cracking of whips announced the arrival of the emperor. Officials in
order of precedence made their triple obeisance before the envoys in
turn were called upon to perform the ‘three kneelings and nine pros-
trations’, foreheads to the ground, before the Son of Heaven, all in
time to instructions shouted by the Master of Ceremonies. If they were
lucky they might be conducted close enough actually to see the
emperor on his throne, even to exchange a word of ceremonial greet-
ing as he terminated the audience.^7
One can imagine the impact of such a ceremony on royal envoys
from even the most powerful Southeast Asian kingdoms, who had
travelled for days from city to city just to reach the Chinese capital.
And one can imagine what stories they would have told on their
return of the population and wealth of the Middle Kingdom. Little
wonder, therefore, that the countries of Southeast Asia within easy
reach of China quickly resumed their tributary relationship with the
new dynasty. Yet the response was uneven. Vietnam and Siam sent
embassies every three years, but none arrived from Laos (Luang Phra-
bang) until 1730 or from Burma until 1750. The Sultan of Sulu sent
his first mission in 1726. No missions arrived from port cities previ-
ously listed as tributaries in Java, Sumatra and the Malay Peninsula
that had fallen under European control. Even so, in some Qing texts
these former tributaries continued to be listed (along with Champa, by
then all but absorbed by Vietnam, and Brunei, which had declined to
the point of insignificance.)
Private trade continued, however, with many parts of Southeast
Asia outside the tributary system, especially after restrictions were
lifted in 1684. By this time, the great majority of trade between China
and Southeast Asia was in Chinese hands, organised by networks of
Chinese merchants resident throughout the region and shipped in
Chinese junks. The principal ports involved in this trade came to be
categorised as ‘non-tributary trading countries’. They included notably
Java (Dutch Batavia), Luzon (Spanish Manila), Aceh in Sumatra, and
several ports on the Malay Peninsula, including Johore and Siamese
A Short History of China and Southeast Asia