Ying Ya Sheng Lan

What it is

This is a book written by Ma Huan, an interpreter who sailed on several of the Ming treasure voyages. He recorded his observations of the countries visited, arranging his notes into a foreword and text soon after returning to China, with the book finally published in 1451. No copy of the original survives; later editions preserve the text with some differences.

Why it matters

The book is a rare firsthand account of the great naval expeditions sent abroad during the reign of the Yongle Emperor, who ordered the voyages that Ma Huan took part in. It shows how the emperor's ambitions reached far beyond China's borders, and gives historians direct testimony instead of later retellings.

Look closer

• Why might an interpreter's account be especially valuable compared to an official court record?
• What does the existence of several differing later copies tell you about how old texts survive?
• What might Ma Huan have left out or exaggerated, and why?