1837.] Some account of the Wars between Burmah and China. 127 



them, in again investing Ava, which they besieged for several months. 

 The families and property of many of the Burmese troops being out- 

 side of the city, were seized by the Chinese and maltreated or 

 destroyed; and this circumstance, joined to a great scarcity of pro- 

 visions, created much sorrow and suffering among the besieged. The 

 troops had neither rice nor money to purchase it, and on applying 

 to the king, he observed that they had received their grants of paddy 

 land for their services, and that he had no rice to give them ; at the 

 same time he stationed some of his women at the palace-gate with 

 rice for sale. The commanders of the troops at last complained 

 against the king to his younger brother, the prince of Prome, who, 

 in the month of May 1661, entered the palace, seized the king and 

 his family, and assumed the sovereignty with the title of " Meng-ye- 

 gy6-gaung." The dethroned king and his family were, shortly after, 

 sent to the Khyen-duen river and drowned, and hence he is also 

 styled in history Ye-gyd-meng, or the king thrown into the water. 

 As soon as Meng-ye'-gyo-gaung took the reins of government, the 

 affairs of the Burmese began to prosper. He succeeded in several 

 successive attacks on the Chinese besieging force in different direc- 

 tions, and at last, as the Chinese suffered severely from these attacks 

 and from an epidemic disease, they, one night in the month of 

 November, 1661, evacuated their entrenchments before Ava and fled, 

 leaving most of their baggage and property. 



Shortly after, the king of Ava was advised not to allow Youn-lhi' 

 and all his Chinese followers to reside together at Tsagain, but to 

 make the latter take the oath of allegiance and then disperse them in 

 different parts of the country. The king ordered all the Chinese, 

 with the exception of Youn-lhi' and the governor of Yunan, to be 

 sworn ; but when the Burmese officers summoned the Chinese to 

 attend at the pagoda where the oath was to be administered, they 

 refused to come unless the governor of Yunan accompanied them. 

 He was accordingly invited also, and on coming to the pagoda and 

 seeing many Burmese troops in attendance, he imagined that it was 

 their intention to put the Chinese to death. He and several of the 

 Chinese suddenly snatched the swords out of the hands of some of 

 the soldiers and attacked them, killing many of the Burmese ; who, 

 however, at last mounted the enclosure walls of the pagoda, and 

 fired down upon the Chinese, until many of them were killed and the 

 remainder submitted. But as soon as the king of Ava heard of this 

 affair, he ordered the whole of the Chinese, with the exception of 

 Youn-lhi', to be put to death. 



In the month of December, 1661, the Tartars marched down a force 



