The Battle of Palembang was a naval battle fought in 1407 between

Ming China The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last orthodox dynasty of China ruled by the Han peop ...

's treasure fleet commanded by Admiral

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferre ...

and the pirate fleet of Chen Zuyi at

Palembang Palembang () is the capital city of the Indonesian province of South Sumatra. The city proper covers on both banks of the Musi River on the eastern lowland of southern Sumatra. It had a population of 1,668,848 at the 2020 Census. Palemban ...

, Sumatra, in what is now modern Indonesia. The battle resulted in the defeat of Chen Zuyi, who was captured and sent to China for execution.

Background

Chen Zuyi was a pirate leader who had seized Palembang on Sumatra.. He dominated the maritime route of the

Straits of Malacca The Strait of Malacca is a narrow stretch of water, 500 mi (800 km) long and from 40 to 155 mi (65–250 km) wide, between the Malay Peninsula (Peninsular Malaysia) to the northeast and the Indonesian island of Sumatra to the southwest, conne ...

. The chronicler

Ma Huan Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma ...

wrote that

Shi Jinqing Shi Jinqing (; Xiao'erjing: , died 1421) was a late 14th century chieftain in Palembang. He was a Muslim whose ancestors were Hui people from Hangzhou. The Ming imperial administration appointed him as chieftain ''xuanweishi'' () of the Palembang ...

was the person who had informed Admiral

about Chen Zuyi's depredations.. The ''Haiquo Quangji'' by Shen Moushang states that, when Chen Zuyi was planning to attack Zheng He, Shi Jinqing secretly reported Chen's plans to Zheng He.

Course

In 1407, while returning homewards during the first Ming treasure voyage, Zheng He and his associates engaged Chen Zuyi and his pirate fleet in battle at Palembang... The Chinese treasure fleet defeated Chen's pirate fleet in this encounter. During the confrontation, 5,000 pirates were killed, ten pirate ships were destroyed, and seven pirate ships were captured.. The ''

Mingshi The ''History of Ming'' or the ''Ming History'' (''Míng Shǐ'') is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the ''Twenty-Four Histories''. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of the Ming dynasty from 1368 to 1644. It ...

'' records that Zheng He was initially sent to Palembang to negotiate the pacification of Chen Zuyi and others, but it also states that Chen and the others plotted to attack the Ming forces... The '' Taizong Shilu'' records that Chen Zuyi tried to evade and withdraw from active engagement with the treasure fleet. Dreyer (2007) characterizes the much-later account of Chen Zuyi in the ''Mingshi'' as a disparaging attempt to portray him as an evil pirate and thereby contrast him from the Chinese merchants of Palembang who submitted. The fleet took three prisoners, including Chen Zuyi, back to the Chinese capital

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

for decapitation.

Aftermath

On 2 October 1407, Chen Zuyi and his lieutenants were executed.. On 29 October 1407, the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

of Ming issued an order to reward the officers and other crew members who went to battle against Chen Zuyi's pirate fleet at Palembang.. The Ming court appointed Shi Jinqing as the Pacification Superintendent of Palembang, thereby establishing an ally at Palembang and securing access to this important port.

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * {{Ming dynasty topics Treasure voyages

1407 in Asia