Editing Yongle Emperor (section)

===Indian Ocean===
[[File:Nanjing Treasure Boat - P1070978.JPG|thumb|left|A life-size model of one of the "medium-sized" treasure ships, measuring 63.25 meters in length, is on display at the historic Nanjing Treasure Shipyard, but there is still ongoing debate about the exact size of these treasure ships.]]
{{Further|Ming treasure voyages|Chinese treasure ship}}
In 1405, the Yongle Emperor appointed his favorite commander, the eunuch [[Zheng He]], as admiral of a fleet with the purpose of expanding China's influence and collecting tribute from various nations. A total of two thousand ships were constructed to aid Zheng He in his seven voyages, including numerous large "[[Chinese treasure ship|treasure ships]]".{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|p=137}}{{sfnp|Church|2005|pp=155–176}}

In the early years of the Yongle Emperor's reign, Timur's campaigns disrupted traditional trade connections with Central Asia. As a result, one of the initial goals of sending emissaries by sea to the Indian Ocean may have been to find potential allies against the Timurid Empire of Timur,{{sfnp|Dreyer|2007|p=60}} but this goal became less relevant when Timur died in 1405, at the beginning of the campaign to China. The Ming dynasty then established proper relations with his successors.

From 1405 to 1421, Zheng He embarked on six voyages to the Indian Ocean. The first voyage took place from 1405 to 1407 and consisted of 250{{sfnp|Dreyer|2007|pp=51, 123}} or 317{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|pp=137–138}}{{sfnp|Levathes|1994|p=82}} ships, including 62 large "treasure ships".{{sfnp|Dreyer|2007|pp=51, 123}} A total of 27,800 people were on board.{{sfnp|Tsai|2002|p=203}} The final voyage was made during the reign of the Xuande Emperor from 1431 to 1433. Chinese sailors followed the main trade routes of Southeast and South Asia, sailing into the Indian Ocean. During the first three expeditions, they sailed to South India, with their main destination being [[Kozhikode|Calicut]], the commercial center of the region. In the following four voyages, they reached [[Hormuz Island|Hormuz]] in Persia, while separate squadrons visited various ports in the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

[[File:Tribute Giraffe with Attendant.jpg|thumb|170px|The giraffe, brought from Bengal in 1414, was depicted by Shen Du. The Chinese associated giraffes with the mythical creature ''[[Qilin]]'']]
In addition to foreign policy and trade goals, Zheng He's expeditions also had the task of mapping the countries visited and had an educational aspect as well.{{sfnp|Needham|1971|p=489}} The Chinese were interested in bringing back exotic animals and plants for medicinal purposes.{{sfnp|Levathes|1994|p=83}}

After the deaths of the Xuande Emperor and Zheng He, the practice of large-scale expeditions was discontinued. The loss of key supporters of long-distance sailing was just one factor in the decision to abandon an active maritime policy. The officialdom saw the high cost of equipping the fleet as a way for the eunuchs to gain disproportionate power. As a result, reducing spending on the navy also reduced the influence of the eunuchs at court.{{sfnp|Fairbank|Goldman|2006|pp=138–139}}