Xingcha Scenic Spot

"Xingcha Shenglan" was written by Fei Xin, a translator who accompanied Zheng He's fleet to the West in the Ming Dynasty. It is an important geographical and customary note recording China's exchanges with Southeast Asia, South Asia and West Asia in the early 15th century. The book is divided into two volumes. It systematically records the geographical location, climate and products, political systems, social customs, religious beliefs, and Sino-foreign trade in more than 30 countries including Champa, Siam, Java, Manchuria, Ceylon, Guri, Horumus, and Tianfang that Zheng He's fleet visited from the seventh year of Yongle to the Xuande period. The text is detailed and vivid, and is both documentary and literary. The style of this book is based on country, and each chapter is mostly concluded with a poem, combining rhyme and prose. It not only continues the traditional writing style of ancient Chinese overseas records, but also retains the characteristics of precious navigation logs. The descriptions of products (such as ambergris, pepper, gems), crafts (salt boiling, wine making, textiles), trade (use of money, exchange of goods), and special customs (such as funerals, clothing, and food) of various countries not only demonstrate China's level of understanding of the overseas world in the Ming Dynasty, but also provide first-hand documentary evidence for studying maritime exchanges and cross-cultural interactions in the early globalization process. As an indispensable part of the historical data system of Zheng He's voyages to the West, "Xingcha Shenglan", "Yingya Shenglan", "Xiyang Fanguozhi" and other works together constitute the text network of Western exploration in the Ming Dynasty. They have irreplaceable academic value for studying the history of ancient Chinese navigation, the history of Sino-foreign relations, and the spread of Eastern material culture.