The Crossroads of the Aether In 1424, the Yongle Emperor died.
His successor, the Hongxi Emperor (reigned 1424–1425), decided
to curb the influence at court. Zheng He made one more voyage
under the Xuande Emperor (reigned 1426–1435), but after that
Chinese treasure ship fleets ended. Zheng He died during the
treasure fleet’s last voyage. …Chinese merchants continued to
trade in Japan and southeast Asia, but Imperial officials gave
up any plans to maintain a Chinese presence in the Indian Ocean
and even destroyed most of the nautical charts that Zheng He had
carefully prepared. The decommissioned treasure ships sat in
harbors until they rotted away, and Chinese craftsmen forgot the
technology of building such large vessels. (Source)