Xingcha shenglan 星槎勝覽

Xingcha shenglan 星槎勝覽 "Overall survey of the Star Raft" is a report of foreign countries, especially South and Southeast Asia, from the Ming period 明 (1368-1644). The author is Fei Xin 費信 (1388-?), courtesy name Gongxiao 公曉, who, as a translator, accompanied Admiral Zheng He 鄭和 (1371-1433) on his travels in the early 15th century.

The book was completed in 1436 and consists of two parts (qianji 前集 and houji 後集). Although the author had seen most of the described 40 countries by himself he also relied on earlier descriptions as found, for instance, in the Daoyi zhilüe 島夷志略. Fei Xin gives for each country a brief account of the history, the capitals, ports, rivers and mountains, the society and its administrative and jurisdictional system, the people and their customs and habits, their beliefs, and the local products. His book contains a lot of countries which are not contained in similar accounts like Ma Huan's 馬歡 (1380-1460) Yingya shenglan 瀛涯勝覽. This is especially true for African countries and states in the Southeast Asian archipelago. It is also quite detailed in the report on how Zheng He interacted with the countries he visited.

The earliest extant version is transmitted in the series Guochao diangu 國朝典故, other versions are Luo Yizhi's 羅以智 copy of a Ming manuscript, and Luo Zhenyu's 羅振玉 (1866-1940) reprint of the Tianyige Hall 天一閣 version. A critical study of these three versions was carried out by Feng Chengjun 馮承鈞 (1887-1946), published in 1938 and reprinted by the Shangwu Yinshuguan Press 商務印書館 in the series Shidi xiao congshu 史地小叢書, reprinted in 1954 by the Zhonghua Shuju Press 中華書局.