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Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v1.c7: Book I. The Political History

Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champā; Vol. II: Suvarṇadvīpa) v1.c7

Language
English

Contents

Book I. The Political History

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Of CHAMPĀ

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The *fraternities* of the Middle Ages, which were so numerous and so varied in their objects, were not all of the same origin. Some were religious, some social, some charitable, and some industrial. The religious guilds, or *gilds*, as they were often called, were associations of laymen for the purpose of performing religious duties, such as the maintenance of a chaplain, the celebration of masses, or the support of a hospital. The social guilds were formed for the purpose of mutual aid and good fellowship, and often included in their objects the relief of the poor, the sick, and the aged. The charitable guilds were established for the purpose of supporting hospitals, almshouses, and other institutions of mercy. The industrial guilds, or *craft guilds*, were associations of men engaged in the same trade or industry, and were formed for the purpose of regulating the trade, protecting the interests of the members, and maintaining the quality of their work.

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The craft guilds, which became so powerful in the later Middle Ages, were the successors of the earlier *collegia* of the Roman Empire. The *collegia* were associations of artisans and tradesmen, which were recognized by the state and had a legal existence. When the Roman Empire fell, these associations were largely destroyed, but the idea of association for mutual protection and the regulation of trade survived. In the early Middle Ages, the *gilds* began to reappear, and by the twelfth century they were firmly established in many of the cities of Europe.

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The craft guilds were organized on a democratic basis, and every member had a voice in the management of the guild's affairs. The officers were elected by the members, and the rules and regulations were made by the guild as a whole. The guilds had the power to fix prices, to regulate the hours of labor, and to determine the conditions of apprenticeship. They also had the power to punish members who violated the rules, and to expel those who were guilty of serious offenses. The guilds were thus a powerful force in the economic life of the Middle Ages, and they played an important part in the development of the modern industrial system.

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The decline of the craft guilds began in the sixteenth century, when the rise of the factory system and the growth of international trade made it difficult for the small, local guilds to compete with the larger and more efficient industrial organizations. The guilds were also weakened by the growth of the power of the state, which began to regulate trade and industry directly, and by the rise of the capitalist class, which sought to break the power of the guilds and to establish a system of free competition. By the end of the eighteenth century, the craft guilds had largely disappeared, but their influence lived on in the trade unions and other labor organizations of the modern world.

Chapter I. The Land

§ 1. Physical Features

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The ancient kingdom of Champā occupied the eastern portion of the Indo-Chinese peninsula, and roughly corresponded to the present province of Annam (excluding Tonkin and French Cochin China) with the exception of the three northern districts, Than Hoa, Nghe An and Ha Tinh. It was situated between 18° and 10° of N. Latitude. The almost uninhabited dunes which now separate Annam from French Cochin China formed its southern boundary. The eastern boundary was formed by the sea of China, while on the west a chain of hills shut it off from the valley of the Mekong river.

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This chain of hills, covered with rich forests, runs across the whole length of the country, gradually descending from north to south. Its height in the northern part is about 2750 yards, and in the southern part about 2200 yards. This mountain range has three passes which offer easy route across it to the valley of the Mekong. Of these the southernmost one at Quinon alone seems to have been used for purposes of western expansion by the people of ancient Champā.

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Champā was thus mainly a long narrow strip of territory confined between the mountains and the sea. The coast line was a bow-shaped curve, convex towards the sea. From Song Giang in Quang Binh, the northernmost district, the coast line runs due south-east up to cape Batangan. Thence it runs nearly south to Cape Padaran. From Cape Padaran it abruptly takes a south-western direction till it reaches the French Cochin China. The narrow habitable zone between the mountains and the sea varies in breadth and is intersected by innumerable spurs of hills running in various directions. Sometimes the spurs of hills extend as far as the sea coast, and the habitable zone is reduced to nothing; but nowhere does it exceed a breadth of sixty to seventy miles. A large number of rivers issuing from the mountains falls to the sea. The whole country is thus divided into a number of valleys separated by chains of hills.

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In consequence of the rapid declivity of land towards the east, and the short course of these rivers, large quantities of sands and gravels are carried along with their swift currents. This has resulted in the formation of dunes and lagunes all along the coast line. These no doubt prevent the large ships from approaching near the coast, but serve as an excellent means of communication for small boats all along the coast line. This was particularly valuable in ancient times, as journey by land was exceedingly difficult on account of the rugged mountains that traverse the country, and the savage inhabitants that lived in the interior.

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The large number of river valleys in which the country abounded were rich in fertile lands, and consequently formed the centres of civilisation. But as these were practically unconnected by any land route, and could only communicate with one another by means of sea, it looks as though the whole kingdom consisted of a number of independent isolated settlements. That this was indeed the case to a very large extent is shown by the grouping of ancient monuments in different valleys without any connecting link between one another, and the constant tendency of the different parts of the kingdom to set up as independent states.

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§ 2. NATURAL DIVISIONS OF THE LAND.

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In view of what has just been said it is necessary to deal with the natural divisions of land in more details. The ancient kingdom of Champā may, from this point of view, be divided into five parts. Starting from the south, we may enumerate them as follows:—

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I. The southernmost section comprises the district of Binh Thuan, between Cape Ba-ke, which separates Annam from French Cochin China, and Cape Padaran. The spurs of hills reach the sea at Cape Kega dominated by mount Ta-cu, about 550 yards high. The country, full of sands and dunes, is thinly peopled, the only exception being the three ports of Phantiet, Phanri and Duong, at the mouths of small rivers, and settlements in their immediate neighbourhood. The plain in the interior is now almost deserted but appears to have been rich and prosperous in the past.

