Ma Huan (simplified Chinese: 马欢; traditional Chinese: 馬歡; pinyin: Mǎ Huān, Xiao'erjing: ﻣَﺎ ﺧُﻮًا) (c. 1380–1460), courtesy name Zongdao (Chinese: 宗道; pinyin: Zōngdào), pen name Mountain-woodcutter (會稽山樵), was a Chinese explorer, translator, and travel writer who accompanied Admiral Zheng He on three of his seven expeditions to the Western Oceans. Ma was a Muslim and was born in Zhejiang's Kuaiji Commandery, an area within the modern borders of Shaoxing. He knew several Classical Chinese and Buddhist texts. He learned Arabic to be able to translate.
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👉 Ma Huan in the context of Mao Kun map
Mao Kun map, usually referred to in modern Chinese sources as Zheng He's Navigation Map (traditional Chinese: 鄭和航海圖; simplified Chinese: 郑和航海图; pinyin: Zhèng Hé hánghǎi tú), is a set of navigation charts published in the Ming dynasty military treatise Wubei Zhi. The book was compiled by Mao Yuanyi in 1621 and published in 1628; the name of the map refers to his grandfather Mao Kun (Chinese: 茅坤; pinyin: Máo Kūn) from whose library the map is likely to have originated. The map is often regarded as a surviving document from the expeditions of Zheng He in addition to accounts written by Zheng's officers, such as Yingya Shenglan by Ma Huan and Xingcha Shenglan by Fei Xin. It is the earliest known Chinese map to give an adequate representation of Southern Asia, Persia, Arabia and East Africa.
In this Dossier
Ma Huan in the context of Timurid Empire
The Timurid Empire was a late medieval, culturally Persianate, Turco-Mongol empire that dominated Greater Iran in the early 15th century, comprising modern-day Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, much of Central Asia, the South Caucasus, and parts of contemporary Pakistan, North India, and Turkey. The empire had a syncretic culture and combined Turkic, Mongolic, and Persian influences, with the last members of the dynasty being regarded as "ideal Perso-Islamic rulers".
The empire was founded by Timur (Tamerlane), a warlord of Turco-Mongol lineage, who established the empire in 1370 and ruled it until his death in 1405. He saw himself as the great restorer of the Mongol Empire of Genghis Khan, regarding himself as Genghis's heir, and closely associated with the Borjigin. Timur continued to have strong trade relations with Ming China and the Golden Horde, with Chinese diplomats like Ma Huan and Chen Cheng regularly traveling west to Samarkand to conduct trade. The empire led to the Timurid Renaissance, particularly during the reign of astronomer and mathematician Ulugh Begh.
Ma Huan in the context of Yingya Shenglan
The Yingya Shenglan, written by Ma Huan and published in 1451, is a travelogue about the countries visited by the Chinese over the course of the Ming treasure voyages led by Zheng He.
Ma Huan in the context of Xingcha Shenglan
The Xingcha Shenglan (Chinese: 星槎勝覽; lit. 'The Overall Survey of the Star Raft') is a Chinese historical work written by Fei Xin. Fei Xin served as a soldier in the third, fifth, and seventh Ming treasure voyages under the command of Admiral Zheng He. 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's Yingya Shenglan. Ma Huan was a translator and interpreter on Zheng He's fourth, sixth, and seventh treasure voyage.