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The Ming shi-lu as a Source for Thai History — Fourteenth to Seventeenth Centuries

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 April 2011

Geoff Wade
Geoff Wade
Affiliation:
University of Hong Kong
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Extract

By examining the references to the Ayudhyan polity contained in the Ming imperial annals, and comparing them with the local chronicular accounts of that polity, this article suggests a greater consonance between what is contained in the Ming texts and the van Vliet version of the chronicles (based on the Sangitiyavan). Other suggestions about the early history of Ayudhya are made on the basis of the Chinese texts. A precis of the Chinese references is included as an appendix to the article.

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Articles
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Journal of Southeast Asian Studies , Volume 31 , Issue 2 , September 2000 , pp. 249 - 294
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Copyright © The National University of Singapore 2000

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References

1 Some of the better-known works which employ Chinese sources in examining Thai history include: Hok-lam, Chan, “Xian-luo gong-shi ‘Xie Wen-bin’ shi-jian pou-xi” [An analysis of the incident involving the Siamese tribute envoy Xie Wen-bin] in his Ming-dai Ren-wu yu Chuan-shuo [Essays on Ming personages and legends] (Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1997), pp. 280–301Google Scholar;Hok-lam, Chan, “Ming Cheng-hua Lin Xiao Yao Long chu-shi Xian-luo zhi mi” [The mystery of the mission to Siam by the envoys Lin Xiao and Yao Long during the Cheng-hua reign of the Ming Dynasty], Wenshi 3 (1999): 91–101Google Scholar;Lu-fan, Chen, Whence Came the Thai Race? — An Enquiry (Beijing: Guo-ji wen-hua chu-ban gong-si, 1990)Google Scholar;Flood, E.T., “Sukhothai Mongol Relations”, Journal of the Siam Society [henceforth JSS] 57, 2 (1969): 1–20Google Scholar;Grimm, T., “Thailand in the Light of Official Chinese Historiography: A Chapter in the History of the Ming Dynasty”, JSS 49, 1 (1961): 1–20Google Scholar;You-rong, Xie, Xian-luo Guo Zhi [An account of the country of Siam] (Bangkok: Nan-hai dong-xun she, 1949)Google Scholar;Tatsuo, Hoshino, Pour une Histoire Medievale du Moyen Mekong (Bangkok: Editions Duang Kamol, 1986)Google Scholar;Yun-qiao, Xu, Bei-da-nian Shi (A History of Patani) (Singapore, 1946)Google Scholar;Dao-gang, Li, “Can-lie Bao Bi-ya Cuan-wei wei wang” [The usurpation of the throne by Somdet Pu Brahya], Dong-nan-ya Xue-kan [Southeast Asian Studies Journal], 1 (1999): 52–57Google Scholar; and “Can-lie Zhao Bi-ya chung-deng wang-wei” [Somdet Chao Brahya resumes the throne], in Dong-nan-ya Xue-kan, 3 (1999): 48–53Google Scholar;Chang-fu, Li, “Zhong-Tai Gu-dai Jiao-tong-shi kao” [A Study of the History of Ancient Communication Between China and Thailand], Nan-yang Xue-bao 1, 1 (1940): 5–12Google Scholar;Luce, G.H., “The Early Syam in Burma's History” JSS 46 2 (1958): 123–214Google Scholar;Luce, G.H., “The Early Syam in Burma's History: A Supplement” JSS 47 1 (1959): 59–101Google Scholar;Pelliot, Paul, “Deux itineraries de Chine en Inde a la fin du VHIe siecle” Bulletin de I'Ecole Francaise d'Extreme-Orient 4 (1904): 131–413CrossRefGoogle Scholar;Skinner, G.W., Chinese Society in Thailand: An Analytical History (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1957)Google Scholar;Viraphol, Sarasin, Tribute and Profit: Sino-Siamese Trade 1652–1853 (Cambridge, MA: Harvard Council on East Asian Studies, 1977)CrossRefGoogle Scholar;Promboon, Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese Tributary Relations: 1282–1853” (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Wisconsin, 1971)Google Scholar;Wolters, O.W., “Chen-li-fu, a State on the Gulf of Siam at the beginning of the 13th Century”, JSS 48, 2 (1960)Google Scholar;Wolters, O.W., “The Khmer King at Basan (1371–3) and the Restoration of the Cambodian Chronology During the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries”, Asia Major 12, 1 (1966): 80–84Google Scholar;Wolters, O.W., “Ayudhya and the Rearward Part of the World”, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1968): 166–78Google Scholar;Tatsuro, Yamamoto, “Dawara-koku-ko” (A study of Dvaravati), Shirin 28, 4 (1943): 347–68Google Scholar;Tatsuro, Yamamoto, “Thailand as it is referred to in the Da-de Nan-hai zhi at the beginning of the fourteenth century”, Journal of East-West Maritime Relations 1 (1989): 47–58Google Scholar; and Qi-yu, Zou, “ZhongrTai guan-xi shi shang de yi-ge yi-an” [A mystery in the history of Sino-Thai relations], Li-shi Yan-jiu [Historical research], 5 (1980): 171–85Google Scholar. Further references, not seen by the author, include Hootrakul, Likhit, The Historical Records of the Siamese-Chinese Relations, Vol. 1 (Thonburi, 1975Google Scholar) (noted by Zou); Yongbunkoet, Chaloem, “Muang Thai nai chotmaihet Chin” [Thailand in Chinese records], Sinlapakorn, 7:2 (07 1963): 50–65Google Scholar(noted by Charnvit Kasetsiri), and three articles by Sugimoto Naojiro cited in Flood's bibliography. Details of many other Chinese-language articles on Thailand, which make use of Chinese sources, can be found in Index to Chinese Periodical Literature on Southeast Asia 1905–1966 (Singapore: Nanyang University Institute of Southeast Asia, 1967), vol. 2Google Scholar; and Shu, Austin G.W. and Wan, William W.L., Twentieth Century Chinese Works on Southeast Asia: A Bibliography, (Honolulu: East-West Center, 1968)Google Scholar. The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies of Zhong-shan University in Guangzhou, PRC has compiled a new collection of classical Chinese references to areas which are today part of Thailand, and this is to be published in the near future.

