426 ^^^ Philippine Journal of Science 



after which it proceeds to another place; for the savage settlements along 

 the coast of San-su are not connected by a common jurisdiction.' 



One need not wonder, after tracing this phase of the subject, 

 that the retail trade of the Philippines remains to-day in the 

 hands of Chinese merchants. 



But these old writers whose work is here made accessible 

 have something more to record than commerce. Social customs, 

 religious beliefs and practices, and even juridical conceptions 

 find a place in their narratives. Thus the historian of the T'ang 

 Dynasty above quoted informs us — 



that these primitive inhabitants of the Philippines have no corporal punish- 

 ments, all transgressions being penalized with fines in gold which vary 

 according to the nature of the offense. Only robbers and thieves are made 

 to suffer death.' 



So in contrasting their marital customs with those of his own 

 land he says: 



It is not the custom to use go-betweens, or match-makers, in contracting 

 a marriage. Some gold is paid to the relations of the girl and then she is 

 married." 



The agreement of all this with what we know from other 

 sources stamps the descriptions as accurate and genuine. 



The materials collected by Craig furnish us glimpses of these 

 relations between Chinese and Malays down to the time, when, 

 about the middle of the fifteenth century, the Arab missionaries 

 of Islam first appeared in the southern Philippines. At this 

 point the notable and illuminating work of Saleeby commences, 

 and we thus have the framework for a continuous record of 

 the Malays under the successive influence of three of the most 

 potential civilizations of Asia — ^the Indian, the Chinese, and the 

 Arabic. Incidentally this reveals the unity and continuity of 

 history and the solidarity of culture in the Far East. For it 

 thus appears that the native races of this region are not isolated 

 units having no relations with one another, but are sharers in 

 a common civilization whose influence has been age-long and 

 far-reaching. 



Charles S. Lobingier. 



* The Pre-Spanish Philippines, p. 4, reproducing extracts from the work 

 of Chau Ju-kua on the Chinese and Arab Trade (in the 12th and 13th 

 centuries). 



* Particulars of the Philippines' Pre-Spanish Past, 10. 

 "Op. cit., 11. 



