author
Xin Fei
b. 1388
A little-known Ming-era writer and traveler, this author is remembered for a vivid account of the places visited during Zheng He’s great voyages. His work offers a rare window into how a 15th-century Chinese observer described the wider world.
2 Audiobooks
About the author
Fei Xin was a Chinese author and translator from the Ming dynasty, born around 1385 or 1388 and known to have lived after 1436. He is best known for taking part in the maritime expeditions of Admiral Zheng He, serving with the fleet during several of its voyages across the Indian Ocean.
His lasting reputation comes from Xingcha Shenglan (The Overall Survey of the Star Raft), a book describing the foreign lands, peoples, and customs encountered on those journeys. The work is valued for preserving a firsthand Chinese perspective on long-distance travel and cross-cultural contact in the early 15th century.
Very little is known for certain about his personal life, which makes the surviving record of his writing all the more important. For modern readers, his book stands as both a travel account and a historical snapshot of the world seen through the eyes of someone who sailed at the edge of one of China’s most famous eras of exploration.