Zheng He, More about Eunuchs, Giraffes, and Elephants, and a Travel Guide to the Voyages of the Ming Treasure Fleet
A special post for members of the By Their Own Compass Club
We hope you enjoyed our episode about Zheng He. As a special bonus for members of the By Their Own Compass club, here’s a special newsletter full of information that didn’t make it into the episode, including:
Research notes on eunuchs, giraffes, elephants, and the most savage book review you’ll read this week
A reading list to learn more about Zheng He, eunuchs, and the importance of the Indian Ocean in world history
Sarah’s modern travel notes and links for following Zheng He across the oceans
Full Episode Transcript
Research Notes
It seems every episode results in a pile of notes on Jeremiah's desk that, through no fault of their own, failed to make the cut for the episode. Zheng He’s voyages are an epochal world event that spanned many decades and have left a legacy that remains hotly contested. But we also believe that telling a good story shouldn’t take longer than the tube ride from Epping to Oxford Circus or the 7 train from Flushing to Grand Central.
The eunuch problem (and the historian problem)
There was a lot more we could have discussed regarding eunuchs. In the podcast, we argued that while everybody seems fascinated by the institution and its role in Chinese history, the eunuchs themselves have had a rough go of it in the sources, and the historians who have long taken those sources at face value. Nearly everything we know about eunuchs in the Ming Dynasty was written by bureaucrats who saw the eunuchs as rivals for the emperor’s ear, and the idea that “Men of Learning” might be getting their advice shoved aside in favour of the dude who changed the emperor’s diapers two decades ago did not sit well with the bureaucracy. Trusting the official records for an even-handed account of eunuchs in the Ming and Qing era is a bit like writing a biography of Zlatan based entirely on Pep’s diary.
