Celebration the 600^th Anniversary of Zheng He’s Voyages of Peace

May 4, 2004

Zheng He’s Voyages Celebration Council

The summer of 2005 marks the first of expeditions of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho), royal emissary of the early Ming Court 600 years ago. These expeditions were the largest known pre-modern seafaring enterprises, comprising at their height a 208-vessel fleet with a crew totaling 28,000. His largest “Treasure Ship” measured 400 feet long established the “Silk Route on the Sea”. Over a period of 28 years between 1405 and 1433, these roundtrip missions made recorded port calls and landfalls in Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Persian Gulf region, and East and South Africa, bringing about 40 nations in contact with each other, largely in a peaceful fashion.

After consulting a number of organizations, we established recently the Zheng He’s Voyages Celebration Council (ZHCC) to organize a series of activities in the U.S. to join the global celebrations of the event to commemorate the great navigator, commander and ambassador of peace. The recent publication of the work of Captain Gavin Menzies of the British Navy alluded to the possibility that Zheng He may have visited North America in 1421, ahead of Columbus by 72 years. His remarkable achievements are relevant today where the world is in the mist of wars and human sufferings despite advances in global communication and knowledge. We hope to use the celebrations to advance the cause of harmony and peace around the world.

As part of the worldwide celebrations, the Zheng He’s Voyages Celebration Council in the greater Washington area have envisioned a series of activities to bring attention to Zheng He and his historical expeditions:

1. Research Conference. We will organize a symposium to explore various aspects of Zheng He’s expedition, including, among other thing, its impact on history and its technological and economic significance in navigation and shipbuilding.

2. TV Programs and Exhibition. We will produce and stage a variety of Zheng He-themed exhibitions and television programming to showcase the voyages and navigational accomplishments in various media.

3. Performing Art and Cultural Events. We will organize a series of Zheng He’s related performances to commemorate his expeditions, involving local talents as well as artists from around the world.

4. Essay contests. We will organize two essay contests (English and Chinese) on Zheng He’s voyages, in order to encourage the young generation to learn Zheng He’s great expedition.

To realize these specific objectives, we call for your participation and support, either moral or financial. All individuals, businesses, and community organizations who are interested in any or all aspects of what Zheng He and his missions of peace had represented are welcome.

Board of Zheng He’s Voyages Celebration Council

Honorary President:

The Honorable Samuel Mok, CFO, U.S. Department. of Labor (invited)

Advisors:

Jin Wu , Hwa-wei Lee, Jin Gong

President:

Joanne She

Vice Presidents:

Alexander Chan, Wei-Ye Chan, Wayne Chang, Zoe Huang, Guo-fu Ma, Duke Tang

Helen Wang, Kin Wong, Wei-guo Zhang, Xiao-Ming Zhao

Contacts:

Alexander Chan 202-418-0842, Kin Wong at wongusbm@msn.com

Wei-guo Zhang 301-987-2344