"Western Barbarian Country Records Zheng He's Maritime Map and Two Types of Sea Routes and Compass Manuals"

Author: Gong Zhen
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The Records of Western States is one of the earliest documents recording Zheng He's voyages to the Western Oceans. The author participated in Zheng He's fleet and documented the conditions of 20 countries in Southeast Asia, South Asia, and West Asia, making it a valuable historical record for maritime history and the history of Sino-foreign exchanges. It is now annotated and compiled based on the only surviving manuscript of the Zhisheng Dao Zhai copy, followed by nine related articles. Zheng He's Maritime Charts were drawn in the late Ming Dynasty based on the sea charts and compass logs used during Zheng He's voyages. They include over 500 place names encountered during the voyages, making them China's earliest maritime charts. They are now reduced from the original prints and accompanied by a place name index indicating their current locations. Two Sea Routes and Compass Logs includes Windward and Leeward Routes and Compass Methods for Navigating by the Stars, originally used by sailors in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties for long-distance ocean navigation. They are valuable historical records for maritime history. An index of place names is appended at the end of the book.