Chinese Navigators in Insulinde about A.D. 1500 - article ; n°1 ; vol.18, pg 69-93

J.V. Mills

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Archipel - Année 1979 - Volume 18 - Numéro 1 - Pages 69-93
25 pages
Source : Persée ; Ministère de la jeunesse, de l’éducation nationale et de la recherche, Direction de l’enseignement supérieur, Sous-direction des bibliothèques et de la documentation.

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• Publié par: ARCHIPEL0
• Publié le: 01 janvier 1979
• Nombre de lectures: 72
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

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J.V. Mills
Chinese Navigators in Insulinde about A.D. 1500
In: Archipel. Volume 18, 1979. pp. 69-93.
Citer ce document / Cite this document :
Mills J.V. Chinese Navigators in Insulinde about A.D. 1500. In: Archipel. Volume 18, 1979. pp. 69-93.
doi : 10.3406/arch.1979.1502
http://www.persee.fr/web/revues/home/prescript/article/arch_0044-8613_1979_num_18_1_150269
CHINESE NAVIGATORS IN INSULINDE ABOUT A.D. 1500
by J.V. MILLS
The Hung Wu emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1398) keenly
appreciated the importance of sea-power. He continued the naval
programme of the Yuan era, and established the Lung-chiang ("Dragon
river") shipbuilding yard at Nanking. Under his stimulating influence
maritime commerce flourished and he created a government monopoly of
foreign trade, forbidding Chinese to communicate with foreigners or to
go abroad. The Yung Le emperor (1402-1424) inherited a strong navy
and built new ships to strengthen it further. Adopting an expansive
overseas policy, he despatched a series of enormous naval expeditions to
the "Western Ocean" (Hsi-yang), mostly under the command of the
Grand Eunuch Cheng Ho 0).
On these expeditions, see; J.J.L. Duyvendak, "The true dates of the Chinese
maritime expeditions in the early fifteenth century", T'oung Pao XXXIV, 1938,
pp. 341-412 ; P. Pelliot, "Les grands voyages maritimes chinois au début du
XVe siècle", T'oung Pao XXX, 1933, pp. 237-452; J.V. Mills, Ma Huan,
Cambridge, 1970, pp. 8-34, with map on p. 16. See also : J.J.L. Duyvendak,
China's D scovery of Africa, London, 1949; J.K Fairbank and Têng S.Y., "On
the Ch'ing Tributary System", Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. VI, n° 2;
1941, pp. 135-246 ; F. Hirth and W. Rockhill, Chau Ju-kua, St Petersburg. 1911 ;
Kuwabara Jitsuzo, "On P'u Shou-kêng", Memoirs of the Research Department of
the Toyo Bunko, n' II (1928), pp. 1-79 ; n° VII (1935), pp. 1-104 ; Lo Jung-pang,
"The emergence of China as a Sea Power during the Late Sung and Early Yuan
Periods", Far Eastern Quarterly, vol. XlV, n° 4, 1955, pp. 489-503 ; "The Decline
of the Early Ming Navy", Oriens extremus, vol. V (2), 1958, pp. 149-168 ; M.A.P.
Meilink-Roelofsz, Asian Trade and European Influence, The Hague, 1962 ;
W. Rockhill, "Notes on the relations and trade of China with the Eastern Archi
pelago and the coasts of the Indian Ocean during the fourteenth century", Part
I, T'oung Pao XV, 1914, pp. 419-447 ; Part II, T'oung Pao XVI, 1915, pp. 61-159
236-271, 374-392, 435-467, 604-626; Wang Gungwu, "The Nanhai Trade",
JMBRAS XXXI 1958, ,pp. 1-135 ; P. Wheatley, The Golden Khersonese, Kuala
Lumpur, 1961 ; O.W. Wolters, Early Indonesian Commerce, Ithaca, 1967. 70
The normal route on the first three expeditions (1405-1411) ran by
way of Vietnam to Surabaya in Java, then via Palembang, Malaka,
Pasai and Beruwala (in Sri Lanka, also known as Ceylon), to the termi
nus at Calicut. The fourth, fifth and sixth expeditions (1413-1422) went
on to Hormuz. On the fifth expedition (1417-1419) some ships nominally
under the command of Cheng Ho for the first time reached Aden and the
shores of East Africa, proceeding as far as MaPndi. On the sixth expe
dition (1421 — 1422) some ships visited the African coast as far as Bra-
wa. During 1421 four different Chinese fleets were traversing the Indian
Ocean at one and same time. This marks the zenith of Ming naval ascen
dancy. A seventh expedition was despatched in 1431 by the Hsiian Te
emperor (1426-1435). While the main fleet proceeded to Hormuz, some
ships went to Aden, and along the African coast as Giumbo (2). When
Cheng Ho returned from his last expedition in 1433, China was the
paramount sea-power of the Orient.
Abruptly, China fell from its position of supremacy. The powerful
navy was allowed to desintegrate through neglect, and although the
government maintained naval forces which saw much action during the
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, they could barely repel the pirates
who attacked the coast. In marked contrast with the attitude of the
authorities was the keenness of the private venturers ; they built large
ships for trading abroad, and during the Ch'êng Hua period (1465-1487)
