SOURCE : LEGASI ZHENG HE
Zheng He was a cunuch, so how could he have decendants?
Rosay Wang Ma, a Malaysian Socio-Anthropologists claims to have discovered Zheng He's 20th, 21st, 22nd and 23rd generations of decendants in Chiang Mai. The reason, she says, is that according to the Chinese tradition, Zheng He was given a few children by a brother in order to carry the family name of Zheng.
Cheerichen, the 21st generation decendant of Zheng He, is a retired Associate Professor of English and a playwright. She knows little about her relationship to the great Admiral, but knows a lot about the story of her grandfather, Zheng Chonglin. She relates the story of the spacious living room of an old wooden house which he built in 1909 in Chiang Mai.
Zheng Chonglin was the son of a wealthy Yunnanese Muslim trader. He was mischevous "Shao ye" (Young Master) who behaved irresponsibly and aimlessly. His marriage, arranged by his parents, also failed to settle him down. As a last resort, his father gave his a caravan of 100 horses carrying silks, copper pots and pans, and ask him to leave home to fend for himself. This is how Chonglin first came to Thailand, leaving behind his young wife and 2 daughters in China.
In the small town of Tak, he married an attractive young woman of Laos-Thai parentage. Getting rich from trading, Chonglin soon became a respectable figure among his co-religious compatriots, and the local community. Zheng Chonglin had 10 children with his second wife. His youngest daughter Puangpet Wongluekiat, the 20th generation descendant of Zheng He, is now 77 years old. She is still staying in her father's house today.
Like his great ancestor, Zheng Chonglin had made extensive contributions to the Thai King and the country. Across the road from his house, he helped build the first Chinese mosque in Chiang Mai. He also offered land, free of charge, to the government for the construction of an airport in Chiang Mai. To facilitate the construction of the railroad connecting Bangkok and Chiang Mai, he financed the digging of a tunnel near Lampang.
In his later years, Chonglin made generous financial contribution to public amenities and was entrusted with many responsibilities by the Thai King. At the age of 92, he set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca. He passed away the day before he was supposed to return. He was buried in the Holy Land.
** About Rosey Wang Ma
Rosey Wang Ma started her academic career as a French Language lecturer and later went on to Education Counselling training. Presently, she is a PhD candidate at ATMA (Institute of Malay World and Civilization), Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia. She is also a freelance researcher in the field of Chinese Muslims. Her published work include:
1. Chinese Muslim Converts in Malaysia - 2003 Monograph.Southeast Asia Research Paper No.62. Center for Asia-Pacific Area Studies, Academia Sinica, Taiwan.
2. Chinese Muslim in Malaysia, Their History and Development: 2003. In Chinese studies of the Malay World, A Comparative Approach (pp.140-172) (eds). Ding Choo Ming & Ooi Kee Beng. Eastern Universities Press, Singapore.
3. The Hui Diaspora: 2005 in Encyclopedia of Diasporas (pp.113-124) (eds) Melvin Ember, Carol R. Ember, Ian Skoggard, Kluwer Academic / Plenum Publishers, New York.
4. Shifting Indentitites: Chinese Muslims in Malaysia: 2005 > In Asian Ethnicity, Vol. 6, No. 2 June 2005. Carfax Publishing , Taylor & Francis Group.
5. Current Project : Hui, Ho and New Brothers: Chinese Muslims in Maritime Asia, Culture and Society for the International Conference on Maritime Asia and Overseas Chinese, August 2005, Singapore.
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