Yuan 170.1b
Yong-le: Year 13, Month 11, Day 7 (7 Dec 1415)
The Auxiliary Minister of Rites Lu Zhen memorialized that the giraffe to be presented by the country of Ma-lin was about to arrive and requested that on the day of its arrival he be allowed to lead the assembled ministers in offering a memorial of felicitation. The Emperor said: "Previously, the Han-lin (19) Academy advised that they had finished arranging the Five Classics, the Four Books (20) and the Xing-li Da-quan (21) and wished to present them with a memorial to me. I allowed this. The ways in which former Emperors have ruled the people are of benefit in educating future generations. It was thus that I allowed a memorial to be presented. What sort of disadvantages or benefits will the giraffe bring?" The matter was shelved.

Yuan 170.2b-3a
Yong-le (2): Year 13, Month 11, Day 19 (20 Dec 1415)
The country of Ma-lin (Malindi) and other various fan countries (17) presented a giraffe , "heavenly horses" and "spirit deer" . The Emperor held an audience at Feng-tian Gate (22) to receive them. The assembled civil and military officials all kowtowed (23) and offered felicitations to the Emperor, saying: "Your Majesty's virtuous power (?) has extended to even the most distant yi, resulting in this auspicious portent." The Emperor said: "How could it be my virtuous power which brought this about? It is all due to my Imperial father's great benevolence and deep concern. You ministers have also assisted through your efforts. It is thus that the distant peoples have all come. In future, you should make increased efforts to be virtuous and worthy so that you can further assist me. When the distant peoples come to Court we must not become conceited."

Yuan 182.1a
Yong-le: Year 14, Month 11, Day 1 (19 Nov 1416)
The envoys sent by the various fan countries (17) of Calicut, Java, Melaka, Champa (4), Samudera (5), Nan-wu-li (24), Sha-li-wan-ni (25), Pahang (9), Sri Lanka, Mogadishu, Liu-shan (14), Nan-bo-li (8), Bu-la-wa (26), Aden, Ma-lin, La-sa (27), Hormuz (12), Cochin (7) and the Old Port Pacification Superintendency (28) offered tribute of horses, rhinoceros, elephants and other local products.

Yuan 182.1a-b
Yong-le (2): Year 14, Month 11, Day 8 (26 Nov 1416)
A banquet was conferred upon the envoys sent by the various countries of Melaka, Calicut, Java, Champa (4), Sri Lanka, Mogadishu, Liu-shan (14), Nan-bo-li (8), Bu-la-wa (26), Aden, Samudera (5), Ma-lin (Malindi), La-sa (27), Hormuz (12), Cochin (7), Nan-wu-li (24), Sha-li-wan-ni (25) and Pahang (9), and the Old Port Pacification Superintendency (28).

Yuan 183.1a-2a
Yong-le: Year 14, Month 12, Day 10 (28 Dec 1416)
As the envoys from the various countries of Calicut, Java, Melaka, Champa (4), Sri Lanka, Mogadishu, Liu-shan (14), Nan-bo-li (8), Bu-la-wa (26), Aden, Samudera, Ma-lin, La-sa (27), Hormuz (12), Cochin (7), Nan-wu-li (24), Sha-li-wan-ni (25) and Pahang (9), as well as from the Old Port Pacification Superintendency (28), were departing to return home, suits of clothing made from patterned fine silks were conferred upon all of them. The eunuch Zheng He (3) and others were sent with Imperial orders as well as embroidered fine silks, silk gauzes, variegated thin silks and other goods to confer upon the kings of these countries, (etc)

Yuan 216.1a
The kings of 17 countries, including Yi-si-han-da-er Sha (29), the king of the country of Melaka, presented memorials inscribed in gold and offered tribute of precious stones, coral, ambergris, he-ding, rhinoceros horn, elephants tusks, lions, rhinoceros, "spirit deer" and camels. Also, the envoys sent by Duan-a-la Sha (30), the son of the king of the country of Aru (6), and by Sha Zhe-han (31), the son of the king of the country of Nan-bo-li (8), offered tribute of local products. Suits of clothing interwoven with gold thread, silver, copper cash, ramie-silk, silk gauzes and variegated thin silks, as appropriate, were conferred upon all the envoys

Yuan 233.5a
Yong-le (2): Year 19, Month 1, Day 25 (26 Feb 1421)
The envoys sent by the 16 countries of Hormuz (12), Aden, Zu-fa-er (32), La-sa (27), Bu-la-wa (26), Mogadishu, Calicut, Cochin (7), Jia-yi-le (11), Sri Lanka, Liu Shan (33), Nan-bo-li (8), Samudera (5), Aru (6), Melaka and Gan-ba-li (34), offered tribute of fine horses and local products. It was ordered that the Ministry of Rites banquet them in reward.

