Ngũ Xã Island – Part 4

Part 4: The Emperor Has His Fleet Burned

At the beginning of the 15th century in China, Emperor Yongle was on the throne. Emperor Yongle wanted to show all the people living around the Indian Ocean the wealth and might of the Chinese Empire. So, he ordered a huge fleet of merchant vessels to be built, and appointed General Zheng He Admiral of the fleet. Yongle’s junks went trading various Chinese merchandise such as bronze, ceramics and porcelain, wooden goods, etc., all over the eastern world.

In 1424, after Admiral Zheng He completed 7 trading journeys going as far as Africa and Arabia, Emperor Yongle died, and the new Emperor thought that trade with foreign countries was not a good thing because it brought many strange and bad foreign ideas to China. In the end, the Emperor ordered all the vessels of his trading fleet burned, and closed China’s border to the world.

That meant that suddenly it was not possible to buy crafts and artisanry from China. However, the Vietnamese already had the ability to produce crafts and artisan products just like those of China. So, the craftsmen and artisans of Vietnam began exporting merchandise just like that which was exported from China before then.

For this reason, over time, many Chinese craftsmen and artisans immigrated to Vietnam, and brought with them their skills. In this way, over a period of about 100 years, from the time that the Emperor of China stopped international trade, until the time when the Lê Dynasty finally defeated the Ma?cs, production and export of Vietnamese crafts and artisanry grew until it equaled that of China previously.

I know, I can hear you say it, “But, what about Ngũ Xã Island?!” I promise, next week, all the paths will lead you there!

To read Roman’s previous writting about Ngũ Xã Island, click on the link below:

Ngũ Xã Island – Part 1

Ngũ Xã Island – Part 2

Ngũ Xã Island – Part 3