Establishing a Common Ground—Admiral Zheng He as an Agent of Cultural Diplomacy in Malaysia

Abstract

Selective mining of history for examples of harmonious cooperation is one of the more pronounced features of China’s cultural diplomacy. In Southeast Asia the voyages of Zheng He, the world-famous eunuch admiral, are often invoked as a common ground on which to build new and beneficial relations with various countries of the region. Portrayed as an intrepid explorer as well as an envoy of peace bringing the know-how of an advanced Chinese culture, the admiral is ideally poised to embody the values the PRC government is eager to propagate. This is especially true in the case of Malaysia, where the Ming voyages coincided with the rise of Muslim political power and the founding of the first Malay state, the Sultanate of Malacca. In Malaysia the PRC’s message of friendly cooperation and peaceful contacts has been readily adopted and heartily promoted by government as well as certain non-governmental actors including members of the local Chinese community, who for various reasons contribute to the dissemination of the image the PRC would like to project. Focusing on selected sites of transnational societal spaces in Malaysia (The International Cheng Ho Society, Zheng He Museum in Malacca, and Malacca itself), the chapter analyses various ways in which the voyages are utilized, explaining why the idea of Zheng He’s voyages seen as a culture quest appeals to the respective actors involved in its promotion. Focus on the sites of interaction provides a much clearer, if more complicated picture of converging and overlapping interests and enables a better understanding of the various factors shaping and influencing cultural diplomacy in a complex relationship in which ethnic, social, and political conditions of the target country play an essential role.