Chen Cheng (1365–1457), courtesy name Zilu (子鲁), pseudonym Zhushan (竹山), was a Chinese diplomat known for his overland journeys into Central Asia during the Ming dynasty. His travels were contemporaneous to the treasure voyages of the admiral Zheng He.

Life

Chen was born in 1365 in Linchuan County, Jiangxi province. He obtained the positions of juren (举人) and jinshi (進士) in 1393 and 1394 respectively after taking the imperial examination. In 1396, Chen was sent on a diplomatic mission to the western region of Qaidam to establish border defence. In 1397, he was sent by the Hongwu Emperor as an envoy to Vietnam. From 1406 to 1411, he served in the Wenyuange (文渊阁), the imperial library in the Forbidden City, as an editor of the Yongle Encyclopedia. Buddhist idols and temples in Turfan were described in 1414 by Chen Cheng. In 1414, 1416 and 1420, Chen Cheng led a Ming mission to the court of the Timurid dynasty at Samarkand.

Works by Chen Cheng