Daoyi Zhilüe (simplified Chinese:岛夷志略;traditional Chinese:島夷誌略;pinyin:Dǎo Yí Zhì Lüè;Wade–Giles:Tao i chih lio) orDaoyi Zhi (simplified Chinese:岛夷志;traditional Chinese:島夷誌;pinyin:Dǎo Yí Zhì;Wade–Giles:Tao i chih)[1] which may be translated asA Brief Account of Island Barbarians or other similar titles,[2][3][4][5] is a book written c. 1339 (completed c. 1349)[6] byYuan dynasty Chinese travellerWang Dayuan recounting his travels to over a hundred places in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The book was written in present-daySri Lanka. It described the weather, products, people, and customs of the places that Wang Dayuan visited.
The timeline for Wang Dayuan's life and travels is:[7]
1311 - born
1330 - sailed for the first time from Quanzhou
1334 - returned to Yuan dynasty
1337 - sailed for the second time from Quanzhou
1339 - returned to Yuan dynasty
The content of the book (known asDao Yi Zhu) was originally an appendix in a local gazetteerQing Yuan Xu Zhi ( 清源续志,A Continuation of the History and Topography of Quanzhou) composed by Wu Jian in 1349. According to the Yuan poetZhang Zhu,Daoyi Zhilüe was re-published in 1350 as an individual travel account.[8]
Andaya and Andaya write that Dao Yi Zhi Lue provides more information on areas east of theMalay Peninsula than any other Yuan dynasty source.[9] According to the postscript Wang Dayuan visited all the places described. However, Park notes that 90% of the text is devoted to Southeast Asia and that Wang does not give details of his route and itinerary to West Asia.[10] However, Deng states that Wang Dayuan's account is consistent with later Ming dynasty accounts ofZheng He's travels.[11] There is currently no full English translation of the book but the Chinese version is available online.[12][13] Partial translations however are available.[14]
^Wang Dayuan, Yuan Dynasty. Dao Yi Zhi Lue. Explanation by Su Jiqing. Zhonghua Book Company 1981, 2000,ISBN7-101-02026-7, In Chinese.（元）汪大渊著《岛夷志略》，苏继庼校释 1981年, 2000年 中华书局，ISBN7-101-02026-7
^Rockhill (1915).Notes on the Relations and Trade of China with the Eastern Archipelago and the Coast of the Indian Ocean During the Fourteenth Century, Part II - Introductory Note. p. 62.
^Wang, Dayuan; Su, Jiqing (2009).Dao Yi Zhi Lue Explanatory Notes 島夷誌略校釋. Beijing: Zhong Hua Shu Ju. p. Intro 10.ISBN9787101020267.
^Andaya, Barbara; Andaya, Leonard (2014).A History of Early Modern Southeast Asia, 1400-1800. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 20.ISBN9780521889926.
^Park, Hyunhee (2012).Mapping the Chinese and Islamic worlds: cross-cultural exchange in pre-modern Asia. Cambridge; New York: Cambridge University Press. p. 116.ISBN9781107018686.
^Deng, Geng (1999).Maritime sector, institutions, and sea power of premodern China. Westport, Conn: Greenwood Press. p. 144.ISBN0313307121.
^"Dao Yi Zhi Lue 島夷誌略".NTI Reader. NTI Buddhist Text Reader project. Archived fromthe original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved17 March 2015.
1330 - Singapore's Early Settlements & Trade - a short documentary about how Singapore was depicted in Wang Dayuan'sDaoyi Zhilue, produced for the Singapore Bicentennial in 2019.
ChineseWikisource has original text related to this article:
