高中三年级英语(人教版)全一册 Unit 2 Reading

　　The contacts between China and Africa over the centuries led to the awareness of each other's existence, but still no accurate maps of the countries around the Indian Ocean existed. By the beginning of the fifteenth century the time was ripe for a grand meeting. In East Africa the coastal towns were reaching the height of their power. In the east, China prospered under a new dynasty. The Ming government had a large navy and the will to use it.

　　In the years between 1405 and 1433, seven large treasure fleets sailed westwards on voyages of trade and exploration. Under the command of Zheng He, the fleets set sail from the South China Sea across the Indian Ocean to the mouth of the Red Sea, and then travelled further south, discovering the eastern coast of Africa.

　　Zheng He renewed relations with the kingdoms of the East African coast. One African king sent the Ming emperor a royal present: two giraffes. The wonderful gift and the contact with the black court so excited China's curiosity about Africa that Zheng He sent a message to the king and to other African states, inviting them to send ambassadors and open embassies in the new Ming capital, Beijing. The response of the African rulers was very generous. They sent the emperor zebras, giraffes, shells, elephant ivory and rhinoceros-horn medicine. In return, the Ming court sent gold, spices, silk, and various other presents. The exchange of goods had a symbolic meaning far more important than the value of the goods themselves. By trading with the fleet the African kings were showing their friendship to the emperor of China.

_小精灵 儿童网