Title: Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores

Author: Ma Huan (Ming Dynasty)

Annotator: Feng Chengjun

Publisher: Sino - Culture Press

Edition: 1st Edition, January 2019

Format: Hardcover, 16 - mo

Printed Sheets: 12.75

Word Count: 120,000 words

ISBN: 9787507550283

Price: 48.00 CNY

Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores mainly records the geographical locations, landscapes, social life, commercial trade, religious beliefs, and natural resources of twenty countries and regions visited during the fourth, sixth, and seventh voyages of Zheng He's fleet in 1412, 1415, and 1421 respectively. Together with Records of Western Barbarian Countries and Records of Marvels from the Star Raft, Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores is one of the three historical materials documenting Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas. It serves as evidence of China's overseas communications, especially the exchanges between the Ming Dynasty and the Western regions during Zheng He's voyages, thus possessing significant historical value.

Annotations to Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores is the result of Mr. Feng Chengjun's collation and interpretation of the original text of Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores, with reference to books such as Collection of Records, Remnants of the Past Dynasty, State Dynastic Anecdotes, Records of Western Tributary States, and History of the Ming Dynasty.

Ma Huan, with the courtesy name Zongdao, another courtesy name Ruqin, and self - titled Kuaiji Shanqiao, was from Kuaiji (now Shaoxing, Zhejiang). Proficient in Arabic, he served as an interpreter and accompanied Zheng He's fleet on the fourth, sixth, and seventh voyages to the Western Seas, visiting twenty countries and regions. In 1416, he completed the book Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores.

Feng Chengjun (1887 - 1946), with the courtesy name Ziheng, was from Xiakou, Hubei (now Hankou). In 1911, he obtained a Bachelor of Laws degree from the Sorbonne. Subsequently, he studied under the sinologist Paul Pelliot at the Collège de France. After returning to China, he successively served as a professor in the History Department of Peking University and Beijing Normal University. He was proficient in French, English, Belgian, Sanskrit, Mongolian, Arabic, Persian, as well as ancient Uyghur, Tocharian, and Phags - pa script. He was also well - versed in Chinese historical records and had profound attainments in history, historical geography, historical linguistics, and archaeology. Devoting his life to the study of the history of Sino - foreign communications and borderlands, he had numerous works and translations to his credit and was an important historian of Sino - foreign communications during the Republic of China.

The State of Champa / 001

The Kingdom of Java / 007

The State of Palembang (Originally, Siam was ranked third in the table of contents, and Palembang was ranked fourth) / 015

The Kingdom of Siam (Originally ranked third) / 019

The Kingdom of Malacca (Originally misspelled as Mangela) / 023

The State of Aru / 027

The Kingdom of Samudra (with the State of Nakhur as an appendix) / 029

The State of Lidai / 035

The State of Lambri / 037

The Kingdom of Ceylon (The Naked - Body State was originally ranked thirteenth) / 039

The State of Little Kollam (Originally misspelled as Kollam, ranked fourteenth) / 043

The Kingdom of Cochin (Originally ranked fifteenth) / 045

The Kingdom of Calicut (Originally ranked sixteenth) / 049

The State of Maldives (Originally ranked eleventh) / 055

The Kingdom of Dhofar (Originally ranked seventeenth) / 059

The Kingdom of Aden (Originally ranked nineteenth) / 063

The Kingdom of Bengal (Originally ranked twelfth) / 067

The Kingdom of Hormuz (Originally written as Hurmus, ranked eighteenth) / 071

The Kingdom of Mecca / 077

Postscript to Overall Survey of the Ocean Shores / 081

Appendix: Zheng He's Navigation Chart / 083

Post - translation Notes / 341