2 Ling-yeong, Chiu et al, Ming shi-lu zhong zhi Dong-nan-ya Shi-liao [Southeast Asia in Chinese Reign Chronicles (Ming shi-lu)] () (Hong Kong: Hsueh-tsin Press, 1968 and 1976)Google Scholar. This two-volume set was compiled at the University of Hong Kong over a decade by graduate students under the supervision of Professor Lo Hsiang-lin (Biftt). Their publication certainly advanced knowledge of Southeast Asian references in the MSL, but the fact that the edition used was marred by copying mistakes and omitted many references limited its use. In 1971, Watanabe Hiroshi published an index of the MSL references to diplomatic missions to Ming China from Islamic countries. The work was subsequently published with an English explanation under the title “An Index of Embassies and Tribute Missions from Islamic Countries to Ming China (1368-1644) as Recorded in the Ming Shih-lu, Classified According to Geographic Area”, Memoirs of the Toyo Bunko 33 (1975): 25–347Google Scholar. This was a great boon to scholars wishing to locate MSL references to various Southeast Asian polities.

3 Examples include: Chan Hok-lam, “Xian-luo gong-shi” and “Ming Cheng-hua Lin Xiao”; Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese”; Wolters, “The Khmer King” and “Ayudhya”; and Zou, “Zhong-Tai guan-xi”.

4 Ming shi-lu lei-zuan: She-wai shi-liao juan [Classified Compilation of Ming shi-lu References: Historical References Relating to Foreign Lands] () (Wuhan: Wu-han chuban-she, 1991).Google Scholar

5 Franke, Wolfgang, An Introduction to the Sources of Ming History (Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press, 1968), pp. 1–33.Google Scholar

6 The account translated in Grimm, “Thailand in the Light”, was taken from the Ming Shi.

7 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 217.1a-b. The Ming shi-lu edition utilized for all references cited is that published by the Institute of History and Philology (Zhong-yang yan-jiu-yuan li-shi yu-yan yan-jiu-suo) in Taipei over the years 1962 through 1966. References are cited by shi-lu, juan (chapter) and page number (e.g., Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 243.3a refers to page 3 [recto] in chapter 243 of the Tai-zu Shi-lu).

8 Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 229.4a.