Yuan 263.2a
Yong-le: Year 21, Month 9, Day 20 (24 Oct 1423)
The Ministry of Rites memorialized that the 1,200 persons who had been sent by the 16 countries of Xi-yang (35), Calicut, Hormuz (12), Sri Lanka, Aden, Zu-fa-er (32), La-sa (27), Bu-la-wa (26), Mogadishu, Cochin (7), Jia-yi-le (11), Liu Shan (33), Nan-bo-li (8), Samudera (5), Aru (6) and Melaka to offer tribute of local products, had arrived at the capital. The Emperor gave orders to the Heir Apparent as follows: "The weather is turning colder. In looking after the tribute envoys from the fan countries (17) to the South-west, order the Ministry of Rites to banquet them in reward at the Interpreters Institute in accordance with the regulations. Confer rewards upon them and send them back to their countries. As to those who have brought local products to trade, have the officials give them paper money equivalent to the value of the products in exchange."

(1) Jianwan: The Jianwen Emperor (1377- 1402) was the second Emperor of the Ming dynasty.

(2) Yong-le; Youngle: The Yongle Emperor — personal name Zhu Di, or Chu Ti— was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424.

(3) Zheng He:郑和 (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 conferred by the Yongle Emperor. He commanded expeditionary treasure voyages to Southeast Asia, the Indian subcontinent, Western Asia, and East Africa from 1405 to 1433.

(4) Champa: on the southeast Asia peninsula.

(5) Samudera: The Samudera Pasai Sultanate, was a Muslim harbour kingdom on the north coast of Sumatra from the 13th to the 16th centuries CE.

(6) Aru: a group of islands in the Moluccas.

(7) Cochin: coasts of Tonkin (northern Vietnam) and South China.

(8) Nan-bo-li: Probably the polity of Lambri/Lamuri in or near Aceh in northern Sumatra.

(9) Pahang : the state of Pahang on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

(10) Kelantan : located in the modern state of the same name on the east coast of peninsular Malaysia.

(11) Jia-yi-le: The polity of Cael/Kayal, located at the delta of the Tambraparni River on the west coast of India.

(12) Hormuz: is a city on the island of Hormuz off the coast of Iran; important in former times as trade center.

(13) Bi-la and Sun-la: Bilat Sufala : The land of Sofala in Mozambique.

(14) Liu-shan: A generic term for the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives and the Laccadives.

(15) Sai-fu-ding, the king of the country of Bengal: Sultan Saif al-Din Hamzah Shah (r. 1410 – 1411 or 1412).

(16) ch'i-lin: or Kirin; giraffe

(17) fan countries: tribute paying countries.

(18) Fu-jian: Fujian is a southeastern Chinese province known for its mountains and coastal cities.

(19) Han-lin Academy: or Imperial Academy, China's highest academic institution (in Beijing).

(20) Five Classics, the Four Books:  The Four Books and Five Classics are the authoritative books of Confucianism in China written before 300 BC.

(21) Xing-li Da-quan: Great Compendium on Human Nature and Principle (性理大全書) begun by Hu Guang   (Chinese, 1369-1418)

(22) Feng-tian Gate: the gate to Feng-tiang must have been in the east of Beijing as the city lays far to the east now called Shenyang.

(23) Kowtowed: kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground.

(24) Nan-wu-li: Possibly the same (or part of the same) polity of Lambri/Lamuri noted under Nan-bo-li above, situated in or nearby Aceh, Sumatra.

(25) Sha-li-wan-ni: Some identify it with Sharwayn in Yemen, while others suggest that it is the same as "Sha-li-ba-dan" and that both refer to the Cola port of Solipatam (Chen, Xie and Lu (1986; 457). Mills (1970; 12, 13, 215) suggests that it represents Cannanore on the west coast of India.

(26) Bu-la-wa: Barawa or Brawa in South Somalia.

(27) La-sa: Duyvendak (1953) identifies it with Muscat. Mills (1970; 347-48) suggests some place on the southern coast of the Arabian peninsula, probably near Mukalla. Others put it on the East African coast.

(28) Old Port Pacification Superintendency: This was the name used in the early 15th century to refer to Palembang. This appears to have been the successor polity to Srivijaya. A 1405 reference (Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 38.4b) notes that it was "ruled" by a Chinese person from Guang-dong. Following Zheng He's attack on the polity in 1406 or 1407, the Ming established Old Port as a "Pacification Superintendency". MingShiLu references to the polity end in 1430.

(29) Yi-si-han-da-er Sha: Iskander Shah; The king of the country of Melaka.

(30) Duan-a-la Sha, the son of the king of the country of Aru: Chinese name 段阿剌沙

(31) Sha Zhe-han, the son of the king of the country of Nan-bo-li: Chinese name 沙者罕; Shah Jahan?

(32) Zu-fa-er: represent the name "Dhufar", an obsolete name for Al-Mansura, on the southern coast of Arabia.

(33) Liu Shan: A generic term for the Indian Ocean islands of the Maldives and the Laccadives.

(34) Gan-ba-li: identified with Coimbatore in Southern India.

(35) Xi-yang: Literally "Western Ocean" or "Western Ocean Suo-li". "Western Ocean" was a generic name for the seas of Southeast Asia extending from the west of Borneo to the Indian Ocean.