020 MEDIAEVAL HISTORY. [PABT V. 



appears to have proceeded overland by way of India, 

 and was ten years before reaching the capital of China. 

 It was the bearer of "a jade-stone image of Buddha, 

 exhibiting every colour in purity and richness, in work- 

 manship unique, and appearing to be beyond human 

 art." 1 



During the same century there were four other em- 

 bassies from Ceylon. One A.D. 428, when the King 

 Cha-cha Mo-ho-nan (Eaja Maha Nama) sent an ad- 

 dress to the emperor, which will be found in the history 

 of the Northern Sung dynasty 2 , together with a "model 

 of the shrine of the tooth," as a token of fidelity ; 

 two in 430 and 435 ; and a fourth 456, when five 

 priests, of whom one was Nante, the celebrated sculptor, 

 brought as a gift to the emperor a " three-fold image of 

 Buddha." 3 



According to the Chinese annalists, the kings of 

 Ceylon, in the sixth century, acknowledged themselves 

 vassals of the Emperor of China, and in the year 515, 

 on the occasion of Kumara Das raising the chatta, an 

 envoy was despatched with tribute to China, together 

 with an address, announcing the royal accession, in 

 which the king intimates that he " had been desirous to 

 go in person, but was deterred by fear of winds and 

 waves." 4 



the island of Ceylon." Decline and | lets for the emperor's favourite con- 

 Fall, c. xl. sort Pwan. Nan-she, b. Ixxviii. p. 



1 Leang-shoo, A.D. 630, b. liv. p. j 13. Tung-teen, b. cxciii. p. 8. Tae- 

 13. The ultimate fate of this re- | ping, &c., b. dcclxxxvii. p. 6. 

 nowned work of art is related in the j 2 Sung-shoo, A.D. 487, b. xcvii. 

 Leang-shoo, and several other of the p. 5. 



Chinese chronicles. Throughout the j 3 Probably one in each of the 

 Tsin and Sung dynasties it was pre- : three orthodox attitudes, sitting in 

 served in the Wa-kwan monastery at meditation, standing to preach, and 

 Nankin, along with five other statues reposing in "nirwana." Wei-shoo, 

 and three paintings which were es- '' "History of the Wei Tartar Dynasty," 

 teemed chefs-d'oeuvre. The jade- j A.D. 590, b. cxiv. p. 9. 

 stone image was at length destroyed j * Leang-shoo, b. liv. p. 10. Yuh- 

 in the time of Tung-hwan, of the hae, " Ocean of Gems/' A.D. 1331, b. 

 Tse dynasty ; first, the arm was : clii. p. 33. The latter authority an- 

 broken off, and eventually the body ! nounces in like terms two other em- 

 taken to make hair-pins and arm- i bassies with tribute to China, one in 



