MILLS, J. V. G. (1970). Ma Huan, Ying-Yai Sheng-Lan , 'The overall suvey of the Ocean Shores', 1433. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Java
The country of Chao-wa was formerly called the country of She-p’o. The country has four large towns, none of which is a walled city and suburban area. The ships which come here from other countries first arrive at a town named Tu-pan; next at a town named New Village; then at a town named Su-lu-ma-i; then again at a town named Man-che-po-i, where the king of the country lives.
As to the place where the king resides: the walls are made of bricks, and are more than three chang in height; in circumference they are something more than two hundred paces; in the are set double gates, very well-kept and clean.
The houses are constructed in storeyed form, each being three or four chang in height; they lay a plank they spread matting fine rattans, or else patterned grass mats, on which the people sit cross-legged; on the top of the houses they use boards of hard wood as tiles, splitting roofing.
The houses in which the people of the country live have thatch for their roofs. Every family has a store-room built of bricks in the ground; it is three or four ch’ih in height; they store the private belongings of the family; upon this they live, sit and sleep.
As to the dress the king of the country: his head is unkempt, or else he wears a crown of gold leaves and flowers; he has no robe on his person; around the lower part he has one or two embroidered kerchiefs of silk. In addition, he uses figured silk-gauze or hemp-silk to bind around his waist; is called a ‘waist-band’; he thrusts one or two short knives, called pu-la-t’ou. He goes about bare-footed, and either rides on an elephant or sits in a carriage oxen.
As to the dress the people of the country: the men have unkempt heads; the women pin up the hair in a chignon. They wear a garment on the upper part of the body, and a kerchief around the lower part. The men thrust a pu-la-t’ou into the waist; from little boys of three years to old men of a hundred years, they all have these knives, which are all made of steel, with most intricate patterns drawn in very delicate lines; for the handles they use gold or rhinoceros’ horn or elephants’ teeth, engraved with representations of human forms or devils’ faces, the craftsmanship being very fine and skilful.
The people of the country, both men and women, are all particular about their heads; if a man touches their head with his hand, or if there is a misunderstanding about money at a sale, or a battle of words when they are crazy with drunkenness, they at once pull out these knives and stab. He who is stronger prevails. When man is stabbed to death, if the man runs away and conceals himself for three days before emerging, then he does not forfeit his life; if he is seized at the very moment, he too is instantly stabbed to death.
The country has no punishment as flogging; no the offence be great or small, they tie both hands behind his back with a fine rattan, and hustle him away for several paces, then they take a pu-la-t’ou and stab the offender once or twice in the small of the back or in the floating ribs, causing instant death. According to the local custom of the country no day without a man being put to death; very terrible.
Copper coins of the successive dynasties in the Central Country are in current use universally.
Tu-pan, called by the foreigners ‘Tu-pan’ is the name of a district; here there are something more than a thousand families, with two headmen to rule them; many of them are people from Kuang-tung and Chang chou in the Central Country, who have emigrated to live in this place. Fowls, goats, fish and vegetables are very cheap.
On a sandbank in the sea there is a small pool of water which is fresh and potable; it is called ‘the Holy Water’. Tradition has it that in the time of the great Yuan ordered the generals Shih Pi and Kao Hsing to attack She-p’o; a moon passed they could not land on the shore; the water in the ships was already exhausted; the soldiers of the army were at their wits’ end; the two generals worshipped Heaven and prayed, saying ‘We received the imperial order to attack the barbarians; if Heaven is with us, let a spring of water rise up; if is not with us, then let there be no spring’; the prayer ended, they thrust their spears with great force into the sandbank in the sea, and at once a spring of water bubbled up in the place where the spears were thrust; the water was fresh to taste; all drank and were able to save their lives. Such was the help which Heaven granted. Has existed right down to the present day.
From Tu-pan, after travelling toward the casts for about half a day, you reach New Village, of which the foreign name is Ko-erh-hsi; originally it was a region of sandbanks; because people from the Central Country came to this place and established themselves, they therefore called it New Village; right down to the present day the ruler of the village is a man from Kuang tung. There are something more than a thousand families. Foreigners from every place come here in great numbers to trade. Gold, all kinds of precious stones, and all varieties of foreign goods are sold in great quantities. The people are very wealthy.
From New Village, after travelling toward the south for more than twenty li the ship reaches Su-lu-ma-i, of which the foreign name is Su-erh-pa-ya. At the estuary the out-flowing water is fresh. From here large ships have difficulty in proceeding; they use small ships, which travel for more than twenty li till they first reach this district. [Here] also there is a ruler of the village, governing more than a thousand families of foreigners; and amongst these, too, there are people from the Central Country.