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II. The second section, extending from Cape Padaran to Cape Varella, comprises the district of Khan Hoa. It consists of three valleys easily accessible from one another. It is separated from the preceding section by hill ranges which abruptly descend to the sea, but the valley of Ca Na offers a passable route between the two.

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The country is full of mountains but there are five valleys and bays. Three of these valleys are most important, those of Phanrang, immediately after Cape Padaran, Nha Trang, a little to the north, and lastly Ninh Hoa. Phanrang, the ancient *Panduranga* is still full of old monuments. Nha Trang, the ancient *Kauthara* was famous for the Temple of Po Nagar which contains a large number of inscriptions of ancient times.

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III. The third section extends from Cape Varella to Sahoi Point. It contains two distinct mountain ranges with two valleys watered by the rivers Song Ba or Song Da Rang and Song Lai Giang, and the rich extensive plain of Binh Dinh between the two. Long chains of mountains separate this section from the preceding. There are only two routes, one across the peak of Da Bia (770 Yds high), and the other through an unhealthy marshy valley, both leading to the valley of Song Da Rang.

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The plain of Binh Dinh is the most extensive in Annam and contains many ruins of ancient times. Not far from the present fort of Binh Dinh which was built in the 18th. century are to be found the ruins of the old fort of Caban—the old capital city of Vijaya, for a long time the capital of the ancient kingdom.

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This section corresponds to the modern districts of Phu Yen and Binh Dinh.

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IV. The fourth section comprises the modern districts of Quang Ngai and Quang Nam, extending from Point Sahoi to the spur of hill called ‘Col des Nuages’ (The cloudy Peak) on the coast. All along the coast line there are interminable dunes and equally interminable lagunes. Quang Ngai contains a rich plain watered by two rivers Song Tra Kuc and Song Tra Bong. The Song, the Great River, which takes various names, with a number of affluents water the plain of Quang Nam and fall in several channels to the sea forming a large but shallow estuary. The important port of Faifo on this estuary was once the principal port of the ancient kingdom of Champa. On one of the arms of this Great River is the Marble rock containing Buddhist caves.

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The province contains innumerable vestiges of antiquity. It was the ancient kingdom of Amaravati. There are ruins of many famous towns of old, the most notable being Tra Kieu, the ancient Champa-nagari, the capital of Champa, and Dong Duong, the ancient Indrapura. There are besides ruins of a group of fine temples at Myson which have yielded quite a large number of epigraphic records.

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V. The fifth section extending from “Col des Nuages” to Hoan Sonh Mountains comprises the three districts of Thua Thien, Quang Tri and Quang Binh. The dunes and the lagunes along the sea-coast form its characteristic feature. Each of the three districts is watered by a large river. The river Song Gianh in Quang Binh is one of the largest in Annam, and a few miles further north is the Cape Bung Chua, the northernmost point of the ancient kingdom of Champā, the Hoan Sonh Mountains forming the frontier between it and the Annamite provinces to the north.

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This region was thoroughly devastated by the long-drawn struggles between the Chams and the Annamites and by the systematic pillage of the latter when they conquered it. As a result only a few vestiges of antiquity remain on the ground. It contains the modern capital of the province viz., Hue, and near it the ruins of Kiu-Siou the old stronghold of Champā.¹

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¹ § 1 and § 2 are mainly based on "Inventaire Descriptif des Monuments Cams de l' Annam" by H. Parmentier, Vol. I Chapter I.

§ 3. Modern Geographical Divisions

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Annam is now divided into twelve districts. Starting from the north immediately south of Tonkin, these may be enumerated as follows:—

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(1) Than Hoa
(2) Nghe An
(3) Ha Tinh
(4) Quang Binh
(5) Quang Tri
(6) Thua Thien (Quong Du'c)
(7) Quang Nam
(8) Quang Ngai
(9) Binh Dinh (Qui-nhom)
(10) Phu Yen
(11) Khan Hoa (Nha Trang)
(12) Binh Thuan § 4. THE CLIMATE AND POPULATION.

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The climate varies according to Latitude and altitude, the heat ranging between 50° and 100° F. There are only two seasons, Summer and Monsoon. Summer commences in February or March and ends in August. The monsoon breaks out in September and continues till February. The climate is, generally speaking, unhealthy and favours diseases like fever and dysentery.

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The population of the country was never very large. Judging on the basis of the present population, the kingdom of Champā, at its largest extent, may be regarded as having contained about two and a half millions of people.

§ 5. The Soil and Its Products

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¹ §§ 4-6 are mainly based on "Bouillevaux—L'Annam et le Cambodge" pp. 449 ff.

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Nearly throughout the country the territory between the mountains and the sea contains rich alluvial plains with clayey subsoil. On the high plateau the soil is sandy. The mountains, covered with rich forests, contain large layers of clayey, sometimes also ferrugineous, soil which is very fertile.

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The most important product is rice which not only grows on low or marshy plains, but also on high grounds and even on mountains. Among other products of the soil may be mentioned the sugarcane, mulberry, pepper, betel, cotton, tobacco, maize, millet, sesame, caster-oil plant, indigo, saffron, lac, turmeric, different kinds of potatoes, sago, beans, pea, egg-plant, cucumber, hemp, fan-palm.

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Among the fruit-trees, the most important are banana, cocoanut, mango, betel-nut, date-palms, jack tree and apple. Among other fruits may be mentioned mangosteen, guava, tamarind, orange, lemon, pomegranate, papaw, pine-apple and Lichi.