9 Ming Wu-zong shi-lu, juan 2.19a.

10 (Jia-qing) Tai-ping xian-zhi () (1811 A.D.), Juan 39a-b. An earlier gazetteer of the Jiajing reign Tai-ping zhi, dated 1540, includes a shorter account of Lin Xiao, under the “Martyrs” () section. Western dates given are Julian dates to Oct 4, 1582, and subsequently Gregorian, converted from the Chinese chronology in accordance with Keith Hazelton's A Synchronic Chinese-Western Daily Calendar 1341-1661 A.D. (Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, History Dept., 1984).Google Scholar

11 For further details of the mission led by Lin Xiao, see Chan Hok-lam, “Ming Cheng-hua Lin Xiao”.

12 See, however, Lai-chen, Sun, “The Origin of ‘Bo-le’ — On the Relations Between the Kingdom of Sukhothai and the Ming Dynasty in the Early Fifteenth Century”, in Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Thai Studies, Vol. IV (Kunming, 1990), pp. 385–93Google Scholar. Sun argues that “Bo-le” was the kingdom of Sukhothai, or more specifically Phitsanulok. I feel, however, that “Bole” can only represent the toponym “Phrae”. The MSL and other references suggest that this polity had quite some influence and independence in the first 30 years of the fifteenth century. Its name is given as “Moang Ble” in the 1393 pact concluded between Sukhothai and Nan (see Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “The Pact between Sukhodaya and Nan [EHS No.3]”, JSS 57, 1 [1969]: 57–107Google Scholar, especially p. 97, n. 75). A Sukhothai inscription dated C.S. 762 (1400) records that the ruler of Si Satchanalai-Sukhothai had extended his rule to include Phrae (Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “A Declaration of Independence and its Consequences [EHS No. 1]”, JSS 56, 2 [1968]: 207–249Google Scholar, especially pp. 226-27). Sun's claim that the MSL reference to the “chieftain” Tu-ya () (whose troops were used by Bo-le to conduct raids on Lanna in or before 1432) is an erroneous reference to Ayudhya, is certainly a possibility but is by no means proven.

13 The first reference to “Xian” () in Chinese sources appears to be that contained in juan 418 of the Song Shi [History of the Song Dynasty], where in the biography of the Song loyalist Chen Yi-zhong (), it is noted: “In the 19th year of the Zhi-yuan reign (1282/83), the Great Army [i.e. the Mongol forces] attacked Champa, and [Chen] Yi-zhong fled to Xian. He subsequently died in Xian.” There are many subsequent references to Xian including those of envoys sent to China. For a general guide to the references, see Jia-rong, Chen et al, Gu-dai Nan-hai Di-ming Hui-shi [Collected references to ancient names for places in the Southern Ocean] (Beijing: Zhong-hua shuju, 1986), pp. 843–44Google Scholar. Some of the Yuan dynasty references are translated in Luce, “The Early Syam…Supplement” and Flood, “Sukhothai-Mongol Relations”. An important reference is foundin Dao-yi Zhi-lue [Brief account of the Maritime Barbarians], where in the account of the “Country of Xian” it is recorded: “In the fifth month of Ihzji-chou year in the Zhi-zheng reign (May/June 1349), [Xian] submitted to Luo-hu.” Su Ji-qing, a modern scholar who edited an annotated version of Dao-yi Zhi-lue, entitled Dao-yi Zhi-lue Jiao-shi () (Beijing: Zhong-hua shu-ju, 1981)Google Scholar, suggests that as the author Wang Da-yuan only completed the work in the winter of the year quoted (1349/50), the date given for Xian's submission to Luo-hu is probably erroneous. He suggests as an alternative, though with little evidence, a year which corresponds to 1339/40. It should be noted in passing that the Huang Ming Si-yi Kao [A study of the barbarians in the fourdirections under the Ming Empire], completed in 1567, states that “During the Zhi-zheng reign of the Yuan dynasty, Xian brought Luo-hu to submission ()”. (See Zheng Xiao's Wu-xue Bian [A collection of my researches], juan shang, “Xian-luo” [].) It is difficult to assess what credence to assign to this reference which inverts the power relationship between the two polities provided in other texts. Much ink has been spent on trying to identify thelocation or extent of Xian. Many scholars have followed Pelliot, who identified it with Sukhothai (“Deux itineraires”, p. 244). However, more recent works have cast doubt upon this identification. , Yamamoto, “Thailand as it is referred” (p. 51)Google Scholar, notes that the Canton gazetteer Da-de Nan-hai Zhi from the period 1297-1307 A.D. records that the “Country of Xian controls Shang-shui Su-gu-di” (). The “Shang-shui” can be considered either a place-name or simply “up river”, while “Su-gu-di” is unquestionably Sukhothai. Yamamoto argues that if Xian controlled (or managed) Sukhothai, the two cannot be considered to have been equal terms. He considers that Ayudhya is the best identification for references to Xian.

