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History of the Ming dynasty (1368—1643). Book 325. 



Malacca (*) is situated at the south of Champa ; with a fair wind one 

 may arrive in eight clays at the strait of Lingga and then it is two days 

 more to the west. It is supposed to be the old country Tun-sun, and the 

 Kora Eu-sa (see above) of the T'ang dynasty. 



In the lOth rnonth of the year 1403 the emperor sent the eunuch 

 Yin Ch'ing ( 2 ) as envoy to this country, to bring presents of silk woven 

 with golden flowers, curtains adorned with gold, and other things. There 

 was no king in the country and it was not called a kingdom, but it be- 

 longed to Siam, to which it paid an annual tribute of forty taels of gold. 

 When Yin Ch'ing arrived there, he spoke of the power and rank of China 

 and of Iris intention to take the chief with him. The chief, called Pai-li-su-ra ( 3 ), 

 was very glad and sent envoys to go to the court along with the imperial 

 envoy and presented as tribute products of the country. 



In the 9th month of the year 1405 these envoys arrived at the cap- 

 ital; the Emperor spoke in praising terms of their master, appointed him 

 king of the country of Malacca and gave him a commission, a seal, a suit 

 of silk clothes and a yellow umbrella, whilst Yin Ch'ing was ordered to go 

 there again and bring all these presents. The envoys said that their king 

 was aware of his duty and wished his country to be a district of the empire , 

 bringing tribute every year, and that he had therefore requested that his 

 mountains might be made guardians of the country. The Emperor gave his 

 assent; he prepared an inscription with a piece of verse at the end and 

 ordered a tablet to be erected on those mountains. 



When Yin Ch'ing arrived to carry out all these orders , the king was 

 still more pleased and treated him with even more honours than before. In 

 the 9th month of the year 1407 he sent envoys to bring tribute and in the 

 next year , when Chêng Ho came to his country , he again sent envoys with 

 tribute to go with him to China. 



In 1411 the king came with his wife, his son and his ministers, 

 altogether five hundred and forty persons ; when he had arrived at the suburbs 

 of the capital, the emperor ordered two officers to go and receive him; he 

 was lodged in the building of the Board of Rites and received in audience 



o f* H. 