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Among watery plants may be mentioned lotus, water-lily and a kind of palms whose leaves were used in making straw hats.

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The forest contained a rich variety of important and valuable trees of perfume such as sandal, camphor, clove, frankincense and others. Cardamum was found with great difficulty, but valued at its weight in gold. There were ebony and other trees producing good timber, and bamboo was found in great abundance

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The mountains are generally composed of granite rocks. They contain numerous minerals. The hills in Quang Nam and Thua Thien contain abundant zinc and copper, the latter being also found in Phu Yen. Silver exists in Thua Thien and Phu Yen while gold dust is found in Quang Nam and other places. Mineral oils are found nearly all over the country.

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Gold was obtained in large quantities and the Chinese texts of old refer to ‘Mountains of gold’. The soil abounded in precious stones of various kinds and we hear frequently of lapis-lazuli and amber being sent as presents or tributes by the king of Champa.

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§ 6. THE FAUNA.

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The more important domesticated animals are the elephants, the buffalo, the horse, the ox, the boar, and the goat.

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Among the birds may be mentioned the duck, the pigeon, and fowls of various kinds. The goose and the rabbit are rarely found.

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The mountains and forests of Annam also abound in wild animals, such as the elephants, buffalo, wild boar, ferocious bull, and another animal called Jin (midway between buffalo and bull) which is very ferocious. There are also tiger, rhinoceros, wild goats, and deer in large numbers. Besides there are monkeys and hares.

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The more important aquatic birds were rose-coloured flamingo, stork, pelican, heron, crane, ibis, teal, and water-fowls.

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Among other birds may be mentioned peacock, pheasant, swallow, parrots, quail, crow, small eagles, vulture, and wild-fowls.

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The rivers and sea abounded in fish of various kinds and tortoises. There were besides mother-of-pearl and sea-otter.

Chapter II. The Chams and the Foundation of the Kingdom of Champa

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The country which developed later into the kingdom of Champā was originally inhabited by two classes of people, (1) the Chams, and (2) the savages. The distinction was mainly a cultural one, for ethnographically they both belonged to the same Austronesian race.¹ The Chams looked down upon the savages and called them by the general names of the Mlecchas and the Kirātas, in addition to various local names, such as the Vylas of Phanrang, Randaiy of Nha Trang, and the Mada of Binh Dinh.

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¹ As usual there is a wide divergence of views in this respect, but the general consensus of opinion is in favour of the view mentioned above. The old language of the Chams, as preserved in ancient inscriptions, which by the way does not materially differ from the modern, as well as their physical features, described by the Chinese, lend support to this view. Their manners and customs also point in the same direction.

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The Chinese historians have left very interesting accounts of the physical features and the manners and customs of the Chams. They had black skin, deep sunken eyes, snub-noses, and woolly hair. Their dress consisted of a piece of cotton cloth which covered their body from waist to the feet. Neither men nor women put on any other cloth save that in winter they used a kind of thick robe. The ordinary people went bare-footed, but the nobles used shoes made of skin. Both the male and the female tied the hair into various forms of knots and perforated the ears for putting on rings or other ornaments. The people loved cleanliness. They bathed and washed several times every day and rubbed their body with camphor and musk.

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Their clothes were perfumed with the vapour of a large number of fragrant woods.¹ Lin-yi-ki, a Chinese text composed about the close of the 5th century A. D., describes the people of Tan-eul as follows: "The people love to walk bare-footed and wear large ear-rings. Although the boys and girls have untidy naked bodies, they do not consider it a shame. In summer they cover their body with earth and expose it to the sun. Naturally their skin becomes black. For a long time this practice has been a general one and black is regarded as elegant."²

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¹ This description is collected by Maspero from the accounts of several Chinese authors, belonging to different periods (Toung Pao. 1910 p. 174). But as all these Chinese writers belonged to a period when the Chams had come under the influence of the Indian colonists, it is difficult to decide how for the manners and customs described by them were original or due to the Indian influence.

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² B. E. F. vol. IV, No. 9, p. 15.

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It appears that the population consisted of some Chinese elements, though these were ultimately absorbed by the Chams or rather the Indianised Chams. For, in the same Chinese text, Lin-yi-ki, we find the following description of the people of Kiu-sou, a fortified stronghold of Champā, about 70 miles from the capital.

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"The inhabitants descended from the Chinese exiles (255-206 B. C.) have been corrupted by coming into contact with the indigenous elements, and the ancient manners and customs of Je-nan have been completely transformed."³

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³ Ibid, p. 13.

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Very little is known of the early history of the Chams. The Annamites have preserved in their Annals some legends about it, but they are of little historical value. One of them runs as follows:—

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“In ancient times there was a kingdom, beyond the frontiers of Annam, called Dieu-nghiem. The king of this country was called the king of demons or Daśānana (having ten faces). To the north of this kingdom was the country of Ho Ton Tinh whose king was Daśaratha. The son of Daśaratha called Chung-tu had a beautiful wife. King Daśānana, being enamoured of her beauty, conquered the country of Ho Ton Tinh and brought away the princess. Prince Chung-tu, however, gathered a troop of Monkeys who bridged the ocean with mountains, and brought back his wife after defeating and killing Daśānana.”

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After describing the above story the Annamite Annals conclude: “The Chams are the descendants of the nation called Ho Ton Tinh.” The story is, on the face of it, simply a localisation of the events of Rāmāyaṇa in Champa, and no historical conclusion can be drawn from it.

