In 1992 a group of ?ve deity images was unearthed in the Daoist
Xianying Temple in Xianqi village, Zhanggang township, Changle,
Fujian province. Located on the spirit altar on the right side of the Front Hall of the temple complex, the group of coloured figures was dubbed “The God Officials who Patrol the Oceans”. Since their excavation, the theory has prevailed that this group represents Zheng He but there has been no research to back up this claim and no researcher has elucidated when these figures were carved and in what historical context. The author looks firslyt at ritual conventions governing the clothing worn by of?cials in the Ming Dynasty and draws on ?ve illustrated works of the period for this preliminary work. This attention to the details of apparel enables the author to con?rm that the ?gures do indeed depict Zheng He. The author then examines the sculptural pieces themselves, and this research also con?rms the identi?cation. This then makes these sculptural pieces the ?rst discovery to the present day in China of any sculptural images of Zheng He, and they are also the oldest
sculptures of Zheng He found anywhere in the world.