Question

in the 15th century, zheng he led the largest fleet the world had ever seen, yet historians have only recently begun to learn the details of his voyages. why was one of history’s most prolific early explorers forgotten for so long?
zheng was born to a muslim family in the mongol empire. however, after being captured at the age of ten by invading chinese soldiers, he was forced to work as a s nt for zhu di, the emperor’s son.
zhu was so impressed by zheng’s faithful service that, when zhu became emperor, he commissioned his servant to build and lead the greatest fleet of ships the world had ever seen. the emperor’s hope was to receive tribute and recognition from cultures across the seas.
zhengs fleet included 3,500 ships, some of which were 400 feet long, a size so unprecedented that many historians believed accounts of these ships were exaggerated—until scientists discovered the remains of one in 1962. from 1405 to 1433, zheng would lead seven voyages and travel over 31,000 miles, expanding chinese presence throughout south asia and east africa.
however, due to the expense of military campaigns and pressure from political and religious advisors, the emperor burned the fleet after zhengs final voyage and ordered the destruction of all official records of zheng’s expeditions.
which inference is best supported by the text?
choose 1 answer:
a zheng hes voyages were forgotten for so long because he often failed to complete missions.
b local politics were part of the reason that zheng hes voyages were forgotten for so long.
c although zheng he was long praised as a hero of early exploration, his fleet failed to defeat the mongol invaders.
d zheng he failed to keep official records of his voyages and thus is only remembered in secondhand accounts.

Explanation:

The text states that due to the expense of military campaigns and pressure from political and religious advisors, the emperor burned the fleet and ordered the destruction of all official records of Zheng He's expeditions. This political - related action contributed to his voyages being forgotten for a long time. Option A has no basis in the text as there's no mention of mission - failure. Option C is incorrect as there's no mention of a conflict with Mongol invaders. Option D is wrong because it was the emperor who ordered the destruction of records, not Zheng He's failure to keep them.

Answer:

B. Local politics were part of the reason that Zheng He's voyages were forgotten for so long.