14 The earliest extant Chinese reference to “Luo-hu” is probably that in Yun-lu Man-chao, a work dated 1206 A.D., where Luo-hu is noted, together with polities such as Cambodia and Pagan, as a producer of the jin-yan aromatic (the resin of styrax benzoin). Later references to Luo-hu are detailed in Jia-rong, Chen et al., Gu-dai Nan-hai Di-ming Hui-shi, pp. 513–14Google Scholar. In the famous Chinese work Zhu-fan-zhi () [An account of the various barbarians] of 1225, Luo-hu is noted as one of the dependencies of Cambodia. However by the end of the thirteenth century, it was recorded in the Da-de Nan-hai zhi (see previous note) as an independent polity along with Cambodia and Xian, but without any subordinate dependencies (, Yamamoto, “Thailand as it is referred”, pp. 49–50)Google Scholar. For details of the subsequent amalgamation of Xian and Luo-hu, see the note above. It was , Pelliot (“Deux itineraires”, pp. 235–36Google Scholar) who first proposed the identification of Luo-hu with Lava/Lavo/Louvo/Lopburi, and no other credible alternatives have since been advanced.

15 While I suggest that the term “Xian-luo” first appeared in the MSL, there are also some pre-Ming works which contain the toponym. The term is only found in post-Ming editions of these works, however; no extant pre-Ming versions appear to include it, suggesting that such references are interpolations by later copyists. In the Zhen-la feng-tu ji [Account of the customs of Cambodia], Pelliot's revised translation of which was published posthumously as Mémoires sur les Coutumes du Cambodge de Tcheou Ta-kouan (Paris: EFEO, 1951)Google Scholar, it is noted that Xian-luo lay half a month's journey to the South-west of Cambodia. As the original work was completed prior to 1312, Pelliot considered the use of the term “Xian-luo” to be an anachronism (p. 98). The earliest edition of this text known today dates from 1544. Flood notes that in Chen Yi-zhong's account given in San-chao Ye-shi () [An unofficial history of the three reigns], which is probably a Yuan work but exists only in later editions, there is an anachronistic “Xian-luo”, probably the result of a later copyist's insertion (“Sukhothai-Mongol Relations”, p. 244). Tatsuro, Yamamoto, in his “Van-don: A Trade Port in Vietnam” (Memoirs of the Research Department of the Toyo Bunko 39 [1981]: 1–28Google Scholar) cites four references dating from 1149 to 1467 taken from the Vietnamese annals Bai Viet Sie ky Toan thw in which it is recorded that ships from “Tiem-la” (the Vietnamese pronunciation of the characters “Xian-luo”) had traded at Van don. Yamamoto also suggests that these early references t o the polity may result from miscopying or interpolation in later copying (pp. 1-5). Bruce Lockhart (personal communication) has informed me that in the most recent edition of the annals, published in Hanoi, the editors agree that the 1149 reference to “Tiem-la” may be an anachronism.

16 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 256.1a.

17 Ibid., juan 86.4b-5a.

18 Michael Vickery (personal communication) suggests that the “pi-ya” was more likely “Banha” than “Brahya”; he considers the latter to be a conflation of “Prah” and “Banha”. Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese”, quotes Prince Damrong, who reconstructed the full title as “Somded Cawphraja Surinthararag”, “another variant of the king's title” (p. 157). It is extremely unlikely, however, that the Chinese would have used the character “bao” () to represent the term “Caw/Chao”.

19 Wyatt, D.K., trans, and ed., “The Abridged Royal Chronicle of Ayudhya of Prince Paramanuchitchinorot”, JSS 61, 1 (1973): 25–50Google Scholar; see p. 32.

20 Nivat, Prince Dhani, “The City of Thawarawadi Seri Ayudhya”, in Selected Articles from the Siam Society Journal, Vol. 3 — Early History and Ayudhya Period (Bangkok: Siam Society, 1953), pp. 229–35.Google Scholar

21 Ibid., p. 233.

22 Boeles, J.J., “The King of Sri Dvaravati and His Regalia”, JSS 52, 1 (1964): 99–114Google Scholar; see p. 112.

23 Vickery, Michael, “The Khmer Inscriptions of Tenasserim: A Reinterpretation”, JSS 61, 1 (1973): 51–70Google Scholar; see pp. 56, 69; and “Review of Jeremias van Vliet, The Short History of Siam”, JSS 64, 2 (1976): 207–236Google Scholar; seep. 224.

