The ''Xingcha Shenglan'' () was a Chinese historical work written by

Fei Xin Fei Xin (; - after 1436) was a member of the military personnel of the fleet of the Ming dynasty admiral Zheng He, known as the author of a book about the countries visited by Chinese ships. Biography Little is known about Fei Xin's life. His ...

. Fei Xin served as a soldier in the third, fifth, and seventh

Ming treasure voyages The Ming treasure voyages were the seven maritime expeditions undertaken by Ming China's treasure fleet between 1405 and 1433. The Yongle Emperor ordered the construction of the treasure fleet in 1403. The grand project resulted in far-reach ...

under the command of 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 ...

. The book contains descriptions of foreign places that the Chinese mariners had seen. The literary term "star raft" refers to an ambassador's flagship. According to Dreyer (2007), Fei Xin's book was strongly influenced by

Ma Huan Ma Huan (, Xiao'erjing: ) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese voyager and translator who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma ...

's ''

Yingya Shenglan The ''Yingya Shenglan'' (), written by Ma Huan in 1451, is a book about the countries visited by him over the course of the Ming treasure voyages led by Zheng He Zheng He (; 1371–1433 or 1435) was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diploma ...

''. Ma Huan was a translator and interpreter on Zheng He's fourth, sixth, and seventh treasure voyage. Fei Xin's original work comprised two chapters. However, he rewrote and illustrated the initial work before presenting it to the court.

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* * {{refend Chinese history texts 15th-century history books Travel books Ming dynasty literature Treasure voyages

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