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The ideas of the Chinese regarding the mythical period of Singhalese history, and the first peopling of the island, are embodied in a very few sentences which are repeated throughout the series of authors, and with which we are made familiar in the following passage from FA HIAN:"Sze-tseu-kwo, the kingdom of lions1, was inhabited originally not by men but by demons and dragons.2 Merchants were attracted to the island, by the prospect of trade; but the demons remained unseen, merely exposing the precious articles which they wished to barter: with a price marked for each, at which the foreign traders were at liberty to take them, depositing the equivalents indicated in exchange. From the resort of these dealers, the inhabitants of other countries, hearing of the attractions of the island, resorted to it in large numbers, and thus eventually a great kingdom was formed."3

The Chinese were aware of two separate races, one occupying the northern and the other the southern extremity of the island, and were struck with the resemblance of the Tamils to the Hoo, a people of Central Asia, and of the Singhalese to the Leaou, a mountain tribe of Western China. The latter they describe as having large ears, long eyes, purple faces, black bodies, moist and strong hands and feet, and living to one hundred years and upwards.5 Their hair was worn long and flowing, not only by the women but by the men." In these details there are particulars that

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1Wan-hëen tung-kaou, b. cccxxxviii.

p. 24.

2 The Yakkhos and Nagas ("devils" and "serpents") of the Mahawanso.

3 Foë-Koue Ki, ch. xxxviii. p. 333.

Transl. RÉMUSAT. This account of Ceylon is repeated almost verbatim in the Tung-teen, and in numerous other Chinese works, with the addition that the newly-formed kingdom of Sinhala, "Sze-tseu-kwo," took its name from the "skill of the natives in training lions."-B. cxciii.

pp. 8, 9; Tae-ping, b. decxciii. p. 9; Sin-Tang-shoo, b. cxlvi. part ii. p. 10. A very accurate translation of the passage as it is given by MATOUAN-LIN is published by M. Stanislas Julien in the Journ. Asiat. for July, 1836, tom. xxix. p. 36.

4 Too-Hiouen, quoted in the Tungtëen, b. cxciii. p. 8.

5 Taou-e ché-leo, quoted in the Hae-kwo-too ché, or 66 Foreign Geography," b. xviii. p. 15.

closely resemble the description of the natives of the island visited by Jambulus, as related in the story told by Diodorus.1

The Chinese in the seventh century found the Singhalese dressed in a costume which appears to be nearly identical with that of the present day. Both males and females had their hair long and flowing, but the heads of children were closely shaven, a practice which still partially prevails. The jackets of the girls were occasionally ornamented with gems. "The men," says the Tung-tëen, "have the upper part of the body naked, but cover their limbs with a cloth, called Kan-man, made of Koo-pei, Cotton,' a word in which we may recognise the term Comboy,' used to designate the cotton cloth universally worn at the present day by the Singhalese of both sexes in the maritime provinces.* For their vests, the kings and nobles made use of a sub

1 DIODORUS SICULUS, lib. ii. ch. liii. See ante, Vol. I. P. v. ch. 1, p. 153. 2 Leang-shoo, b. liv. p. 10; Nanshe, b. lxxviii. pp. 13, 14.

3 Nan-shè, A. D. 650, b. lxxviii. p. 13; Leang-shoo, A. D. 670, b. liv. p. 11. Such is still the dress of the Singhalese females.

A MOODLIAR AND HIS WIFE.

4 Tung-teen, b. clxxxviii. p. 17; | shoo, b. cxcviii. p. 25. See p. iv. ch. Nan-shè, b. lxxviii. p. 13; Sin-tang- iv. vol. i. p. 450.

stance which is described as 'cloud cloth,'1 probably from its being very transparent, and gathered (as is still the costume of the chiefs of Kandy) into very large folds. It was fastened with golden cord. Men of rank were decorated with earrings. The dead were burned, not buried." And the following passage from the Suh-wanheen-tung-kaou, or the "Supplement to Antiquarian Researches," is strikingly descriptive of what may be constantly witnessed in Ceylon; "the females who live near the family of the dead assemble in the house, beat their breasts with both hands, howl and weep, which constitutes their appropriate rite." 2

3

The natural riches of Ceylon, and its productive capabilities, speedily impressed the Chinese, who were bent upon the discovery of outlets for their commerce, with the conviction of its importance as an emporium of trade. So remote was the age at which strangers frequented it, that in the "Account of Island Foreigners," written by WANG-TA-YUEN in the fourteenth century, it is stated that the origin of trade in the island was coeval with the visit of Buddha, who, "taking compassion on the aborigines, who were poor and addicted to robbery, turned their disposition to virtue, by sprinkling the land with sweet dew, which caused it to produce red gems, and thus gave them wherewith to trade," and hence it became the resort of traders from every country. Though aware of the unsuitability of the climate to ripen wheat, the Chinese were struck with admiration at the wonderful appliances of the Singhalese for irrigation, and the cultivation of rice.5