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The earliest reliable information about the Chams is obtained from the Chinese sources. But in order to understand properly the relations between the two nations we must go back a little to the past history.

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In the middle of the third century before Christ China was divided into a large number of small kingdoms. To the south and south-east of it, beyond the Nanling mountains, lived a large number of independent tribes who were generally designated as Yue, and who occupied not only Tonkin and the northern portion of Annam as far as Quang Nam, but also the present Chinese districts named Kouang-Si, Kouang-Tong, Fou-kien and Tcho-kiang (only the southern half).

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In 221 B.C. Che-houang-ti, of the Tsin Dynasty (225 B. C.-206 B.C.) brought the whole of China under his control and established a united empire. After having properly organised the administration of his vast territories he turned his attention to the conquest of the Yue tribes. By 214 B.C.¹ the vast territories were conquered and divided for the purpose of administration into several provinces. The whole of Tonkin and northern Annam was included in the province of Siang, while the rest was divided into three other provinces. After the death of Che-houang-ti in 210 B.C. anarchy and confusion prevailed in China, taking advantage of which the governor of one of these three provinces established an independent kingdom called Nan-yue. It had its capital at Canton and comprised the modern Chinese districts of Kouang-si and Kouang-Tong. The province of Siang was soon conquered by the king of Nan-yue and was divided for administrative purposes into two provinces of Kiao-tche (Tonkin) and Kieou-tchen (the region of Than Hoa and the Chinese territory in Annam) with capitals respectively at Hanoi and Than-hoa.

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¹ Maspero wrongly puts the events at 3 B. C. [T'oung Pao 1910, p. 322] probably a mistake for III B. C., but even this date is not that of the original conquest but of the later conquest by the Hans.

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In the meantime the Han Dynasty was established in China. In the year 196 B.C. the Han Emperors officially recognised the kingdom of Nan-yue and its king agreed to rule as a vassal king. In the year 183 B.C., however, he revolted and assumed the title of the Emperor of Nan-yue. He died in 137 B. C. and was succeeded by feeble rulers. The Han Emperor sent a military expedition against the kingdom in 112 B. C. and it was wholly conquered in a year.

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The Han Emperors made a new arrangement of administrative units. The territories comprising Tonkin and all the southern conquests in Annam which were included in the province of Siang under the Tsin Emperors, and out of which two provinces (Kiao-tche, and Kieou-tchen) were made by the king of Nan-yue, were now divided into three provinces viz., Kiao-tche, Kieou-tchen and Je-nan. In other words, Je-nan corresponded to the southern districts of Siang¹. Je-nan was divided into five districts, the two southernmost of which had their head-quarters at Siang-lin and Si-Kuan.

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¹ (1.) This rapid survey of the relations between China and Annam is based on the admirable article of L. Aurousseau (B. E. F. Vol. XXIII, pp. 137 ff., cf. specially pp. 152 ff, 216 ff, 223 ff. 232 ff. and 263 ff )

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The question of the exact limits of Je-Nan has long perplexed the scholars. But it may now be regarded as having been fixed with a fair degree of certainty. Pelliot has shown from a passage in Tsin Chou that the northern boundary of Je-nan was the Heng-Chan, now called Hoan-Sonh mountain, a chain which advances towards the sea between Ha Tinh and Quang Binh.² As to the southern boundary, M. Aurousseau has drawn attention to a passage in Heou Han Chou according to which the two provinces of Kieou-tchen and Je-nan were situated respectively at a distance of 11,580 and 13,400 li from Lo Yang. It would follow, therefore, that Je-nan was nearly 1820 li to the south of Kieou-tchen. As this latter has been definitey identified with Than-hoa, it follows that Je-nan extended at least 250 miles further south; in other words it must have extended beyond the province of Binh Dinh in the south. This is corroborated by an Annamite Geographical text which fixes the southern boundary of Je-Nan at the mountain chain which terminates in cape Varella. Thus the ancient Je-Nan may be regarded as that part of modern Annam which lies between the Porte d' Annam and Cape Varella.³

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² (2.) B. E. F. Vol. IV, p. 190

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³ (3.) Ibid Vol. XIV, No 9, p. 24.

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We thus find that since 214 B. C., the whole of Tonkin, and Annam as far as Cape Varella, passed under the supremacy of the Chinese. The people who lived in Tonkin and northern Annam were undoubtedly the Annamites who were destined to rise to great power in a later period and give their name to the southern part of the Chinese possessions. They belonged ethnographically to the vast Yue race that occupied the territory south of Nan-ling which was first conquered by the Tsin Emperor Che-houang-ti between 221 and 214 B.C. A large part of this Yue race was ultimately absorbed by the Chinese, but those of Tonkin and northern Annam retained their individuality, and, after centuries of Chinese subjugation, ultimately formed themselves into a powerful nation, as we shall see later on. The Annamites, however, did not as yet extend beyond the "Col de Nuages" in the district of Quang Nam. To the south of it lived the indigenous savage population. But already in the first century A. D. we find a new element, the Chams, firmly established in sufficiently large number as far north as Quang Nam. At what date the Chams pushed so far north as Quang Nam we are unable to say, but we shall not probably be far wrong, if we hold that at the time when the Han Emperor had divided the vast territories between the frontier of Kouang-Si and cape Varella into the three provinces of Kiao-tche, Kieou-tchen and Je-Nan, the first two were peopled by the Annamites and the third by the Chams. The primitive savages of Tonkin and Annam, pushed by the Annamites from the north and the Chams from the south, were gradually moving towards the high mountains as their last refuge.

