523

ART. XIV.-Mahuan's Account of the Kingdom of Bengala (Bengal). By GEO. PHILLIPS, M.R.A.S.

INTRODUCTORY NOTICE.

THE following is a Chinese description of the kingdom of Bengal, written at the commencement of the fifteenth century, about eighty years before the Portuguese discovered the route round the Cape of Good Hope, and about sixty years or so after Ibn Batuta had visited those regions. This account is a chapter taken from a work, bearing the Chinese title Ying-yai-shêng-lan (a general account of the shores of the ocean), compiled by one Mahuan, an Interpreter attached to the suite of Chêng. Ho, who was sent to the various kingdoms of the western ocean by the Chinese Emperor Yung-lo. The object of this expedition was, that the Emperor Yung-lo feared that Hui-ti, his predecessor, whom he had driven from the throne, was concealing himself in some country over the sea; he wanted to trace him, and at the same time to display his military force in foreign countries, in order to show that China was rich and strong.

In the sixth month of the year 1405, he ordered Chêng Ho, his companion Wang Ching Hung, and others, to go as envoys to the kingdoms in the western ocean. They took with them 30,000 soldiers and a large quantity of gold and silks. The fleet consisted of 62 ships, most of them of large tonnage, some measuring 440 feet long and 180 feet broad. They sailed from Liu-kia-kiang, an inlet of the

1 Ibn Batuta travelled in Bengal and visited Sunargaon in 1341.

2 Such are the dimensions given to the Chinese vessels composing the expedition in the " Ming Dynasty History Book,' 304. There can be no doubt the size of the vessels is greatly exaggerated; at the same time, however, the junks of those days were much larger than those of the present centuryin some books of that period they are described as high as city walls and houses.

Yang-tze, situated a little to the north of Wusung, the entrance of the Shanghai river. They touched on their way south at Woga, at the mouth of the Min, from which place they sailed to Cochin China, and so on to the various countries in the Straits and India, making known at each place the orders from the Emperor.

They gave presents to the princes and chiefs, and those who would not submit were compelled to do so by force. Mahuan has left us an account of twenty of the kingdoms visited by the expedition: those relating to Java and Sumatra have been translated into English by Mr. W. P. Groeneveldt, while the chapter relating to Cochin China was translated by the late Mr. Mayers. The chapters relating to Siam and Ceylon have been translated by myself, and have appeared in the Journal of the China branch of this Society. The remaining chapters I have also translated, and the one relating to Bengal I am now about to read.

These travels, handed down to us by Mahuan, are well worthy of taking a place beside those of other mediaval travellers, such as Marco Polo, Friar Odoric, and Ibn Batuta. The most curious point about all these travellers is the striking resemblance that their descriptions bear to each other, which has been most happily described by the late learned scholar, Sir Henry Yule, when speaking of Friar Jordan's travels: "One must notice," says he, "the frequent coincidences of statement, and almost of expression, between this and other travellers of the same age, especially Marco Polo; at first one would think that Jordan had Polo's book, but he certainly had not Ibn Batuta's, and the coincidences with him are sometimes almost as striking. Had these ancient worthies, then, a Murray, from whom they pilfered experiences as modern travellers do. I think they had, but their Murray lay in the traditional yarns of the Arab sailors with whom they voyaged, some of which seem to have been handed down steadily from the time of Ptolemy-peradventure Herodotus-almost to our own day."

To this I might add that there are passages to be met with in Mahuan's travels which look as if they had been

pilfered direct from Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta and others, but this would have been quite impossible. Many, perhaps, are apt to think that the navigation of the Eastern seas in early times was entirely in the hands of the Arabs, Indians, and Persians; such was not really the case.

It should be mentioned here that the Indians and Persians most probably went to China by sea at the commencement of our era, and continued to do so for many centuries afterwards. For example, the Buddhist pilgrim Fa-hien, in 413, returned to China from Ceylon in an Indian vessel. I quite agree with my friend W. P. Groeneveldt, a gentleman holding a high post in Her Netherland Majesty's service in Java, and a ripe Chinese scholar, that the Chinese did not arrive in the Malay Archipelago before the fifth century, and that they did not extend their voyages to India, Arabia, and Persia till a century later. There is positive evidence, however, that in the Tang dynasty 618 to 906, their sailors were well acquainted with the navigation of the Indian seas, for sailing directions are to be found dating from that period, clearly setting forth the route and naming the countries to be met with between Canton and Bussorah at the head of the Persian Gulf. In these directions there is a most striking passage regarding the dangers to be guarded against when reaching El-Obollah, where beacons were said to be placed in the sea, upon which fires were lighted at night for the guidance of mariners. These beacons are mentioned in El-Masudi's historical "Encyclopædia," translated by Dr. Sprenger. He says: "Marks of wood are erected for sailors in the sea at El-Obollah, and look like three seats in the middle of the water, on which fires are burnt at night to caution vessels which come from Oman, Siraf, and other places." Reference is also made to these marks in the travels of Ibn Batuta, Lee's translation, page 36. This and other passages in the directions show clearly what knowledge the Chinese had of the navigation of these seas.

It will naturally be asked, from what port in China did these vessels sail? Canton appears, up to the

eleventh century, to have been the chief southern port frequented by foreign ships, and from which native vessels sailed for foreign countries. In 1086, or soon after the time of the Norman conquest of England, the eastern ports of China, viz. Changchow and Chinchew, were made ports of entry and exit for vessels carrying on foreign trade. Prior to this all Fookien craft, going to and returning from foreign countries, were compelled to report themselves to the Canton Customs authorities. This was looked upon as a great hardship by the Fookien merchants, and, upon representation being made to the throne, a superintendent of Customs was appointed to collect the Customs revenue at these two Fookien ports. At this time a port sprang

up into notice at the entrance of the Changchow river, not far from the present treaty port of Amoy, which, with the neighbouring port of Chinchew, did much of the foreign carrying trade of that part of China. Ships were built by the richer and manned by the poorer classes, and, eager in the pursuit of gain, were sent on long and distant voyages to foreign countries. This port was from 1086 to 1566 known as Gehkong, and is probably the Caichan, or Kaycon, of Friar Odoric, known also as Zaitun.2 The trade of this port and that of Chinchew is now centred in Amoy. In 1561 this district suffered greatly from Japanese raids, and its commerce was almost entirely destroyed.

It should be known that the Japanese had been a scourge to this part of China for over twenty years, and they had inspired the people with such fear and dread, that for many years after the bare mention of the words Oe-a-loi, "the Japanese are coming," frightened the children into obedience, much in the same way as our fathers and mothers were frightened when they were told that "Boney" would have

1 In the seventh year of T'ai p'ing hing kuo's reign, 983 of our era, Changchow as well as Chinchew junks were engaged in the trade with foreign countries. The Annals of the Canton Customs," a book found in the Summer Palace at Peking. In 1285 there was a superintendent of Customs at Changchow, who collected all shipping dues.

2 In substantiation of this statement I refer the reader to Yule's "Cathay, and the way thither," vol. ii, appendix, p. xxiv.