there started a great afflux of trading junks from the ports of southern
China to South-east Asia. The venturers also traded with Korea and
Manchuria. Some substantial might own as many as fifty
large sea-going ships. Malaka under the Malay sultanate became a
centre of trade for the Chinese and Chinese influence was strong in
Brunei. After their capture of Malaka in 1511, the Portuguese at first
encouraged the Chinese junk traffic. By about this time most of the
trade in the Philippines was in Chinese hands, and they gradually
obtained control of the diamond trade in south-west Borneo. Chinese
merchants and trading junks were much in evidence at all the ports
along the channels of Far Eastern trade, and when the Spanish galleons
from Mexico brought an annual subvention of bullion and Mexican
dollars to Manila, most of the found its way into Chinese
hands.
A Nautical Compendium : the "Shun Fêng Hsiang Sung"
The main source for the routes followed by the Chinese navigators
during the fifteenth century is the anonymous MS work bearing the
(2) The date of the visit to Giumbo is indicated in the "Veritable Records" (Shih lu) ;
see P. Pelliot, "Notes additionnelles sur Tcheng Ho et sur ces voyages", T'oung
Pao XXXI, 1935, p. 293, 71
subtitle Shun FêngHsiang Sung "Fair Winds for Escort", hereafter
called SF. This nautical compendium rests in the Bodleian Library at
Oxford (Laud MS Or. 145). According to J. Needham (3), it was compos
ed about 1430, though some statements in it may be after 1571 ; it was
edited by Hsiang Ta in 1961 (4). It treats of navigational theory and
practice, including mnemonics and prayers, and gives notes on individual
places along the sea routes.
SF contains sailing instructions for one hundred particular voyages. The furthest
points mentioned being, on the north, Japan and Hormuz ; on the east, Japan, Ryu-
kyu islands, Tai-wan, Philippine islands, Borneo and Timor ; on the south, Timor ;
on the west, Aden. And while it lacks any reference to the Moluccas in the east, or
to Africa or the Red Sea in the west, or to any place in the Malay Peninsula north
of Bukit Jugra, it contains instructions for navigating in the following areas: a)
Borneo : from Sulu southward to Tanjoing Mangkalihat and thence across to Donggala
in Sulawesi ; also from Balabac strait (south of Palawan), along the west coast of
Borneo as far as Gelam island ; also from Banjarmasin to Kota Waringin on the south
coast; b) Java: from Tanjung Sekong (near Merak), along the Pasisir, to Gresik
and Jaratan (near Surabaya) ; c) from eastern Java, along the islands, from Madura
to Timor ; d) Sumatra : the whole of the coasts, except for three stretches, namely,
from the Karimun islands (in the Malacca strait) to the Sungai Deli estuary (actual
Medan), from Pasai to Krueng Aceh, and from Pulau Betua to Pulau Sumur (southern
part of Lampung) ; from Mapor (east of Bintan), passing south of Bintan, and then
west to the Sumatran coast and north-west to Tebing Tinggi.
More precisely, SF give» details of 27 voyages concerned with Insulinde:
a) Seven voyages between China and Insulinde ; namely, from Kwang-tung to Malaka
(and return); from Wu-yii (near Hsia men, also known as Amoy) to Tuban (and
return), to Jaratan (and return); to Sukadana (and return), to Lawe (near Pontianak)
(and return); from Chiian-chou to Brunei and to JDonggala (and return); b) Twelve
voyages betwem other foreign places and Insulinde; namely, from Pointe Ké Ga
(South Vietnam) to Banter- ^and return); from Siam to Malaka (and return); from Siam
to Borneo and Mindanao (and from Luzon to Brunei (and from Patani
to Timor : from Pulau Tioman to Tebing Tinggi (and return); from Pulau Tioman to
Brunei (and return); from Malaka to Pasai (and return); from Malaka to Palembang
(and return) and to Calicut (and return); c) Eight voyages between places within Insulin
de; namely, from Banjarmasin to Kota Waringin; from Palembang to Jaratan (and
return) ; form Banten to Timor ; from Banten to Demak (and return) ; from Banten
to Banjarmasin (and return) ; from Krueng Aceh to Barus ; from Bams to Priaman
and from Priaman to Banten.
(3) J. Needham, Science and Civilisation in China, Cambridge, vol. IV, pt 3, 1971,
p. 581.
(4) Hsiang Ta, Liang-chung hai-tao chên-ching, Chung-hua shu-chii, Pei ching, 1961,
277 p. 72
In specifying the stages of a run, the usual formula in Chinese texts
is : "From, place A steer x" : after y watches you make place B" (5) .
Time was measured in terms of a kêng (watch) of 2.4 hours ; and when
places can be identified with reasonable certainty, the distance can be
measured on a chart, and the speed can be calculated ; on a long-dis
tance voyage in the open sea the speed of Chinese ships at this time
averaged about 4 knots or 6.4 km an hour — roughly, 10 sea-miles
(16