CHAP. III.] CEYLON AS KNOWN TO THE CHINESE. 



613 



stance which is described as 'cloud cloth,' 1 probably 

 from its being very transparent, and gathered" (as is still 

 the costume of the chiefs of Kandy) "into very large 

 folds. It was fastened with golden cord. Men of rank 

 were decorated with earrings. The dead were burned, 

 not buried." And the following passage from the Suh-wan- 

 he'en tung-kaou, or the " Supplement to Antiquarian 

 Kesearches," is strikingly descriptive of what may be con- 

 stantly witnessed in Ceylon ; " the females who live 

 near the family of the dead assemble in the house, beat 

 their breasts with both hands, howl and weep, which 

 constitutes their appropriate rite." 2 



The natural riches of Ceylon, and its productive capa- 

 bilities, speedily impressed the Chinese, who were bent 

 upon the discovery of outlets for their commerce, with 

 the conviction of its importance as an emporium of 

 trade. So remote was the age at which strangers fre- 

 quented it, that in the " Account of Island Foreigners^ " 

 written by WANG-TA-TUEN 3 in the fourteenth century, it 

 is stated that the origin of trade in the island was 

 coeval with the visit of Buddha, who, " taking compas- 

 sion on the aborigines, who were poor and addicted to 

 robbery, turned their disposition to virtue, by sprinkling 

 the land with sweet dew, which caused it to produce 

 red gems, and thus gave them wherewith to trade," 

 and hence it became the resort of traders from every 

 country. 4 Though aware of the unsuitability of the 

 climate to ripen wheat, the Chinese were struck with 

 admiration at the wonderful appliances of the Singhalese 

 for irrigation, and the cultivation of rice. 5 



According to the Tung-teen, the intercourse between 

 them and the Singhalese began during the Eastern Tsin 



1 The Chinese term is " yun-hae- 

 poo." Leang-shoo, b. liv. p. 10. 



2 B. ccxxxvi. p. 19. 



3 Taou-e che-leo, quoted in the 

 Foreign Geography, b. xviii. p. 15. 



4 The rapid peopling of Ceylon at 

 a very remote age is accounted for in 

 the following terms in a passage of 



MA-TWAN-LTN-, as translated by M. 

 Stanislas Julien; "Les habitants 

 des autres royaumes entendirent par- 

 ler de ce pays fortun^ ; c'est pour- 

 quoi ils y accoururent a 1'envi." 

 Journ. Asiat., t. xxix. p. 42. 



5 Records of the 3Iiny Dynasty, by 

 CHING-HEAOF ; b. Ixviii. p. 5. 



