Wang Dayuan (Chinese: 汪大淵; pinyin: Wāng Dàyuān, fl. 1311–1350), courtesy name Huanzhang (Chinese: 煥章; pinyin: Huànzhāng), was a Chinese traveller of the Yuan dynasty from Quanzhou in the 14th century. He is known for his two major ship voyages.
Wang Dayuan was born around 1311 at Hongzhou (present-day Nanchang).[1]
During 1328–1333, he sailed along the South China Sea and visited many places in Southeast Asia. He reached as far as South Asia and Australia, and landed in modern-day Bengal, Sri Lanka, and India, as well as areas close to modern-day Darwin, Australia. In 1334–1339 he visited North Africa and East Africa.[2]
Around 1330, Wang visited the island of Singapore, where he wrote about a small settlement called Danmaxi (Chinese: 淡马锡; pinyin: Dànmǎxī, Malay: Temasek) that had both Malay and Chinese residents, and already had an established Chinatown. His 1349 account of his travel, Dao Yi Zhi Lue (simplified Chinese: 岛夷志略; traditional Chinese: 島夷誌略; pinyin: Dǎo Yí Zhì Lüè; A Brief Account of Island Barbarians), is one of the few records documenting the early history of Singapore.[3]