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To the south of cape Varella, in the districts of Khan Hoa and Binh Thuan, lived a small group of independent Chams who constantly harassed the southern frontier of the Chinese possessions. They must have been encouraged in their incursions by the tacit sympathy of the population—their own kinsmen—who were placed under the yoke of the Chinese. As we shall see later on, the headquarters of the southernmost Chinese district were placed in Quang Nam. The Chinese control over the districts of Quang Ngai, Binh Dinh and Phu Yen were probably more nominal than real, and the country, being full of narrow valleys and thick impenetrable jungles, tempted the Chams to plunder and devastate the Chinese possessions. The Chinese historians have described these Chams as savages who were ignorant of the art of cultivation and lived upon hunting alone. They frequently invaded the residences of the Chinese officials and plunder, murder and devastation accompanied these raids. As soon, however, as the Chinese troops came to chastise them they fled and took shelter in the impenetrable forests.

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The Cham incursions sometimes took a fairly serious turn. We learn from the Chinese history that in the year 137 A. D., about 10,000 Kiu-lien, a barbarous tribe from beyond the frontier of their territories, attacked their southernmost districts, destroyed the Chinese forts and ravaged the whole country. The governor Fan-Yen raised ten thousand soldiers, but they were unwilling to undertake such a distant expedition and broke into revolt. Taking advantage of this respite, the Kiu-lien pushed their conquests further north, defeated the Chinese troops that opposed them, and occupied some of the Chinese districts. The Chinese emperor was inclined to send a military expedition against the intruders, but one of his ministers pointed out the futility of such a distant expedition, and advised his royal master to rely upon diplomacy. Accordingly Tchou Leang was sent to treat with them and the Kiu-lien were induced to evacuate the conquered territory in 138 A. D. There is no doubt that the Kiu-lien denoted the Chams¹ who thus seem to have possessed great military skill and organisation, as early as the second century A. D.

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¹ Ibid p. 28.

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But the death-blow to the Chinese authority came from within. The Cham inhabitants of Siang-lin were particularly turbulent and now and then broke into open rebellion. In 100 A. D. nearly 2000 of them revolted and attacked the Chinese possessions in the north. They killed many officials and destroyed many villages, but retraced their steps as soon as the Chinese forces arrived. In course of time they grew bolder, and, about 192 A. D., taking advantage of the troubles of the Han dynasty, a native of Siang-lin, named Lien, son of Kong tsa'o, and belonging to the family called Kiu, killed the officer in-charge of the city and proclaimed himself king in Lin-yi. As the term Lin-yi has been used by the Chinese throughout in later periods to denote the kingdom of Champā, we may trace in the successful revolt of Kiu Lien the foundation of that kingdom, at first in Siang-lin but ultimately destined to cover nearly the whole of Annam, south of Tonkin.²

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² Maspero doubtfully accepted the hypothesis that the kingdom of Kiu Lien is that of Champa, but M. Aurousseau has quoted definite evidence on this point from Chinese texts [B. E. F. vol. XIV, No 9, pp. 26-27]. As to the origin of the name Lin-yi, M. Aurousseau suggests that the Cham kingdom having been originally established in Siang-lin, the Chinese called it Lin-yi ie. capital Lin [of Siang]. "Lin-yi" which was thus the first Chinese name of the first Cham capital was ultimately extended by a natural process to denote the whole of the ancient kingdom of Champa [Ibid].

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The identification of the city of Lin-yi (Siang-lin) has long baffled the scholars. But M. Aurousseau seems to have successfully demonstrated that Siang-lin is now represented by Tra-kieu, a little to the south of Quang Nam.¹ It would thus appear that the first Cham kingdom was established in Quang-Nam and this explains the presence of two such magnificent groups of temples at Myson and Dong-Duong in the neighbourhood.

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¹ B. E. F vol. XIV. No. 9, p. 23 ff.

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We find a beautiful description of the topography of Champa in a Chinese text called Chouei King Tchou composed in 527 A. D.

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The city was about 40 li (about 6½ miles) from the sea-coast and was at a distance of 2,500 li (about 400 miles) from the tcheou of Kouang. At the south-west angle of the ramparts of the city were high mountains and a long chain of hills which served as a natural embankment. Quite close to the north of the hills flowed a river. To the south of the hills, at a little distance was another river which joined the former to the east of the city.

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The city was surrounded by a wall about a mile and a half in circumference. On a brick wall about 20 feet high was raised a second brick wall of half that height, pierced by square loop-holes. On the walls were placed wooden boards supporting many-storied pavillions, on the roof of which again arose towers varying in height from 40 to 70 feet. The first impression that these structures gave was that of an owl, which, with its tail turned towards the wind and touching the mountains and the clouds, was looking towards the water, but would soon, by a leisurely flight, ascend to the highest peak of the mountains. The architecture was admirable but showed lack of skill.

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‘ There were four gates in the walls. The main gate was on the east. It opened near two islands in the river Houai. The western gate opened on a double ditch which turned to the north and reached a hill. The southern gate likewise opened on a double ditch. The northern gate opened on the river Houai but the route was closed.

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‘ Within the walls were a small enclosure, assembly rooms and brick palaces the walls of which had no opening to the south.

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‘ There was a palace, opening to the east, of which the loose pieces supporting the rafter looked like the tail of an owl. The gates were sculptured in open-work and painted in blue, the passages were coated with red varnish and the rafters were adorned with stone. There were other rafters, rectangular or round, all being carved in old style. On the pavillions and the palaces were columns rising to a height of 15 feet above the ramparts. The walls were besmeared with cowdung which gave them a green and brilliant look. There were eight temples of varying degrees of importance, and also temples for worshipping the spirits. The storeyed terraces and the belvederes looked like Buddhist monuments.¹

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¹ Ibid pp. 21-23.

