history of China for the 7th grade, both old and new editions, as well as individual mentions of this historical event and person in textbooks on elective historical disciplines of high school (9–11 grades) are analyzed. Throughout the comparison of the studied chapters and fragments, both basic information about expeditions that students are required to know, and that which was deliberately omitted from the educational materials was identified and designated. A certain progression in the presentation of material was also discovered: while in middle school this event is considered primarily within the framework of the history of China as one of the bright and outstanding pages of its past, high school textbooks integrate it into world history noting its influence on global processes such as the formation of sea routes and Chinese cultural influence abroad. I come to the conclusion that the information in the textbooks correlates with the use of the image of Zheng He and the early Ming expeditions to the Western Ocean within the framework of the official ideology and conveys its main postulates. However, some aspects that the Chinese leadership now places special emphasis on remain untouched in textbooks. It is likely that this may change in future editions.

Zheng He, Ming Empire, History Politics, School Textbooks, Education