The ambiguity of official Chinese relations with overseas
Chinese is well illustrated by the case of Srivijaya, centred on Palem-
bang in southern Sumatra. Srivijaya was by then a declining power,
recently reduced to the status of a dependency of the Javanese
kingdom of Majapahit. But Palembang remained a major Chinese
trading centre with a large resident Chinese population. As strong
local government collapsed, Chinese traders elected their own leader
who obtained the blessing of the Ming court. Peaceful transit for mer-
chant shipping through the vital Melaka Strait was thereby assured.
When in 1405 a Chinese pirate, Chen Zuyi, seized control of Palem-
bang, Zheng He attacked and defeated him. Seventeen ships were sunk
or seized, and more than 5000 of Chen’s men killed in a series of
engagements over three months. Chen was sent in chains to China,
where he was beheaded. One message from these events was clear:
force would be used to ensure peaceful conditions for legitimate trade.
Another was less evident: the interests of China took precedence over
those of Chinese overseas.
Force was also used to ensure respect for China’s imperial order.
In 1411 Zheng He returned from his third voyage via Beruwala, on the
west coast of Sri Lanka. There the local Sinhalese ruler rashly refused
to acknowledge Chinese suzerainty. Conflict arose and several battles
were fought, resulting in a decisive Chinese victory. The king, his
family, and several leading officials were carried off as captives to
Beijing. There Yongle demonstrated his benevolence by releasing
them and permitting them to return to Sri Lanka, once they had ren-
dered him homage.
On his fourth voyage, Zheng He executed an imperial
command to depose a usurper who had seized control of Samudra on
the northeast coast of Sumatra, and restore the rightful ruler to his
throne. The usurper’s forces were defeated, and he himself was taken
as a prisoner to China, along with his wife and child. This time the
sentence was death, for the Chinese-sanctioned order had been dis-
turbed. The message was again clear. China reserved the right to
A Short History of China and Southeast Asia