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M. Aurousseau has tried to trace from the existing ruins at Tra Kieu some features of the city as described in the above extract.²

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² Ibid pp. 33-34.

Chapter III. Early Hindu Dynasties

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The successful raids into the Chinese territory and the establishment of a powerful kingdom testify to the growth of a new spirit in the Chams towards the second century A. D. This is easily explained by epigraphic records. The Vo-Chanh Rock Inscription (No. 1) refers to the royal family of Śrī Māra, and its royal author is styled as the "delight of the family of Śrī Māra". The inscription is not dated, but may be referred, on palaeographic grounds, to the second or third century A. D. Thus a Hindu or Hinduised dynasty was founded by Śrī Māra in the second century A. D., and it was ruling over the region, later known as Kauthāra, about the second or third century A. D.

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The coincidence in date makes it almost certain that the regeneration of the Cham power in the second century A. D. was due to the introduction of a new element in her politics, Viz. the Indian colonists.

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From this time forward until the conquest of the country by the Annamites in the 15th. century A. D. the Chams, as such, never played any distinctive part in the political history of the country. They cheerfully submitted to their foreign masters and adopted their manners, customs, language and religion. They were politically merged in the Indian elements and there was a complete cultural fusion between the two races.

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The Indians must have been acquainted with Champā by way of trade and commerce, long before they established their political supremacy in that region. The general question about the nature and antiquity of Indian colonisation in the Far East will be fully discussed elsewhere. Here we may confine ourselves to the traditions which the later Hindu kings of Champā preserved about their origin. The Dong Duong (No. 31) Stelæ Inscription of Indravarman II., dated 797 Śaka, describes how Uroja, apparently the first king, was sent to the earth by Śiva himself. Three other inscriptions (Nos. 22, 29 A, and 71) refer to a king Vicitra-Sagara who flourished in the year 5911 of the Dvāpara age or about 1,779,357 B. C. Uroja is evidently a mythical conception and Vicitra-Sagara, too, belongs to the same category.

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The first historical Hindu King, so far known, is, however, Śrī Māra who, as we have seen above, established a dynasty about the second century A.D. Maspero has proposed to identify this Śrī-Māra with the Kiu Lien of the Chinese history referred to above. This is probable, but there is as yet no evidence in support of it.

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Nothing is known about the early Hindu kings of Champā, but the troublesome events in China which brought about the downfall of the imperial Han dynasty in 220 A. D. must have offered them a splendid opportunity to extend and consolidate their kingdom. The dismemberment of the Chinese empire into three parts (220-265 A.D.) emboldened them to cross the frontier and carry their raids far into the Chinese territory. Some time between 220 and 230 A.D. the king of Champā sent a diplomatic mission to the Governor of Kiao-Tche on the invitation of the latter; nevertheless, in 248 A.D. the Cham army made a naval attack, ravaged even the provincial capital, Kiao-tche (Hanoi) with several other towns, and defeated the fleet that was sent against them. At last a treaty was concluded by which the district of K'iu-Sou corresponding to Modern Thua-Thien was ceded to Champā¹.

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¹ According to M. Aurousseau the whole of Cheou-ling was ceded to Champa (Ibid p. 27), but Maspero is of opinion that only the the southern part of the district, including the capital K'iu-sou was ceded to the Chams, the northern

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The Chinese history has preserved the names of several kings of this period. Each of these names begins with Fan, probably corresponding to ‘Varman’, which was the epithet of every Cham king in later times.¹ King Fan Hiong who succeeded to the throne of Champā sometime between 270 and 280 A.D. was probably a descendant of Śrī Māra by the female line. He continued the policy of extending the Cham territory to the north at the cost of the Chinese. He allied himself with the king of Fou-Nan (in Cambodia) for this purpose, and continually ravaged the Chinese possessions in Tonkin. For ten years the struggle went on, and the Chinese were reduced to great straits. At last peace was established in 280 A.D., probably on terms unfavourable to the Chinese.

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¹ B. E. F. vol. IV, p. 194.

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Fan-Yi, the son of Fan Hiong, succeeded him on the throne. He had a long and peaceful reign and devoted his energies to increasing the military power and strengthening the defensive works of the kingdom. He was the first Cham king to send an embassy to the Imperial court of China (284 A.D.).

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Fan-Yi died in 336 A.D.² On his death the throne was usurped by his commander-in-chief Fan Wen. Wen is said to have been originally a Chinese slave and owed his fortune to miracles.³ It appears that he enjoyed the complete confidence of his royal master, and taking advantage of his old age

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² According to some authorities, in 331 A. D., (B. E. F. vol. IV p. 382, fn (5). ).

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³ cf. the story as given in B. E. F. vol. XIV, No. 9, p 17.

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part still remaining in the hands of the Chinese; this portion of Cheou-ling together with Wou-lao were conquered by Champa in the time of Fan Wen.

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B. E. F. vol. XVII, No. 3, pp. 24-25.

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induced him to exile one of his two sons. The other, too, forestalled his fate, and left the kingdom. Thus when the king died, the legitimate heirs were far away. But Wen found them out and had them poisoned. After thus removing all possible claimants, he ascended the throne and proclaimed himself king of Champā.

