Xingcha Shenglan

The Xingcha Shenglan (Chinese: 星槎勝覽; lit. 'The Overall Survey of the Star Raft') is a Chinese historical work written by Fei Xin.^[1] Fei Xin served as a soldier in the third, fifth, and seventh Ming treasure voyages under the command of Admiral Zheng He.^[1] The book contains descriptions of foreign places that the Chinese mariners had seen. The literary term "star raft" refers to an ambassador's flagship.^[2]

According to Dreyer (2007), Fei Xin's book was strongly influenced by Ma Huan's Yingya Shenglan.^[1] Ma Huan was a translator and interpreter on Zheng He's fourth, sixth, and seventh treasure voyage.^[1]

Fei Xin's original work comprised two chapters.^[3] However, he rewrote and illustrated the initial work before presenting it to the court.^[3]

See also

• Ma Huan's Yingya Shenglan [瀛涯勝覽]
• Gong Zhen's Xiyang Fanguo Zhi [西洋番國志]

References

1. Dreyer 2007, 7
2. Dreyer 2007, 6
3. Duyvendak 1938, 394

Literature

• Dreyer, Edward L. (2007), Zheng He: China and the oceans in the early Ming dynasty, 1405-1433, Pearson Longman, ISBN 978-0-321-08443-9
• Duyvendak, J. J. L. (1938). "The True Dates of the Chinese Maritime Expeditions in the Early Fifteenth Century". T'oung Pao. 34 (5): 341–413. doi:10.1163/156853238X00171. JSTOR 4527170.