The Path Not Taken: How China Abandoned Global Exploration
Unlike European explorers, Zheng focused on diplomatic missions instead of conquest. His ships carried thousands of soldiers but used them for protection, not colonization. His voyages ended abruptly after his death, with records suppressed by officials who hated court eunuchs. Ships rotted in harbors, and China turned inward for centuries. Some historians think this single policy shift changed world history by ceding global exploration to European powers.
