82 continental south asia and the islands
has been seen, the missions from Chiao-chih declined from 58 before
1127 to 23 after that date. The reason for that decline must therefore
be sought in Southern Sung and not abroad.
I consequently agree with the view that it was the Chinese them-
selves who curtailed foreign trade. They may not have wished to be
distracted from the urgent need to defend themselves militarily and
diplomatically against first the Jurchen and then the Mongols in the
north. But a stronger reason must have been the pervasive hostility
of Neo-Confucianism toward foreigners and foreign trade. This xeno-
phobia led to an isolationism which cut China off from foreign goods,
ideas, and technology, and did not serve it well.
In conclusion, it has been seen that almost the only motif for the
foreign relations discussed in this chapter was trade. Sung and Champa
had an additional interest in curbing the aggressive tendencies of Chiao-
chih, and in 1076 Sung invited the Khmer Kingdom to join in that
endeavor. Some missions to and from Chiao-chih and China served
the purpose of improving relations. There was an occasional exchange
of sacred and secular books. But otherwise, all dealings between China
and the countries of South Asia and the islands were commercial.
Let us now arrange the foreign goods brought to China from these
countries^185 under categories similar to those of Schafer in his splendid
book on The Golden Peaches of Samarkand.^186
Humans627-649: 2 white-headed men from Fu-nan.
724: 2 pygmies, 1 or 2 black girls, and musicians from “rivijaya.
802: 35 musicians with songs of their national music from P’iao.
815: 5 black youths from K’o-ling.
818: 2 black girls from K’o-ling.
860-874: female musicians from K’o-ling.
1011: 1 black slave from Pagan (rejected).
(^185) This includes all goods, whether brought by the envoys on behalf of their
rulers or for their own profit.
(^186) Occasionally, Schafer has entries for which I cannot find the source. On the
other hand, since Schafer did not intend to be exhaustive, my listings have numerous
entries ignored by him.