Two believers bound by faith and history

A gilt bronze miniature tower unearthed in the underground chamber of Zheng He's memorial temple tower in 1956.[Photo provided to China Daily]

In 1956 a gilt bronze miniature tower was unearthed in the underground chamber of the temple tower. Inscribed on it were the words "offered by Buddhist disciple, court eunuch Li Fushan", fushan echoing Zheng He's and Li Tong's religious name. Some histories have said the Chinese character li here means messenger and has nothing to do with the widely used Chinese surname. So, "Li Fushan", or "Fushan the messenger of Buddhism", refers to Zheng He himself rather than his friend and colleague Li Tong.

But Zheng Zihai, who has been to the Fahai Temple in Beijing to study its frescoes, has his own view.

"In the fresco, a miniature temple held in the hands of a male god called Vaisravana bears a startling resemblance to the one excavated from Nanjing. Differences over the meanings of the inscriptions may never be resolved, but this visual connection offers proof that these two men were indeed related. In fact, I am tempted to believe that Li, an admirer of Zheng He, tried to honor the deceased first by inscribing his own name on the gilt bronze miniature and then by adopting that image for his beautiful frescoes."