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Scurvy was the number one disease that plagued sailors. How did the Zheng He treasure ships prevent scurvy in their sailors?

KillingTime
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Ada Wang
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    I think you meant "scurvy", not "sepsis". And the answer might be "coastal navigation", you need 30-40 days of poor diet to have scurvy. – Carlos Martin Aug 29 '20 at 06:58
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    Welcome to H:SE! I like the premise of the question (i.e., diet on Zheng He's voyages) but you should demonstrate previous research beyond links to relevant Wiki articles (i.e., is this topic not mentioned there or is the detail insufficient)? – gktscrk Aug 29 '20 at 08:01
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    It takes weeks for scurvy to develop. Zheng He's voyages largely hugged the coast, following well-tread trade routes. Is there reason to believe they'd be short on fresh produce for prolonged periods? Scurvy doesn't seem to be a particularly notable problem for European sailors prior to the long distance voyages on the age of sail either. – Semaphore Aug 29 '20 at 08:01
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    Keep in mind that De Menzies'theories of Zheng He visiting every place in the world (except, curiosly, those places where such a visit would have been well documented) are generally not considered to be serious. – SJuan76 Aug 29 '20 at 09:42
  • Haven't tried looking, so I could be way wrong, but I'd be surprised if the sources we have for Zheng He go into that kind of mundane detail. – T.E.D. Aug 29 '20 at 17:09
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    Same question on Reddit has a decent answer: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskHistorians/comments/4mzlpx/were_zheng_hes_voyages_afflicted_with_scurvy_did/ – Brian Z Aug 29 '20 at 20:32
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    I believe years ago, answering a similar question, I found sources claiming that the diet of Chinese landsmen and sailors was much better at preventing scurvy than that of westerners. I belive it was Avoiding the Die straits: An Inquiry into Food Provisioning and Scurvy in the Maritime and Military History of China and wider East Asia Mathieu Torck, Pages 132-134, 146, 150 - https://history.stackexchange.com/questions/34369/were-shipboard-gardens-ever-typical/34383#34383 – MAGolding Aug 29 '20 at 21:02

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