Depiction of a black ghost  from the Land of the Great Western Sea. Source: Huang Qing zhigong tu; Illustrations of the tribute-bearing people of the imperial Qing  1761 (a lady and a man from Africa as ambassadors to the Qing dynasty).

Gong Zhen: Xiyang Fanguo Zhi (1434)

(A record of the Western Ocean and foreign nations)  

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Gong Zhen 巩珍 was a translator and writer famous for his association with the Chinese admiral Zheng He. Gong Zhen born in Nanjing was first appointed as an advisor to the Xuande Emperor then in 1431 he became secretary to the admiral Zheng He. He is the author of Xiyang Fanguo Zhi (西洋番国志; 西洋番國誌; 'The Annals of Foreign Nations in the Western Ocean') published in 1434. He did not visit East Africa but found East African products in the Arab harbours.

 

Taken from: zh.wikisource.org/zh-hans/西洋番國誌

 

Aden

In the 19th year of Youngle….

The king decreed his people that only those with valuable things were allowed to trade. And our country was able to buy cat-eyes (1) weighting two shien (2) and large pearls, assorted elegant gu and other stones, several coral trees of two feet high, five cases of coral pieces, and light-colored amber, rose water, unicorn (3), lion, flowered zebra, leopard, camel chicken (4), white dove and so on...

 

Animals are elephants, camels, donkeys, mules, cattle, sheep, chickens, ducks, dogs, cats, only no pigs and geese. . . . bleu and white camel chicken (4), Qi-lin (5), and lion. A zebra which is like a mule with a body white as wheat flour from the eyebrows start stripes all over its body. The front legs of the qi-lin (5) are 8-9 feet the rear six feet, a long neck raises the head for a full 16 feet. It can not be ridden. There are two short horns. It has the tail of an ox and the body of a deer, The hoof is split in three.  It eats millet bean flour cake. The lion is shaped like tiger, black and yellow but does not have the stripes….

 

Ho lu mo si guo 忽魯謨廝國 (6)

In the 5th year of Xuande (7)

Seven interpreters were selected to go in local ships, to be back in one year. They went and bought assorted wonderful things rare treasure and qi-lin (5), lion, camel-chicken (4), and a picture of the sanctuary and brought it to Beijing. The king also picked local products, and sends an envoy to present tribune along with the seven.

 

Tiang fang guo 天方國 (Mecca)

The local products are  rose water, eight kinds of incense, qi-lin (5), lion, camel-chicken, antelope, and assorted treasures and so on gem, pearl, coral, amber.

(1) cat-eyes: The three main varieties of chrysoberyl are: ordinary yellow-to-green chrysoberyl, cat's eye or cymophane, and alexandrite.

(2) weighting two shien; ch'ih: now one third of a meter.

(3) unicorn: giraffe

(4) camel chicken: ostrich

(5) Qi-lin: or Kirin; giraffe

(6) Ho lu mo si guo: Hormuz; is a city on the island of Hormuz off the coast of Iran; important in former times as trade center.

(7) Xuande: Hsuan-te: Hsüan-te reign (1426–36). Also known as Xuande Emperor.