611 
NOTICES OF CHINESE INTERCOURSE WITH BORNEO 
PROPER PRIOR TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF 
SINGAPORE IN 1819. 
The precise period at whicli Chinese first resorted to Borneo Pro¬ 
per must be matter of conjecture. As it appears to have been ear¬ 
ly noted for its pepper, camphor, and gold, and these commodities 
were amongst the principal imports into China from the eastern seas 
in ancient times,* * * § we may believe that the junks, which must have 
passed close to Borneo on their way to and from Java, early began 
to touch occasionally at some of the ports on the western coast. 
The Borneans themselves tell us that they are in part descended 
from Chinese who settled in Brune. There are so many indepen¬ 
dent traditions to the same effect that, although all vague, we are not 
warranted in rejecting them. According to the Sulu annals a Chinese 
emperor or chief, named Songtiping, brought a Chinese colony to 
Borneo, and settled at the northern ports about A. D. 1375,f His 
daughter was married to a celebrated chief of Arabia, Sherif Ali, 
who had resorted there for commerce. There is nothing improba¬ 
ble in this, because we know that about a century previously Borneo 
was invaded by a fleet sent by Kublai Khan.J Divested of Malay¬ 
an exaggerations the fact appears to be that a large colony under 
a leader settled in Brun£, and that the Arab or Malay chief of the 
country received him in a friendly manner and married his daugh¬ 
ter. § The subsequent rulers have all Malay names, which would 
not have been the case if Songtiping had established a Chinese 
dynasty. Mr. Low says that the Borneans believe that their king¬ 
dom was first formed by large settlements of Chinese (Sarawak &c., 
p. 94), and we have heard Chinese in Singapore talk of a king of 
* Marco Polo says of Java {[Borneo and Java) that u the territory is ve¬ 
ry rich, yielding pepper, nutmegs, galanga, cubebs, cloves and all the rich¬ 
est spices. Many merchants from Zaitun come and carry on a great and 
profitable trade. Its treasure (gold) also is so immense, that it can 
scarcely be estimated.” The last sentence must refer to Borneo. Of 
Lochac, apparently a country in Borneo in the vicinity of Sambas or 
Pontianak, he says “ Brazil wood is in abundance and gold in almost in¬ 
credible quantities. ” 
•J* Hunt’s Sul us p. 32. 
j The Malay history of Malacca mentions a colony of Chinese in Plem- 
bang prior to the foundation of Singapore. 
§ The Chinese settled in Java sometimes, to gain the favour of the na¬ 
tive princes, brought beautiful women from China to present to them. 
k 2 
