In a conversation with french multinationals about Chinese influence in french speaking Africa, a Chinese official said
‘We have been here much longer than you - we were gone for a few centuries - but were happy to work with you’
I don’t know how true the story is, but it got me thinking what does ancient Chinese writing say about ancient Africa?
Trade, stories about their culture, wars etc....
I know there was contact between ancient east Africa and China, but what about West & Southern Africa?
Peter Derideux created a list of medieval writings about Africa that contains writings by Arab, Indian, Southeast Asian, Chinese and Christian authors. I recommend you check it out.
Generally speaking, the surviving texts come from second-hand or third hand accounts. That is to say, authors are not the ones travelling overseas, but instead their information comes from speaking with those who had.
As you might expect, Chinese texts speak regularly about the peoples of East Africa and Horn of Africa, but have little if any information about Western and Southern Africa.