Ancient Indian Colonies in the Far East (Vol. I: Champa; Vol. II: Suvarnadvipa) v2.c20.s2.78

v2.c20.s2.78

There were several important ports in Java. In the fifteenth century A.D. Surabaya occupied the foremost place. Fei Hsin refers to it as the "principal mercantile centre for all goods, ships, and grain."⁵ Next in point of importance was Geresik. To Ma Huan we owe the following account of its rise and importance: "Anciently it was a mud flat. The Chinese visited it and settled down there in numbers, when it was called Hsin-tsún or the "New Village". It counts over a thousand families and its chief is (or its chiefs are) from Kuang-tung. Foreign ships come here to trade, gold and precious and foreign things are in great abundance, and most of the inhabitants are rich¹.