In the estuary there is an island of dense jungle, in which there are thousands of long-tailed monkeys; over them all there is one black-coloured old male monkey who acts as their lord; while at his side he has an old foreign woman who keeps him company; childless women of the country prepare such things as wine, rice, fruit and cakes, and go to invoke the old monkey; if the old monkey is pleased, he first eats of the things, and makes all the monkeys fight to eat what remains; they finish eating, then two monkeys come forward and couple, as an omen; these women return home and at once become pregnant; if had not, then not have a child; it is very remarkable.
From Su-erh-pa-ya small ships travel for seventy or eighty li to a port called Chang-ku; there you go ashore, and after travelling towards the south-west for a day and a half, you reach Man-che-po-i, the place where the king lives. This place has two or three hundred families of foreigners, with seven or eight chiefs to assist the king.
The climate is continuously hot, like summer.
The rice in the fields ripens twice in one year; the rice-kernels are small. They have both white sesame and lentils. Barley and wheat4 are entirely non-existent. The land produces sapan-wood, diamonds, white sandalwood incense, nutmegs, long pepper, cantharides, steel, turtles’ carapaces, and tortoise-shell.’ As to their strange birds: they have such varieties as white cockatoos large as hens, red and green parrots, five-coloured parrots and the mina, all of which can imitate human speech, also guineafowl, ‘hang-upside-down birds’, pigeons with five-coloured markings, peafowl, 'areca-palm birds’,’ ‘pearl birds’,and green pigeons.
As to their curious beasts: they have white deer, white monkeys, and other such animals. Pigs, goats, oxen, horses, fowls, and ducks—all these they have; but there are no donkeys and no geese.
For fruits, they have such kinds as the banana, coconut, sugar-cane, pomegranate, the lotus seed-case, the mang-chi-shih, the water-melon, and the lang-ch’a. The mang-chi-shih resembles the pomegranate; inside the skin it looks like the case of an orange, having four lumps of white flesh, which have a sweet-sour taste very delectable. The lang-ch’a is like the loquat, but rather larger; inside there are three lumps of white flesh; these, too, have a sweet-sour taste. The sugar-cane has a rind which is white, coarse, and big; each root attains a length of two or three chang. In addition, they have all the gourds and vegetables; the only things wanting are peaches, plums, and leeks.
The people of the country have no beds or stools for sitting on or sleeping on; and for eating they have no spoons or chopsticks. Men and women take areca-nut and betel-leaf, and mix them with lime made from clam-shells; their mouths are never without this mixture. At the times when they wish to eat their rice, they first take some water and rinse out the dregs of areca-nut in their mouths; then they wash both hands clean and sit round in a circle; they have a dish well-filled with rice which they moisten with butter and gravy; in eating they use the hand to take up and place it in the mouth. If they are thirsty, then they drink water. When they receive passing guests, they entertain them, not with tea, but only with areca-nut.
The country contains three classes of persons. One class consists of the Muslim people; they are all people from every foreign kingdom in the West who have migrated to this country as merchants; in all matters of dressing and feeding everyone is clean and proper.
One class consists of T’ang people;’ they are all men from Kuang tung and from Chang [chou] and Ch’üan [chou] and other such places, who fled away and now live in this country; the food of these people, too, is choice and clean; many of them follow the Muslim religion, doing penance and fasting.
One class consists of the people of the land; they have very ugly and strange faces, tousled heads, and bare feet; they are devoted to devil-worship, this country being among the ‘devil-countries’ spoken of in Buddhist books; the food which these people eat is very dirty and bad— things like snakes, ants, and all kinds of insects and worms, which are slightly cooked by being toasted in the fire and then eaten. The dogs which they keep in their houses eat from the same utensils as the people, and sleep with them at night; they feel not the least repugnance.
The legend is told that a king of the devils, with black face, red body and red hair, had intercourse with a water-monster in this very country, and begat more than a hundred children; they always consumed blood for food and many people were eaten by them; suddenly one day a thunderclap split the rock, and inside sat a man; the people admired him and marvelled at him, so they chose him to be their king; then he took command of the expert fighting-men; the water-monster and the rest of the mob were driven away and ceased to be harmful; after that the people once more grew and multiplied in peace. This is the reason why right down to the present day the people have loved savagery and ferocity.
They have a ‘meeting of bamboo spears’ regularly every year, but the tenth month is taken to be the beginning of spring. The kingof the country makes his wife sit in a ‘pagoda-carriage’ which travels in front, while he himself sits in a carriage4 which travels behind. This ‘pagoda-carriage’ is more than a chang in height; on four sides there is a window, and underneath there is a rotating axle; it goes along with horses pulling in front.
At the place of the meeting, the contestants are drawn up in a line on either side; each man grasps a bamboo spear; these bamboo spears are solid and have no iron blade; but they are cut to a point, and are very hard and sharp. Each of the male combatants brings his wife or slave-girl there, and each wife, grasping in her hand a short wooden stave three ch’ihlong, stands between the lines. Following the sound of the drum which beats fast or slow as a signal, two men, grasping their spears, advance and make thrusts; they engage three times; the wives of the two men, both grasping their wooden staves, push them back, saying ‘Na-Ia, na-la’; upon which the men separate. If dies from a stab, the king makes the victor give one gold coin to the dead man’s family; the dead man’s wife goes off following the victor. So do they make a sport of victory and defeat in combat.
