Zheng He

Hi my name is Zheng He and I am currently in India exploring right now.  It is the December 25, 1432 CE and I am a very well-respected Admiral.  I have come from China where it is in the Ming Dynasty and someone told me I should briefly sum up my life up to this point so here it is: I was born in 1371 CE and at 11 my home was conquered and I was brought to the Ming palace as a toy for a Ming boy.  Later, I became a Chief Lieutenant and I am most known for my voyages around the world.  I had 30,000 men build huge ships, actually the largest ships ever, and I had them build 337 of them.  Then, in 1405, I set sail with the largest fleet of ships ever and visited 37 countries, in which I gave China complete control of the Sea.  These voyages are still going on and have been for the past 27 years and we should be arriving in India on New Year's Day.  But I gotta say, I'm am feeling very sick lately, and I'm afraid my time is coming, possibly very soon.  And to top off the bad feelings, if I die then China will stop all Sea expeditions and keep to themselves- I think this is a bad idea because it could lead to foreign invasion.  Well, that pretty much sums up my life so far; talk to you later. 

One of Zheng He's ships

Citation: 

"Zheng Hi." Chinaculture.org. Ministry of Culture, 2003. Web. 20 Oct 2010. <http://www.chinaculture.org/gb/en_aboutchina/2003-09/24/content_22644.htm>.