Notable people
3 peopleFigures with the most linked events, works and records.
Campaigners
Explorers and Travellers
Travellers who went far with missions, in search of scripture or to explore, and wrote of the journey
13people
Mural guide
On a coastal mountain path, a loaded camel walks toward a traveller in a wide hat with a staff farther along; a bamboo pack frame with two scrolls and a gourd leans on a rock in front, a sailing ship lies on the sea at the right, and constellations and a moon fill the sky.
Explorers and travellers are people who went on long journeys and left an account, such as those who sailed with missions, sought scripture abroad or explored, both from the Chinese lands and from abroad. Their routes and travel records are source material for geography, transport and cultural contact. They differ from the military roles of this group in being defined by travel and its record rather than fighting, and from diplomats in carrying no negotiating mission of their own.
People in this role
- King Mu of ZhouDates unknown; Western Zhou king (r. c. 976–922 BCE)
- Zhang Qianc. 164 BCE–114 BCE
- Tangyi FuDates unknown; active 139–126 BCE
- Cai Yin20 CE–80 CE
- Xuanzangc. 602 CE–664 CE (birth by another account 600)
- Marco Polo1254 CE–1324 CE
- Ibn Battuta1304 CE–1369 CE
- Zheng Hec. 1371 CE–c. 1433 CE (death by another account 1435)
- Fei Xinc. 1388 CE–death unknown
- Hou XianDates unknown; eunuch envoy of the early Ming
- Wang JinghongDates unknown; sailed to the Western Ocean, Yongle to Xuande eras
- Ma HuanDates unknown; sailed with Zheng He from 1413
- Gong ZhenDates unknown; sailed with Zheng He in the Xuande era
No people in this role for that dynasty.