24 Vickery (personal communication) considers that “Dvaravati” was likely an ancient name for the city, as otherwise the name would not have been known in the fourteenth century.

25 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 113.5b.

26 In Hokkien, the characters are read “Gok-liong Yiu-te-ha”.

27 Ming Shi-zong shi-lu, juan 414.8a; these characters are read “Yiu-di-ha” in Hokkien.

28 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 94.4b.

29 Ibid., juan 102.3a.

30 For some opinions on the likely major cultural influences in the Menam basin in the late fourteenth century, see Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “King Lodaiya of Sukhothai and his Contemporaries (EHS No. 10)”, JSS 60, 1 (1972): 21–152Google Scholar, particularly pp. 30-32; Vickery, Michael, “Three Collections of Thai Historical Documents — Kalpana”, JSS 60, 1 (1972): 402–409Google Scholar; Vickery, Michael, “The Khmer Inscriptions of Tenasserim”; Vickery, Michael, “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’, by Robert B. Jones”, JSS 62, 1 (1974): 158–73Google Scholar, especially p. 164; Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “On Kingship and Society at Sukhodaya”, in Change and Persistence in Thai Society, ed. Skinner, G. William and Kirsch, A. Thomas (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975), p. 164Google Scholar; and Vickery, Michael, “The 2/k. 125 Fragment, A Lost Chronicle of Ayutthaya”, JSS 65, 1 (1977): 1–80Google Scholar; see pp. 55-61, 79.

31 , Yamamoto, “Thailand as it is referred”, p. 52Google Scholar. Mills, J.V.G., in his Ma Huan, Ying-yai Sheng-lan: The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores (1433) (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1970)Google Scholar, variously translates “New Men-tai” as both “New Strait Tower” (p. 102, n. 8) and “New Gate Tower” (p. 197, h.215).

32 Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “A Law Promulgated by the King of Ayudhya in 1397 A.D. (EHS No. 4)”, JSS 57, 1 (1969): 109–148Google Scholar; see p. 129, n. 15. Vickery, however, in his “A Guide Through Some Recent Sukhothai Historiography” (JSS 66, 2 [1978]: 182–246Google Scholar) suggests that the text does not have to be read as “brother”, and that the inscription may not even refer to the ruler of Ayudhya (p. 231).

33 Frankfurter, O., “Events in Ayuddhya for Chulasakaraj 686-966”, JSS 6 (1909): 1–21Google Scholar; see p. 6. The Chulasakarat (C.S.) calendar, frequently used in Thai sources, begins in the year 638 AD.

34 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 152.2b.

35 Tatsuro, Yamamoto, Annan Shi Kenkyu (Tokyo: Yamakawa, 1950), pp. 486–87Google Scholar; the reference is in Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 147.21-b.

36 , Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese Tributary Relations”, pp. 156–57.Google Scholar

37 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 68.4b and 70.1a.

38 “Somdet Chao Phraya” (Samtec Cau Brand) as the title of a person, possibly ruler of Ayudhya, is attested in an inscription examined in Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “A Pact between Uncle and Nephew (EHS No. 5)”, JSS 58, 1 (1970): 92.Google Scholar

39 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 86.4b-5a; the Hokkien reading for this name would be “Cam-liat Bo Bi-gga Su-li Do-lo-lok”.

40 Ibid., juan 86.2b-3a.

41 , Frankfurter, “Events in Ayuddhya”, p. 3.Google Scholar

42 See, for example, Kasetsiri, Charnvit, The Rise of Ayudhya (Kuala Lumpur: Oxford University Press, 1976), p. 155.Google Scholar

43 Vliet, Jeremias van, The Short History of the Kings of Siam, trans. Andaya, Leonard, ed. Wyatt, David K. (Bangkok: Siam Society, 1975), p. 60Google Scholar. See also Michael Vickery, ”Review Article: Jeremias van Vliet“.

