Oversea Communications Between China and East Africa Before the So-called Discovery of New Sea-Route - Symposium on Chinese Historical Geography - page 87

Fig. 5.1 Routes of Zheng He's voyage

which represents a clipped pronunciation of Zanzibar. 20 The two are, however, not
strictly identical, as Tsengtan in those days embraced the eastern coast of Africa
together with the islands off the coast. From the twelfth century on reference to
various countries on the eastern coast of Africa occurred with greater frequency in
Chinese geographical works. 21 Particularly worthy of notice are the results of recent
archaeological excavations on the eastern coast of Africa. These include T'ang and
Sung copper coins as well as large quantities of chinawares (fragmentary or other-
wise) dating back to the Sung Dynasty, the Yüan Dynasty or a later date. All this is
incontrovertible proof that trade relations had long existed between China and the
eastern coast of Africa. 22 But the contact (direct or indirect) was exclusively depen-
dent on the route over the Arabian Sea, and remained so up to the middle of the
thirteenth century.
It should be recognized that there was a profound difference between the direct
route that led from Ceylon or South India across the Indian Ocean to the eastern
coast of Africa and the other route over the Arabian Sea. One needed only the mon-
soon to sail safely along the latter route. In case of the former, however, even
with the help of the monsoon, successful voyaging would be extremely diffi cult, if
not impossible, unless one enlisted the additional aid of the compass. Chinese

20 Feng Ch'eng-chün, Chu Fan Chih Chiao Chu , Shanghai, 1956, pp. 54-55. Chu Fan Chih was
written by Chao Ju-kua in 1225. It has been translated and annotated by F. Hirth and W. W. Rockhill
( Chao Ju-kua: His Work on the Chinese and Arab Trade in the XIIth and XIIIth Centuries, entitled
Chu-fan-chi. St. Petersburg, 1911).
21 See Feng Ch'eng-chün, ibid ., and Wang Ta-yüan, Tao Yi Chih Lueh , written about 1349.
22 Hsia Nai, “Porcelain Links in Sino-African History,” Wen Wu Monthly , 1963, no. 1, pp. 17-19;
Zhang Tiesheng, “Discussion of Sino-Africa Relation based on Eastern African History,” History
Studies , no. 2, 1963.