When Zheng He was born， he was named Ma Wenhe． He was born in Yunnan in 1371． （1）　　 However， when the Ming Dynasty was established （建立）， the army caught Ma Wenhe and took him to one of the emperor's sons， Prince Zhu Di．

    Ma Wenhe served the prince well and soon he became one of the prince's closest advisors． （2）　　． Later the prince became the Emperor of the Ming Dynasty as the Yongle Emperor．    The Yongle Emperor wanted to show other countries the greatness and power of the Ming Dynasty． （3）　　． He made Zheng He the leader of a fleet （舰队） and ordered him to explore （探索） the world．

    On Zheng He's first trip， he traveled all the way to Calicut， India． With over 200ships and nearly 28，000men， he visited many countries along the way． His first trip lasted from 1405to1407． Zheng He and his fleet traded and made close relations at the places they visited．

    Zheng He continued to sail for the Ming Dynasty over the rest of his life． He traveled to many faraway places， going all the way to the African coast and establishing trade relations with over 25countries． （4）　　． He also brought back diplomats （外交官） from many countries to meet with the Chinese Emperor．

A． Some of the ships were longer than a football field． B． The prince trusted him and changed his name to Zheng He． C． His father and grandfather were Muslim leaders of the Yuan Dynasty． D． He brought back all kinds of animals such as giraffes and camels． E． He also wanted to establish trade relations with other peoples of the world．