First hand account by a classically trained Chinese/Muslim diplomat who traveled with the Ming Treasure Fleet in the early 15th century. Provided some of the first written eye-witness accounts of various South/East Asian cultures. A bureaucrat at heart, the prose is workmanlike and listing. As a narrator, he is virtually invisible, so it’s exceedingly difficult to judge whether or not he gathered his information first hand or from his peers/subordinates. His interest in marriage and funeral rites along with systems of justice informs the more compelling passages of the piece. Encounters with Buddhism, Hinduism & Islam reveal are particularly mosaic spiritual map of the East. Prev owner’s bookplate, dustjacket protector applied, pp. xix, 393 illusts First Edition #0119Less entertaining but more factual than the Gavin Menzies historical fantasies of “1421 : The Year China Discovered the World”1434 : The Year A Chinese Fleet Sailed To France and Ignited the Renaissance”