普天之下何若是之不同耶？——郑和下西洋六百二十年祭How Can the World Be So Different? Six Hundred and Twenty Years since Zheng He's Voyages

When I was young I read the Record of Foreign Lands and learned how vast the world is, how different its customs, how varied the beauty and ugliness of its peoples, and what goods it produces; there was much to astonish, delight, charm and startle. Yet I suspected it was the work of people fond of tall tales, and privately thought such things could not be. How can the world be so different? - Why did Zhu Di reverse the Hongwu Emperor's ban on maritime trade and send Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean? After Zhu Di's death, why did Zhu Gaochi reimpose the maritime ban and end the voyages? - What was the true size of Zheng He's ships? - What was Zheng He's cultural background? What do Sanbao, the Three Pure Ones, the Celestial Consort and Tianfang have to do with Zheng He? - How should we view today's disputes over the islands of the South China Sea? Wang Dayuan, A Brief Account of the Island Barbarians Ma Huan, The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores Fei Xin, The Overall Survey of the Star Raft Gong Zhen, Record of the Foreign Countries in the Western Ocean Yan Congjian, A Comprehensive Record of Distant Lands