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Краткий обзор новых эпиграфических источников о плаваниях Чжэн Хэ и их участниках
Over the past half-century, many archaeological and epigraphical m aterials have been discovered in China. They date back to the different eras of Chinese history. Among them are several epitaphs, which belong to the m em bers of the expeditions of Zheng He (1405-1433), i.e. the seven expeditions of the Chinese navy to the Indian Ocean. Along with them, other epigraphical sources were discovered, which contain new information about the crew m em bers and the course of their voyages. The present article is the first attem pt both in Russian and Western historiography to offer a general overview on the history of discovery, physical characteristics and contents of each of these new sources. This enabled me to make new assum ptions with regard to som e aspects of the voyages as well as the history of the Ming Empire.