1837.] Chinese Account of India. 75 



cour to those who need it. His concubine was named Mo-ho-ne ; she 

 wore a red dress, adorned with gold filagree work. She goes out but 

 once a year, and distributes gifts freely. People flock to attend the king 

 and his concubine, and raise shouts of joy as they pass. There are four 

 ministers to administer all the affairs of the kingdom, who are irremova- 

 ble. The five kinds of grain and the six kinds of edible fruit, are the 

 same as the Chinese. They use copper money for purposes of commerce. 

 They have a literature and books, which are long and are rolled up as in 

 China, except that the leaves are not pierced and attached one to another. 



From their kingdom, six months' journey to the East, you arrive at 

 the kingdom of the Ta-she (Arab) ; in two moons more, you get to Se- 

 chow (the Western Isle) ; in three moons more, you arrive at Hea-chow 

 (the Isle of Summer). O-leyan says, that the king of his native coun- 

 try was entitled hlh-yVi (Black. dress) ; that his family name was Chang, 

 and his first name Le-moo ; that he wore silk dresses, embroidered and 

 painted in different colors ; that he wore each only two or three days, 

 resuming them once. The kingdom has nine ministers, irremovable, who 

 direct state affairs. Commerce is carried on by barter, no money being 

 used. 



From this kingdom, six months' journey to the East, you arrive at the 

 country of the Brahmans*. 



The second of the years che-taou (996), some Buddhist priests from In- 

 dia, who arrived in ships as far as the mouth of the river {che-gari), bring- 

 ing to the emperor a brass bell and a copper bell, a statue of Fuht, and 

 some Fun (Indian) books, written upon leaves of the pei-to tree, the 

 language of which is not understood. 



The third and ninth of the year teen shing (1025 to 1031), some Bud- 

 dhist priests of Western Yin-too, lovers of wisdom, knowledge, sincerity, 

 and other virtues of this kind J, brought Fan books § as presents, revered 

 as canonical. The emperor gave to each a piece of yellow stuff, to wrap 

 round the body, in the form of a band. 



The second moon of the fifth year some Sang-fd, to the number of five, 

 denominated ' fortunate' and ' happy,' and by other epithets of the same 

 nature, brought presents of Fan books. The emperor gave them pieces 

 of yellow stuff to make trailing robes for them. . 



The third of the years king-yew (1036), nine Buddhist priests, called 

 ' the virtuous,' ' the exalted,' &c, brought as tribute, Fan books and 

 bones of Fiih, with teeth, copper, and statues of Poo-sa (Boddhisatwas) : 

 the emperor gave them caps and bands. 



[To be continued.'] 



* Here ends the first narrative of the Yuen-keen-luy-han. 



f This traffic in images of Buddha continues to the present day, as maybe proved 

 by the well-known circumstance of the large stone statue seized on its way down 

 the river from Patna, at the breaking out of the Burmese war, and restored from 

 the museum, wherein it was deposited, only three years ago. It would be curious 

 to ascertain whether any Buddhist images in China bear the Niigari inscription ye 

 dharma he'tu, &c, like those dug up at Tagoung in Ava. — Ed. 



X These are translations of Sanscrit Buddha epithets. 



§ Fan-shoo -king, ' classical Indian books.' 



v 2 



