Chen Yanxiang

Chen Yanxiang (; 1394–1412) was a merchant of Chinese origin, probably based on the Indonesian island of Java, who visited Joseon Korea and Muromachi Japan between 1394 and 1412. The only source for his life is the Korean ''Joseon Veritable Records'', from which a "particularly colorful career" can be seen.

Chen first appears in a ''Veritable Records'' entry for 1394, when he was appointed to the Korean Bureau of Astronomy along with a Chinese merchant from the Thai kingdom of Ayutthaya. At some point, he left Korea. He returned to Korea in 1406 with a cargo of exotic birds, pepper, and other Southeast Asian goods, claiming—without any credentials—to be an ambassador from a Javanese king. Off the Korean coastline, Chen was attacked by Japanese pirates possibly hired by the ''daimyo'' of Tsushima Island and lost his entire cargo. He eventually went back to Java after being hosted by Korean king Taejong and the "King of Japan", presumably the ''shogun'' Ashikaga Yoshimochi. Chen returned to Japan in 1411, this time with an official title of high rank granted by the Javanese court. He visited Kyoto, then Japan's capital, while sending his grandson to offer gifts to the Korean court. In 1412, his grandson asked the Korean government for a naval escort back to Java. The Korean government declined. Chen is not mentioned thereafter. He was the only known person from Indonesia to have ever visited dynastic Korea. Provided by Wikipedia