614 



MEDIEVAL HISTORY. 



[Part V. 



them and the Singhalese, began during the Eastern Tsin 

 dynasty, a.d. 317 — -419^; and one remarkable island 

 still retains a name which is commemorative of their 

 presence. Salang, to the north of Penang, lay in the 

 direct course of the Chinese junks on their way to and 

 from Ceylon, through the Straits of Malacca, and, in 

 addition to its harbour, was attractive from its valuable 

 mines of tin. Here the Chinese fleets called on both 

 voyages ; and the fact of their resort is indicated by 

 the popular name " Ajung-Selan," or " Junk-Ceylon ; " 

 by which tlie place is still known, Ajung^ in the language 

 of the Malays, being the term for " large shipping," and 

 Selan^ their name for Ceylon.'^ 



The port in Ceylon which the Chinese vessels made 

 their rendezvous, was Lo-le (Galle), " where, " it is said, 

 " ships anchor, and people land." ^ 



Besides rice, the vegetable productions of the island 

 enumerated by the various Chinese authorities were 

 aloes-wood, sandal-wood *, and ebony ; camphor ^, areca- 

 nuts, beans, sesamum, coco-nuts (and arrack distilled 

 from the coco-nut palm) pepper, sugar-cane, myrrh, 

 franldncense, oil and drugs.*" An odoriferous extract, 

 called by the Chinese Slioo-heang, is hkewise particular- 

 ised, but it is not possible now to identify it. 



Elephants and ivory were in request ; and the only 

 manufactures alluded to for export were woven cotton^, 

 gold ornaments, and jewelry ; including models of the 

 slirines in which were deposited the sacred relics of 



^ Tung-teen, a.d. 740. b. clxxxviii. 

 p. 17. 



"^ Sincapore Chronicle, 1836. 



2 Wang-ke, Siih-ioan-heen tung- 

 Jcaou, b. ccxxxvi. p. 19. 



4 The mention of sandal-wood is 

 suggestive. It does not, so far as I 

 could ever learn, exist in Ceylon ; yet 

 it is mentioned with particular care 

 amongst its exports in the Chinese 

 books. Can it be that, like the cala- 

 mander, or Coromaudel-wood, which 



is rapidly approaching extinction, 

 sandal- wood was extirpated from the 

 island by injudicious cutting, unac- 

 companied by any precautions for the 

 reproduction of the tree ? 



^ Nan-she, b. Ixxviii. p. 13. 



^ Suh-Hung keen-luh, b. xlii. p. 

 52. 



■^ Tsih-foo yuen-hwei, A.D. 1012, 

 b. dcccclxxi. p. 15. At a later 

 period "Western cloth" is mention- 

 ed among the exports of Ceylon, 



