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Zheng He (born c. 1371, Kunyang, near Kunming, Yunnan province, China—died 1433, Calicut [now Kozhikode], India) was an admiral and diplomat who helped extend the maritime and commercial influence of China throughout the regions bordering the Indian Ocean. He commanded seven naval expeditions almost a century before the Portuguese reached India by sailing around the southern tip of Africa. Zheng He was from a Hui (Chinese Muslim) family. His father was a hajji, a Muslim...