Shen Mingzhen, the daughter of a Suzhou merchant, had been familiar with poetry and books since she was a child, and secretly admired Xu Xiake's ambitions. Due to the decline of his family, he was betrothed and remarried. On the eve of the wedding, he cut his hair and disguised himself. He escaped from confinement with "Xu Xiake's Travels" and medical tools and silver coins.
She changed her name to Shen Zhao and went south to Yue Harbor. With her medical skills and arithmetic, she was taught by the captain Lin Haisheng to sail. After Lin was killed, she inherited his legacy of voyage and went south to Southeast Asia with his mute aunt, a mixed-race orphan girl. In Malacca, he used medical skills to mediate conflicts and draw sea charts, and his reputation gradually grew. He met a court spy by chance and got his secret help to continue his journey westward.
In Guri, India, she combined traditional Chinese medicine with local wisdom to cure plague and enter the circle of disciples. However, her identity was exposed and she was hunted down. She died trying to save her. Mingzhen fell into the sea and was rescued by an Arab merchant ship. After surviving the disaster, she suddenly realized that the significance of the journey was not only to record, but also to communicate with civilization.
Later, he gathered his knowledge in Istanbul and compiled the "Si Hai Fang Yu Zhi", a fusion of East and West, and asked someone to send some of the manuscripts and safety letters back to his homeland. At the age of 40, she set sail again, sailing towards the unknown coast of Africa. His work was finally sent back to the Ming Dynasty and was signed "Tianya Ke". No one knew that the author was a woman. Only her parents shed tears when they saw the words, knowing that she had finally gained a free and vast world.
Concept: Women not only belong to the back house, but also belong to the vast world. Exploration and knowledge-seeking are freedoms that transcend time. Real growth comes from measuring the world with your feet and witnessing civilization with your eyes.