Deng's lamentation and the itinerary of the final expedition of Zheng He
向歷諸國，唯地上之物有異耳，其天象大小、遠近、顯晦之類，雖極遠國，視之一切與中國無異。予因此益知舊以二十八舍分隸中國之九州者，為謬也。 Told by Deng, a retired mariner who took part in Zheng He's expedition, to Zhu Yunming 祝允明 The reflection recounted to Zhu Yunming 祝允明 appears at first glance to be a modest astronomical observation. Yet beneath its restrained tone lies a profound intellectual rupture. Zhu Yunming 祝允明 (b. 1460, d. 1527) and his friend Tang Yin 唐寅 (b. 1470, d. 1524) Deng observes that while terrestrial customs, products, and landscapes differ from country to country, the celestial bodies remain invariant: the same stars, distances, and celestial phenomena appear everywhere exactly as they do in China. From this empirical experience he draws a striking conclusion, that the traditional doctrine which assigned the Twenty-Eight Lunar Mansion...