Gong Zhen () was a fifteenth-century translator and writer famous for his association with the Chinese admiral

Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat, fleet admiral, and court eunuch during China's early Ming dynasty. He was originally born as Ma He in a Muslim family and later adopted the surname Zheng conferred ...

Life

Born near

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, Postal romanization, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an Eastern China, eastern coastal Provinces of the People's Republic of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is o ...

Province during the

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

(1368–1644),Chinese Peoples Press
/ref> Gong Zhen's dates of birth and death are not recorded but it is known that his father was a soldier. Gong Zhen was first appointed as an advisor to the

Xuande Emperor The Xuande Emperor (16 March 1399 31 January 1435), personal name Zhu Zhanji (朱瞻基), was the fifth Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigned from 1425 to 1435. His era name "Xuande" means "proclamation of virtue". Ruling over a relatively p ...

(r. 1425–1435), then in 1431 he became secretary to the admiral

. Gong Zhen accompanied Zheng He on his voyages to the Western Ocean until 1433. His role was as advisor, translator and diarist in the various countries that Zheng He's treasure fleet visited. Gong Zhen is best known as the author of ''Xiyang Fanguo Zhi'' () published in 1434.National Library of Australia
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gong, Zhen Naval history of China Chinese travel writers Year of death unknown Ming dynasty writers Writers from Nanjing Year of birth unknown Treasure voyages 15th-century Chinese translators