Commodity and Market 9
more than ten days’ journey on foot to the country of Fukandulu,
whence it is something over two months’ voyage to the country of
Huangzhi. The customs of the people are rather similar to those of
Zhuyai (Hainan). These countries are extensive, their populations
numerous and their many products unfamiliar (rare and precious
objects). Ever since the time of Emperor Wu [141‒87 BC], they have
offered tribute. There are chief-interpreters attached to the Yellow
Gate who, together with volunteers, put out to sea to buy lustrous
pearls, glass, rare stones and strange products in exchange for gold
and various silks. All the countries they visit provide them with
goods and companionship. The trading ships of the barbarians
transfer [the Chinese] to their destination. It is a proβitable
business [for the barbarians], who also loot and kill. Moreover,
there are the hazards of wind and wave to be encountered and [the
possibility of] death by drowning. If these are avoided the outward
and return voyages take several years. The large pearls are at the
most two Chinese inches in circumference. During the Yuanshi
period of Emperor Ping (AD 1‒5), Wang Mang, [in his capacity]
as counsellor, and desirous of manifesting the brilliance of his
majestic virtue, sent rich gifts to the King of Huangzhi, at the same
time commanding him to dispatch an embassy to present a live
rhinoceros [as tribute]. From Huangzhi it is about eight months’
voyage to Pizong. It is about a further eight months’ voyage to
the borders of Rinan and Xianglin. In the south of Huangzhi is
the country of Sibucheng. From there the envoy and interpreters
embarked on their return journey.^27The text reveals several interesting pieces of information about the trade
routes, ships and navigators, the character of the trade and the navigational
environment of the Straits of Malacca. No later than the βirst century
ćĈ, Han China (206 ćĈ‒Ćĉ 220) and Huangzhi (Kanci; Conjeveram),
a kingdom located on the southeastern coast of India, had established
contacts. They exchanged luxury goods with each other, a trade that
clearly suited the taste of the court and the high-end market. The ship(s)
- The Chinese text appears in Han shu 汉书 [Standard dynastic history of the Han],
juan 28b (Hong Kong: Zhonghua shuju, 1970), Vol. 6, p. 167. The translation
is taken from Paul Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese, pp. 8, 11, except for the
place names that have been converted to Pinyin. Scholars interpret the text
somewhat differently. See for example, Hsu Yun-ts’iao 许云樵, Nanyang shi 南
洋史 [History of the Nanyang] (Singapore: Xinzhou shijie shuju, 1961), Vol. 1,
pp. 44–5; O.W. Wolters, Early Indonesian Commerce: A Study of the Origins of
Srivijaya (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967), pp. 33–4; and Wang Gungwu,
“The Nanhai Trade”, Chapter 2.