“If a country wants to be rich and powerful, it cannot ignore the sea. Wealth comes from the sea, and danger also comes from the sea.”

Zheng He (1371-1433), eunuch of the Ming Dynasty, surnamed Ma, named He, nicknamed Sanbao, also known as Sanbao, was a native of Zhidai Village, Baoshan Township, Kunyang, Yunnan (now Kunyang Street, Jinning). Chinese navigator and diplomat in the Ming Dynasty.

Zheng He was born in the fourth year of Hongwu in the Ming Dynasty (1371). He was the second son of Mahar. Zheng He had four sisters. In the winter of the thirteenth year of Hongwu (1381), the Ming Dynasty army attacked Yunnan. Ma He was only ten years old and was robbed by Lan Yu, the deputy commander of the Ming army, and taken to Nanjing. After being castrated into a eunuch, he entered Zhu Di's Prince Yan's palace. In the first year of Yongle (1403), monk Yao Daoyan accepted Ma He as a disciple of Bodhisattva, and his Dharma name was Fu Jixiang.

He made military exploits for King Zhu Di of Yan. In the second year of Yongle (1404), Zhu Di, the founder of the Ming Dynasty, gave Ma and Zheng the surname "Zheng" in an imperial letter in Nanjing to commemorate his military exploits. He was called "Zheng He" in history. He was promoted to the rank of internal official eunuch, reaching the fourth rank, and his status was second only to that of the ceremonial supervisor. Zheng He had a wise strategy and knew how to fight. Chengzu of the Ming Dynasty trusted Zheng He very much. From 1405 to 1433, Zheng He made seven voyages to the West, completing great feats in human history. In the sixth year of Xuande (1431), the emperor granted Zheng He the title of Sanbao eunuch. In April of the eighth year of Xuande (1433), Zheng He died in Guri on the west coast of India and was buried in Niushou Mountain in Nanjing.