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Wen was a capable ruler and soon made himself the undisputed master of the whole kingdom by defeating the savage tribes who formed independent states within the kingdom. In 340 he sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor with a request that the Hoan Sonh mountains should be recognized as the frontier between the two states.¹ This would have meant the cession of the fertile province of Nhu't-Nam (corresponding to Thua Thien, Quang Tri and Quang Binh) to Champā and naturally the Chinese emperor refused the request. But Wen decided to take by force what he could not gain by diplomacy. The people of Nhu't-Nam were mutinous on account of the exactions of the Chinese governor. Taking advantage of this situation Fan Wen led an expedition in 347 A.D., and conquered Nhu't-Nam. He killed the governor of the district and made an offering of his body in an expiatory sacrifice. The Chinese governor made great preparations against Wen, but the latter took the offensive and captured Cu'n Duc, putting to death a large number of Chinese soldiers who garrisoned it (348 A.D.). In 349 he again defeated a vast Chinese army; but he was himself wounded in the fight, and died the same year. Fan Wen thus carried his conquests to the "Porte de Annam", and the kingdom of Champā now exactly corresponded to the old Chinese province of Je-Nan, and reached its furthest limit to the north.

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¹ Either on this or on another occasion Fan Wen wrote a letter to the Chinese emperor in Indian characters.

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Wen was succeeded by his son Fan Fo (349-80 A. D.). He wanted to emulate his father's exploits and laid siege to the chief town of the Chinese district of Cu'u-Chon. He was, however, defeated and had to accept a disgraceful treaty in 351. But within a short time he again renewed hostilities. In 353 the Chinese sent another expedition against him and reconquered Nhut-Nam. But the struggle did not end there. As soon as the Chinese returned to their country the Chams renewed their excursions. At last the Chinese inflicted a severe defeat upon Fan Fo in 358 and advanced upto the very walls of the city of Champa. In 359 a treaty was concluded by which the district of Nhut Nam, as far as the Bay of On Cang, was ceded to the Chinese. Fan Fo faithfully observed the treaty till his death in 380, and sent his ambassadors with tribute to the Chinese Emperor in 372 and again in 377.

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Fan-Hou-ta, the son of Fan Fo, was very young when he ascended the throne on the death of his father in 380. But as soon as he came to age he revived the ambitious project of his father. The whole of his reign was an almost unceasing struggle against the Chinese. The times were favourable to him. The imperial Tsin dynasty was in a decadent condition, and revolts broke out throughout the Chinese empire. So Fan-Hou-ta scored some successes at first. He not only recovered Nhut Nam but carried his arms even further to the north, as far as Than Hoa. But in 413 A. D., Tou Houei-tou, the Chinese governor of Kiao-tche (Hanoi), arrived at Kieou-tchen (Than-hoa) and defeated Fan-Hou-ta in a pitched battle. Two (or one according to some version) sons of the latter fell into his hands and were beheaded. Tou-Houei-tou then laid siege to Than-hoa. He occupied the top of the hills overlooking the city and barricaded the course of the river by means of hedges of trees. Exciting attacks and counter-attacks took place almost under the ramparts of the city, and the Chinese governor retreated, after killing and wounding lots of enemies, but without apparently being able to take the city.¹

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¹ This interesting information is furnished by Lin-yi-ki, a text composed probably towards the close of the fifth century A. D.

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The end of Fan-Hou-ta is not known with certainty. There is no doubt that he was a great general and increased the power and prestige of his kingdom to a very great extent, after the late reverses. One of the most important works done by him was the fortification of the city of Kiu-sou which the Chams had conquered in 248 A. D. The identification of the city of Kiu-sou had long been a difficult problem. But M. Aurousseau is probably right in his hypothesis that it occupied the site which is now covered by ruins immediately to the south-east of Hue. This city occupied a very important position from the point of view of military strategy. It was situated between two rivers which met at the foot of its ramparts, and was surrounded by high hills on three sides. Situated 400 li (about 70 miles) to the north of the capital, it commanded the route which every Chinese army had to follow in an expedition against Champā. Fan-Hou-ta fully realised the importance of the city and converted it into one of the strongest citadels in his kingdom. For obvious reasons the citadel of Kiu-sou, which was renamed by the Chams as Si-Kiuan, figures largely in the Chinese historical texts. These give a very graphic description of the fortified city. The ramparts round the city, we are told, measured more than a mile, and had thirteen gates. The plinth of these remparts was made of a brick course, 20 feet deep. Upon this was raised a brick wall 10 feet high, pierced by square loopholes. Upon the bricks rested five-storeyed wooden structures supporting high towers on their roofs. The height of these towers varied between 50 and 80 feet. The outer walls of the fortified city nearly touched the mountains which were covered with thick impenetrable forest. On account of its military strength the warmaterials of the kingdom of Champā were stored in this city.

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Maspero has suggested the identification of Fan-Hou-ta with king Bhadravarman. This is probable but not certain. Bhadravarman is the author of two inscriptions (Nos. 2 and 4) and three other inscriptions (nos. 3, 5 and 6) also probably belong to his reign. On palæographical grounds these inscriptions have been referred to the 5th century A.D. and this agrees well with the reign-period of Fan-Hou-ta. That the latter set the fashion of engraving records on stone clearly follows from the Chinese accounts. For we are told that close to the eastern gate of his capital there was a Stelæ containing a record of his glory in barbarous character (i.e., the Indian alphabet as modified in Champā).

