Includes bibliographical references (p. 217-222) and index.

Editor's preface -- Author's preface -- Acknowledgments -- 1. The enigma of Zheng He -- The Chinese Tributary System and the purpose of Zheng He's voyages -- Traditional Chinese interpretations of Zheng He's career -- Zheng He's voyages and Western Imperial expansion -- 2. Zheng He's early life and his patron, Emperor Yongle -- The fall of the Yuan and the rise of the Ming to 1368 -- The reign of Emperor Hongwu, 1368/1398 -- Civil War, 1398/1402 -- Yongle's reign as Emperor, 1402/1424 -- 3. China and the Asian maritime world in the time of Zheng He -- The purpose of Zheng He's voyages -- Patterns of trade in the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea -- The Malay-Indonesian World in the Hongwu era -- Southern India and Ceylon in the time of Zheng -- 4. Sailing to India : Zheng He's first, second, and third voyages -- The first voyage, 1405/1407 -- The second voyage, 1407/1409 -- The third voyage, 1409/1411 -- 5. Sailing to Africa : Zheng He's fourth, fifth, and sixth voyages -- The fourth voyage, 1412/14-1415 -- The fifth voyage, 1417/1419 -- The sixth voyage, 1421/1422 -- The last years of the Yongle Reign, 1422/1424 --

6. The ships and men of Zheng He's fleets -- Dimensions and displacements of the treasure ships -- Masts and sails -- Shipbuilding notices in the Taizong Shilu -- Shipbuilding costs -- Numbers of ships in each of the voyages -- Personnel -- 7. Zheng He's career after 1424 and his final voyage -- Ming China in the Hongxi (1424/1425) and Xuande (1425/1435) reigns -- Zheng He's career from 1424 to 1430 -- Zheng He's inscriptions at Liujiagang and Changle -- Zheng He's seventh and final voyage, 1431/1433 -- 8. The legacy of Zheng He -- China turns away from the sea after the death of Zheng He -- Dealing with the memory of Zheng He's voyages -- The rediscovery of Zheng He -- Appendix : Translations of primary sources -- 1. Zheng He's biography in Mingshi 304.2b/4b -- 2. Zheng He's Liujiagang Inscription of 1431 -- 3. Zheng He's Changle Inscription of 1431 -- Chronology -- Glossary -- A note on the sources -- Index.