[00:03.66]Unit 7 The Sea Culture Corner
[00:07.29]Zheng He and His Seven Voyages
[00:10.60]Zheng He (1371-1435) was one of China's
[00:15.69]most famous explorers.
[00:17.74]Towards the end of the fourteenth century,
[00:20.26]his fleet sailed to countries very far away.
[00:24.33]Zheng He had over 300 ships,
[00:27.06]some of which were over 150 metres long
[00:30.80]and could carry up to 1000 people.
[00:34.01]In addition to the supplies
[00:35.67]for the long journeys,the ships carried gold,
[00:38.60]silver,silk,china and other treasures
[00:42.28]to give as gifts to the rulers
[00:44.23]of the neighbouring countries.
[00:46.86]Some of the ships even had earth on board
[00:49.56]so that the sailors could grow their won crops
[00:52.22]for food.
[00:53.85]On Zheng He's first voyage,
[00:55.52]he set sail across the Indian Ocean.
[00:58.41]His fleet traveled for many days
[01:00.52]far away from land.
[01:02.29]One day,they were hit by a storm.
[01:05.17]All the sailors thought the fleet
[01:06.64]was going to sink.
[01:08.30]Then a strange light appeared
[01:09.87]at the top of the ships' masts,
[01:12.20]and after that, the storm passed.
[01:15.17]The strange light that appeared
[01:16.95]on the masts was probably electricity
[01:19.33]from the thunderstorm.
[01:21.25]Many sailors today see such lightning
[01:23.38]on the masts of their ships during a storm.
[01:27.38]But the sailors in Zheng He's fleet
[01:29.67]believed it was a sign of protection
[01:31.43]from the gods.
[01:32.97]From then on,they were happy
[01:34.39]to follow Zheng He where he led them.
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