Geoffrey Chaucer · Zheng He Were Geoffrey Chaucer and Zheng He alive at the same time? Yes. Geoffrey Chaucer and Zheng He were alive at the same time, from 1371 to c. 1400. Geoffrey Chaucer14th century English poet and authorBorn c. 1343 · died c. 1400Zheng HeChinese mariner, explorer, and diplomatBorn 1371 · died 1433–1435 Ibn BattutaPetrarchHafezIbn KhaldunTimurGeoffrey ChaucerZheng HeJohannes GutenbergJoan of Arc Geoffrey Chaucer and Zheng He in bold, with some of their best-known contemporaries. Drag across to see the age each reached in any year. Faded ends mark uncertain dates.