As to their marriage-rites: the man first goes to the woman’s family house, and the marriage is consummated; three days later the man escorts his bride; whereupon the man’s family beat brass drums and brass gongs, blow on coconut-shell pipes, strike drums made of bamboo tubes, and let off firecrackers, while in front and behind they are surrounded by men with short knives and round shields. The woman has dishevelled hair, uncovered limbs, and bare feet. Around her she fastens a kerchief with silk embroidery; at her neck she puts on an ornament of gold beads strung together; [and] on her wrists she wears a bracelet ornamented with gold, silver, and other precious things. Relations, friends, and neighbours decorate a boat with such things as areca-nuts, betel-leaves, and sewn strings of grasses and flowers, and form a party to escort the bridal pair in accordance with their rite of congratulating on the happy. When they reach the groom’s house, they strike gongs, beat drums, drink wine, and play music. After a few days they disperse.
As to their usual funeral-rites: if they have a father or mother who is about to die, the sons and daughters first ask the fathers or mothers whether after death they will be devoured by dogs, or consumed by fire, or cast away in the waters; their fathers or mothers direct them in accordance with their real wishes; then, after the death, the sons and daughters comply with the decision contained in the dying commands. If they wish to be devoured by dogs, then they carry the corpse to the sea-side, or place it on waste hand, where a dozen dogs come along; if the flesh of the corpse is devoured completely, without anything being left, it is regarded as good; if it is not completely devoured, then the sons and daughters weep bitterly and cry with grief; they take the bones which remain, cast them in the waters, and go away.
Moreover, when rich men and chiefs and persons of high standingare about to die, the most intimate serving-girls and concubines under their care first take an oath to their lords, saying ‘In death we go with you’; after the death, on the day of the funeral, they build a high wooden framework,’ under which they pile a heap of firewood; they set fire to this and burn the coffin. The two or three serving-girls and concubines who originally took the oath wait till the moment when the blaze is at its height; then, wearing grasses and flowers all over their heads, their bodies clad in kerchiefs with designs of the five colours, they mount the framework and dance about, wailing, for a considerable time; they cast themselves down into the flames, and are consumed in the fire with the corpse of their lord, in accordance with their rite of sacrificing the living with the dead.
Wealthy foreigners are very numerous. In trading transactions the copper coins of successive dynasties in the Central Country are in current use.
For writing records they, too, have letters; are the same as the So-li letters. They have no paper or pen; they use chiao-chang leaves, on which they scratch the letters with a sharp knife. They also have rules of grammar. The speech of the country is very pretty and soft.
As to their system of weights: each chin is twenty liangg; each liang is sixteen ch’ien; each ch’ien is four ku-pang. Each ku-pang equals two fen one Ii eight hao seven ssu five hu on our official steelyard, each ch’ien equals eight fen seven Ii five hao on our official steelyard, each liang equals one liang four ch’ien on our official steelyard, each chin equals twenty-eight liang on our official steelyard.
As to their system of measures: they cut off a bamboo to make a sheng;this is one ku-la; it equals one sheng eight ko the official sheng of the Central Country. As to each foreign tou: one tou is one nai-li; it equals one tou four sheng four ko the official kouof the Central Country.
On the fifteenth or sixteenth night of every moon, on a night when the moon is full, clear and bright, more than twenty, or sometimes more than thirty, foreign women gather together to form a troupe; one woman acts as leader, each placing an arm on the shoulder of another, they make an unbroken line and saunter in the moonlight; their leader sings a line of a foreign song, and the whole troupe sing a response in unison; when they reach the house-porch of a relative or a person of wealth and standing, they are given presents of copper coins and other such things; this is called ‘a musical moonlight walk’, and that is all.
They have a class of men who make drawings on paper of such things as men, birds, beasts, eagles, or insects; resemble scroll-pictures; for the supports of the picture they use two wooden sticks, three ch’ih in height, which are level with the paper at one end only; sitting cross-legged on the ground, the man takes the picture and sets it up on the ground; each time he unrolls and exposes a section of the picture he thrusts it forward towards his audience, and, speaking with a loud voice in the foreign language, he explains the derivation of this section; the crowd sits round and listens to him, sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, exactly as if the narrator were reciting one of our popular romances.
The people of the country are very fond of the blue patterned porcelain-ware of the Central Country, also of such things as musk, gold-flecked hemp-silks, and beads. They buy these things in exchange for copper coins.
The king of the country constantly sends chiefs, who load foreign products into a ship, and present them as tribute to the Central Country.