Zheng He in the context of "Ming dynasty"

Temasek (IPA: /təˈmɑːseɪk/ tə-MAH-sayk or /-ɪk/ tə-MAH-sikk, also spelt Temasik or Tumasik) is an early recorded name of a settlement on the site of modern Singapore. The name appears in early Malay and Javanese literature, and it is also recorded in Yuan and Ming Chinese documents as 單馬錫 (pinyin: Dānmǎxī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tan-má-sek) or 淡馬錫 (pinyin: Dànmǎxī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tām-má-sek). Two distinct settlements were recorded in Temasek – Long Ya Men (Malay: Batu Berlayar) and Ban Zu (Malay: Pancur). The name Temasek continues to feature prominently in modern Singapore, particularly in the names of national honours, institutions, schools and corporations.

Mao Kun map, usually referred to in modern Chinese sources as Zheng He's Navigation Map (traditional Chinese: 鄭和航海圖; simplified Chinese: 郑和航海图; pinyin: Zhèng Hé hánghǎi tú), is a set of navigation charts published in the Ming dynasty military treatise Wubei Zhi. The book was compiled by Mao Yuanyi [zh] in 1621 and published in 1628; the name of the map refers to his grandfather Mao Kun (Chinese: 茅坤; pinyin: Máo Kūn) from whose library the map is likely to have originated. The map is often regarded as a surviving document from the expeditions of Zheng He in addition to accounts written by Zheng's officers, such as Yingya Shenglan by Ma Huan and Xingcha Shenglan by Fei Xin. It is the earliest known Chinese map to give an adequate representation of Southern Asia, Persia, Arabia and East Africa.

Long Ya Men or Longyamen (simplified Chinese: 龙牙门; traditional Chinese: 龍牙門; pinyin: lóngyámén; Malay: Batu Berlayar) or Dragon's Teeth Gate, is the name that Chinese explorer Wang Dayuan recorded for Batu Belayar, a craggy granite outcrop that formerly stood at the gateway to Keppel Harbour in Singapore. In his description, "The strait runs between the two hills of the Temasek (Chinese: 單馬錫; pinyin: Dānmǎxī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tan-má-sek or Chinese: 淡馬錫; pinyin: Dànmǎxī; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Tām-má-sek) natives which looked like a dragon's teeth." From there, the name Long Ya Men or Dragon Teeth's Gate was born.

The rocky outcrop served as a navigational aid to ancient mariners sailing through the swift waters of the narrow channel, but was subsequently destroyed by the British in 1848 to widen the channel for larger vessels to sail through. In 2005, a symbolic replica was erected by the Singapore government near its original site to mark the role it played in Singapore's maritime history.

Explorers are listed below with their common names, countries of origin (modern and former), centuries of activity and main areas of exploration.

A eunuch (/ˈjuːnək/ YOO-nək) is a man who has been castrated. Throughout history, castration often served a specific social function. In China, castration included removal of the penis as well as the testicles (see emasculation). Both organs were cut off with a knife at the same time.

Eunuchs existed in the Chinese court starting around 146 AD during the reign of Emperor Huan of Han, and were common as civil servants as early as the time of the Qin dynasty. From those ancient times until the Sui dynasty, castration was both a traditional punishment (one of the Five Punishments) and a means of gaining employment in the Imperial service. Certain eunuchs gained immense power that occasionally superseded that of even the Grand Secretaries, such as the Ming dynasty official Zheng He. Self-castration was a common practice, although it was not always performed completely, which led to it being made illegal.

The Ming treasure voyages were maritime expeditions undertaken by Ming China's treasure fleet between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in seven far-reaching ocean voyages to the coastal territories and islands of the South China Sea and Indian Ocean. Admiral Zheng He was commissioned to command the fleet for the expeditions. Six of the voyages occurred during the Yongle Emperor's reign (r. 1402–1424) and the seventh voyage occurred during the Xuande Emperor's reign (r. 1425–1435). The first three voyages reached up to Calicut on India's Malabar Coast, while the fourth voyage went as far as Hormuz in the Persian Gulf. In the last three voyages, the fleet traveled up to the Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

The Chinese expeditionary fleet was heavily militarized and carried great amounts of treasures, which served to project Chinese power and wealth to the known world. They brought back many foreign ambassadors whose kings and rulers were willing to declare themselves tributaries of China. During the course of the voyages, they destroyed Chen Zuyi's pirate fleet at Palembang, captured the Sinhalese Kotte kingdom of King Alakeshvara, and defeated the forces of the Semudera pretender Sekandar in northern Sumatra. The Chinese maritime exploits brought many countries into China's tributary system and sphere of influence through both military and political supremacy, thus incorporating the states into the greater Chinese world order under Ming suzerainty. Moreover, the Chinese restructured and established control over an expansive maritime network in which the region became integrated and its countries became interconnected on an economic and political level.

Ibn Battuta (/ˌɪbən bætˈtuːtɑː/; 24 February 1304 – 1368/1369) was a Maghrebi Muslim traveller, explorer and scholar. Over a period of 30 years from 1325 to 1354, he visited much of Africa, Asia, and the Iberian Peninsula. Near the end of his life, Ibn Battuta dictated an account of his journeys, titled A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and the Marvels of Travelling, commonly known as The Rihla. Ibn Battuta travelled more than any other explorer in pre-modern history, totalling around 117,000 km (73,000 mi), surpassing Zheng He with about 50,000 km (31,000 mi) and Marco Polo with 24,000 km (15,000 mi).