Seafarer-diplomat Zheng He and Celestial Consort. Epigraphy as the source of history, ceremonial traditions and folklore in medieval China

The inscription made by Zheng He, Chinese seafarer and diplomat of the period of Ming dynasty, on stele is being analyzed in the present article. Epigraphic text demonstrates how Chinese Hui Zheng He, Moslem by faith, was converted to the Taoist cult of Celestial Consort, the goddess-patroness of Chinese seamen, that’s why some ceremonial and folklore traditions found their reflection in the inscription.