China says warrior Sinbad was a nice guy

NANJING, China, July 11 (UPI) -- On the 600th anniversary of his first departure from China, historians said Monday the seagoing warrior Sinbad was actually an envoy of international peace.

The Communist Party said Zheng He, widely believed to be the man's real name, was not the violent colonizer and pirate modern stories tell. Instead, the party said he was an ambassador of trade and Asian solidarity and cooperation. A bronze statue of the admiral in his home port in Nanjing has been altered to remove a sword and replace it with a world map, The Telegraph said Monday.

The celebration made no references to Zheng's conquests, and play down his background as a Muslim originally held captive at the Ming dynasty court.

"The Ming dynasty was rich enough and did not need to conquer or rob other countries. Instead it tried to promote trade with poorer countries in order to help them develop," said Rear-Admiral Zheng Ming, deputy director of the official Sinbad study association.