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Whatever we might think of this identification, Bhadravarman must be regarded as one of the most important kings in ancient Champā. His full name was Dharma-mahārāja Śrī Bhadravarman. The findspots of his inscriptions show that he ruled over at least the northern and central portion of the kingdom, the provinces of Amarāvatī and Vijaya. There are, however, reasons to suppose that his kingdom also included the southern province of Pāṇḍuraṅga. But the famous work, by which he was destined to be immortal, was the erection of a temple to Śiva, under the name of Bhadreśvarasvāmī, at Myson. This temple became the national sanctuary of the Chams, and the practice he thus set on foot of calling the tutelary deity by the name of the reigning king, came to be almost universally adopted in later times. We shall have occasion to refer to this temple of Bhadreśvarasvāmī again and again in course of the history of Champā. Bhadravarman made an endowment of lands to this temple and their boundaries are given in 3 inscriptions (Nos. 4, 5 and 7) as follows: "To the east, the Sulaha mountain, to the south the Great mountain, to the west, the Kucoka mountain, and to the north, the Great River". The great river is of course the "Song-Thu-bon" and this shows that the boundaries described are not of the temple and its surroundings, as was formerly supposed, but of the lands granted to it.¹ King Bhadravarman seems to have been a scholar and it is expressly laid down in the inscription no. 4 that he was versed in the four Vedas.

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¹ The northern boundary, leading to the important conclusion noted in the text, is given only in the inscription No. 5 (cf. B. E. F. vol XVIII, No. 10, p. 14). For the detailed regulations of the endowment cf. Ins. No. 4.

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According to the Chinese accounts.² Fan-Hou-ta was succeeded in 413 by his son Ti-Tchen. We are told that Ti-Kai, the brother of this king, fled with his mother, and the king could not induce them to come back. Grieved at heart, he abdicated the throne in favour of his nephew and himself went to India. The departure of the king was followed by anarchy and civil war in Champā. Ti Kai thereupon came back and claimed the throne from his nephew who was designated as his successor by Ti-Tchen. Wen-Ti, a brother of Ti-Kai by the same mother but a different father, and the minister Tsang Yin joined the combat. Civil war followed and led to murders and rapid successions to the throne till the dynasty was dispossessed of the kingdom of Champā after a reign of about 80 years (336-420 A.D.).

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² The Chinese accounts regarding the period that followed the death of Fan-Hou-ta are very conflicting cf. B. E. F. vol. IV, p. 382, fn (9).

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Maspero has suggested the identification of Ti-Tchen with the king Gangārāja who is mentioned in inscription No. 12 as having abdicated the throne in order to spend his last days on the Ganges. The abdication of the throne and retirement to India are certainly very striking coincidences, and the identification, although by no means certain, is undoubtedly very probable.

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The civil war was brought to an end by the accession of Fan Yang Mai (420? A D.). His origin is unknown but he is said to have been a son of Fan-Hou-ta, probably by a mother of inferior rank. The relations between China and Champā were not interrupted by the civil war. The Chams carried on their usual raids into the Chinese territory, attended by pillage, massacre and horrible cruelties. In the year 420 the Chinese inflicted a crushing defeat upon the Chams, and the following year Yang Mai sent an ambassador to the Imperial Court with a request that his title of king of Champā be recognised by the Chinese Emperor. Yang Mai no doubt took this step to ensure his position in the newly gained kingdom, and his example was followed by many of his successors.

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Yang Mai died within a few years and was succeeded by his son Tou who assumed the name of his father. The usual frontier raids against the Chinese territory continued, and in 431 he sent more than 100 vessels to pillage the coast of Nhu't Nam and Cu'u Cho'n. This provoked the Chinese governor who sent a strong expedition both by land and sea against Champā. The Chinese army besieged K'iu-sou. Yang Mai II had gone to marry. He hurried back by way of sea and fell in with the Chinese fleet. His chief pilot was struck down by an arrow and his fleet dispersed, pursued by the Chinese. The Chinese fleet, however, could not follow up the victory on account of bad weather, and retreated. Consequently their army had also to raise the siege and fall back (431 A.D.).

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Yang Mai was, however, elated with the result of the battle and his ambition knew no bounds. In 433 A. D. he sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor asking to be appointed the governor of Kiao Tcheou. This would have virtually meant the cession of the province of Tonkin and was of course refused. Irritated at the refusal, Yang Mai redoubled his efforts against Kiao Tcheou and hardly a year passed without an invasion of the district by his troops. All the while, however, he continued to pay his tribute regularly to the Chinese emperor.

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The Chinese emperor now decided to bring his turbulent vassal to sense by another military expedition. The preparations took three years, and in 446 A. D. the Chinese army under T'an Ho-Tche invaded Champa. Terror now seized Yang Mai II and he proposed a humiliating peace to the Chinese emperor. The emperor accepted his offer and sent instructions to his commander to conclude a treaty, if he found Yang Mai sincere in his desire for peace. The commander accordingly sent some of his officers to Yang Mai to treat with him. In the meantime the war-party in the court, which had lost its influence on the approach of the Chinese army, regained its power and prevailed upon the king to reject the proposals of peace. Yang Mai accordingly put the Chinese envoys to prison and sent back one of them to carry the news to their commander.

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The Chinese general at once advanced and laid seige to Kiu-sou¹ the principal stronghold of Champa. Yang Mai sent an army in aid of Fan Fou Long who defended the place, but although the Chams scored some successes at first, the Chinese ultimately captured the stronghold. The general Fan Fou Long was beheaded and all the inhabitants above the age of 15 were put to the sword. The palace halls were inundated with blood and heaps of dead bodies covered the court-yard. An immense booty of gold, silver and various other precious objects was gained by the victors.

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