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 conferr ...

Life

Born near

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), Postal Map Romanization, alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu Provinces of China, province of the China, People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and t ...

in present-day

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with it ...

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 (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