According to the Tung-teen, the intercourse between

1 The Chinese term is "yun-hae- of MA-TWAN-LIN, as translated by poo."-Leang-shoo, b. liv. p. 10. 2 B. ccxxxvi. p. 19.

3 Taou-e ché-leo, quoted in the Foreign Geography, b. xviii. p. 15. The rapid peopling of Ceylon at a very remote age is accounted for in the following terms in a passage

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M. Stanislas Julien ;-"Les habitants des autres royaumes entendirent parler de ce pays fortuné; c'est pourquoi ils y accoururent à l'envi.". Journ. Asiat. t. xxix. p. 42.

5 Records of the Ming Dynasty, by CHING-HEAOU, b. lxviii. p. 5.

them and the Singhalese, began during the Eastern Tsin dynasty, A.D. 317-4191; and one remarkable island still retains a name which is commemorative of their presence. Salang, to the north of Penang, lay in the direct course of the Chinese junks on their way to and from Ceylon, through the Straits of Malacca, and, in addition to its harbour, was attractive from its valuable mines of tin. Here the Chinese fleets called on both voyages; and the fact of their resort is indicated by the popular name "Ajung-Selan," or "Junk-Ceylon; " by which the place is still known, Ajung, in the language of the Malays, being the term for "large shipping," and Selan, their name for Ceylon.2

The port in Ceylon which the Chinese vessels made their rendezvous, was Lo-le (Galle), "where," it is said, "ships anchor, and people land.” 3

Besides rice, the vegetable productions of the island enumerated by the various Chinese authorities were aloes-wood, sandal-wood, and ebony; camphor 5, arecanuts, beans, sesamum, coco-nuts (and arrack distilled from the coco-nut palm) pepper, sugar-cane, myrrh, frankincense, oil and drugs. An odoriferous extract, called by the Chinese Shoo-heang, is likewise particularised, but it is not possible now to identify it.

Elephants and ivory were in request; and the only manufactures alluded to for export were woven cotton, gold ornaments, and jewelry; including models of the shrines in which were deposited the sacred relics of

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Buddha.1

Statues of Buddha

were frequently sent as royal presents, and so great was the fame of Ceylon for their production in the fourth and fifth centuries, that according to the historian of the Wei Tartar dynasty, A.D. 386-556, people "from the countries of Central Asia, and the kings of those nations, emulated each other in sending artisans to procure copies, but none could rival the productions of Nan-té.2 On standing about ten paces distant they appeared truly brilliant, but the lineaments gradually disappeared on a nearer approach." 3

Pearls, corals, and crystals were eagerly sought after; but of all articles the gems of Ceylon were in the greatest request. The business of collecting and selling them seems from the earliest time to have fallen into the hands of the Arabs, and hence they bore in China the designation of "Mahometan stones."4 They consisted of rubies, sapphires, amethysts, carbuncles (the "red precious stone, the lustre of which serves instead of a lamp at night"); and topazes of four distinct tints, "those the colour of wine; the delicate tint of young goslings, the deep amber, like bees'-wax, and the pale tinge resembling the opening bud of the pine." It will not fail to be observed that throughout all these historical and topographical works of the Chinese, extending over a period of twelve centuries, from the year A.D. 487, there is no mention

but the reference must be to cloth previously imported either from India or Persia.-Ming-she History of the Ming Dynasty, A.D. 1368-1643, b. cccxxvi. p. 7.

1 A model of the shrine containing the sacred tooth was sent to the Emperor of China in the fifth century by the King of Ceylon; " Chacha Mo-ho-nan," a name which appears to coincide with Raja Maha Nama, who reigned A.D. 410–433. — Shunshoo, A.D. 487, b. xlvii. p. 6.

2 Nan-té was a Buddhist priest, who in the year A.D. 456 was sent on an embassy to the Emperor of China, and was made the bearer of three statues of his own making.— Tsih-foo yuen-kwei, b. li. p. 7.

3 Wei-shoo, A.D. 590, b. cxiv. p. 9.

Tsih-ke, quoted in the Chinese Mirror of Sciences, b. xxxiii. P. 1. 5 Po-wuh yaou-lan, b. xxxiii. p. 2. 6 Ibid.

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