Abstract:
This Study discusses the voyages of the chinese fleet during the Ming period into the western regions of the indian ocean under the eunuch Zheng He. Special Attention is attached to the events around the Arabian peninsula, namely in the cities of Hormuz, Lasa, Zufar, Aden, Gidda, Mecca and Medina. The Reports of Ma Huan, Fei Xin and Gong Zhen, who joined Zheng He’s travels are therefore compared with with accounts in the works of arabic historiography and evaluated in respect to their descriptions of diplomatic exchange, trade- and tribute goods and the perception of cultural particularities. Furthermore, the tradition of the events in the work Xiyang Ji from Luo Maodeng, which was written 160 years later, is displayed.