中国城记:南京和世界紧紧相连

　　The first two voyages made travels to what are now Indonesia, Singapore and India. Here Zheng and his fleet concluded contracts for the ever-growing and allimportant spice trade that added to the wealth of the emperor. Additionally, Zheng won favor with local leaders who in turn traveled to Nanjing to pay tribute to the imperial court. One such example was that the king of Boni (what is now modern day Brunei) visited China and upon his passing away was even buried in Nanjing with full imperial pomp usually reserved for an emperor. China was opening up to the world.

　　前两次的航程，到达了现在的印度尼西亚、新加坡和印度等地。郑和与当地达成了贸易协议，各种贸易日益增长，增加了明朝的财富。此外，郑和获得了当地首领的欢迎，引起了他们对南京的向往，他们也因此来到南京，向当时的大明朝纳贡。其中一个例子就是渤泥（现在的文莱）国王访问中国，他去世后葬于南京，享受帝王之礼。当时的中国，向世界敞开了大门。

　　The later voyages of Zheng extended to Africa and the Arab world. For the first time Chinese explorers could see other great nation-states of the world. On the African coast the treasure fleet was welcomed by large cities built with stone, not barbaric peoples as once thought. The coffers were filled not only with the standard treasures and artifacts but a menagerie of wild African animals including ostriches and giraffes to be sent back to the emperor.

　　后来，郑和的航海远到非洲和阿拉伯世界，中国的探索者也因此目睹其他一些世界大国的风采。在非洲海岸边，舰队受到了用石头铸成的大城市里的人的欢迎。这样，船队中不只是装着金银珠宝和工艺品，还有小型动物园，里面有来自非洲的动物，如鸵鸟和长颈鹿都被带到南京，敬献给皇帝。

　　The relationships made on Arab land gave the Chinese doctors and pharmacologists who accompanied Zheng access to new medicinal herbs and creations. Also, specifically for the Muslim Zheng these trips gave him and his court the ability to visit not only mosques but also other religious sites of Buddhism along the way. These voyages helped to spread not only tangible but also the spiritual and philosophical components of Chinese culture.

　　在与阿拉伯国家进行贸易中，也使得陪同郑和下西洋的中国医生和药理学家，获得了新的草药和创造发明。此外，对于身为穆斯林的郑和而言，航海之旅还使他和船队能参观一路上的清真寺和其他一些宗教场所，如佛教寺庙。这些航海之旅，帮助传播了中国的物质文明，以及中国的文化精神和哲学思想。