Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c13.s1.78

v2.c13.s1.78

Regular diplomatic intercourse between China and Java (Chö-p’o) was resumed in the fifth century A. D.⁴ We read in the ‘History of the First Sung Dynasty’, that in 430 A. D., the kingdom of Ho-lo-tan, which ruled over the island of Java (Chö-p’o), sent to the imperial court ambassadors offering diamond rings, red parrots, white Indian rugs and cottons, Javanese cottons, and similar articles. Four or five embassies were sent from Ho-lo-tan between A. D. 434 and 452; one authority places these embassies in 433, 436, 449, and 452 A. D., while another authority refers them to 433, 434, 437, 449, and 452 A.D. In addition to the embassies from Ho-lo-tan, Chinese annals refer to two embassies from Chö-p’o in 433 and 435 A.D. In the latter year, the king of this country, named Che-li-p’o-ta-t’o-a-la-pa-mo sent an envoy to the Chinese emperor to present a letter and some presents. The Chinese name of the king has been rendered as Śrī-pāda-dharā( or dhara )-varman by Schlegel, Bhaṭāra Dwāravarman by Ferrand, and Śrī-pāda Pūrṇavarman by Rouffaer. Schlegel points out that this embassy came from Chö-p’o-p’o-ta and not Chö-p’o, and has nothing to do with Java, but Pelliot believes that the Chinese writers have erroneously combined the names of two countries, Chö-p’o and P’o-ta, into one.¹