44 , Wyatt, in Vliet, van, Short History, notes that “all other sources indicate that [Ramesuan's] successor was the elder brother of Ramathibodi's queen from Suphanburi” (p. 60)Google Scholar. , Vickery, in “A New Tamnan About Ayudhya” (JSS 57, 2 [1979]: 123–86)Google Scholar, a review article which examines Charnvit's The Rise of Ayudhya, discusses the traditional views of supposed marriage alliances between the families of Suphanburi and Lopburi and examines the veracity of the claims of such alliances (pp. 145-51). Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese” considers that the MSL references in this respect are erroneous, and he prefers to follow the chronicular traditions (pp. 153-60). However, the tradition recorded i n van Vliet, derives, according to Vickery, from the Pali version of the Ayudhyan annals known as Sangitiyavamsa. See , Vickery, “Review Article: Jeremias van Vliet” p. 209Google Scholar; the Pali version does constitute a part of the Thai chronicular tradition. The greater consonance between two very different traditions — the Chinese MSL references and the genealogies contained within the Pali text — leads one to conclude that the latter (and thus van Vliet as well) provide a more accurate account of the genealogies of at least the first few rulers of Ayudhya.

45 , Grimm, “Thailand in the Light” p. 16Google Scholar, n. 25; the reference is in Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 94 4b.

46 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 115.2a.

47 , Wyatt, “The Abridged Royal Chronicle” p. 35Google Scholar. Charnvit, citing Prince Damrong, has Intharaja (Nakhon In) as a nephew of Borommaracha I (The Rise of Ayudhya, p. 111).

48 Vliet, Van, Short History, p. 62.Google Scholar

49 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 102.3a; the Hokkien pronunciation is “Ziao But-lo-giok“. On some unstated basis, Suebsaeng equates this local ruler with Phra Ramracha, “the heir to the former king Ramesuen” (”Sino-Siamese” p. 162).

50 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 126.5b-6a (1379), 159.1a (1384), 195.2a (1389).

51 Ibid., juan 224.1a.

52 See Vliet, van, Short History, p. 61Google Scholar. The LP version of the chronicles also suggests a reign of 18 years (, Frankfurter, “Events in Ayuddhya” pp. 3–4)Google Scholar.

53 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 243.3a.

54 Ibid., juan 243.4b-5a.

55 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 17.2b.

56 Ibid., juan 34.3a, 52.3b, 82.6a-b, 111.1b, 121.4b and 135.1b.

57 Ibid., juan 176.1a. The death of Chao Nakhon Intharathirat around 1416 gives a reign of approximately twenty years (dating from his accession in 1396), which is the length recorded in the van Vliet chronicle. The main difference with van Vliet is that the MSL gives the reign period as 1396-1416, while the Dutch source suggests 1400-1420, according to the chronology given in Vickery, M., “Review Article: Jeremias van Vliet” p. 211Google Scholar.

58 5iMing Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 217.1a-b, 224.2a, 236.4a, 268.1b; and Ming Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 22.13b, 28.4b, 39.3a.

59 Ibid., juan 42.5b.

60 Vliet, Van, Short History, p. 63, n. 45.Google Scholar

61 See Wolters, O.W., “The Khmer King” pp. 80–84Google Scholar, and , Charnvit, The Rise of Ayudhya, pp. 106–114Google Scholar. , Vickery, “Review Article: Jeremias van Vliet” pp. 231–33Google Scholar, criticizes this theory.

62 Ming Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 106.2a.

63 Ibid., juan 110.10a, and Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 39.7b.

64 Vickery has noted the probable absence of “maharaja” from the titles of the Ayudhyan polity (“Khmer Inscriptions” p. 54). These MSL references suggest that the title may have been in use n i Ayudhya in the 1430s.

65 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 113.5b.

66 Ibid., juan 114.6a.

67 David Wyatt summarizes the “confused and complex” variations for the dates of Trailok's reign in Vliet, van, Short History, p. 63Google Scholar, n. 47.

68 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 139.6b.

69 Ibid., juan 146.1 a and 158.8a respectively.

70 Ibid., juan 224.8a.

71 Ibid., juan 225.11a-b.

72 , Frankfurter, “Events in Ayuddhya” p. 5.Google Scholar

73 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 158.8a.

74 Vliet, Van, Short History, p. 63, n. 47.Google Scholar

75 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 344.7b; this reconstruction has been suggested by Vickery (personal communication).

76 Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 229 4a.

77 , Grimm, “Thailand in the Light” p. 19Google Scholar. n. 61; Prince Dhani's reconstruction is cited in note 63.

78 , Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese” pp. 186–87.Google Scholar

79 Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 229.4a.

80 Zhong-xi, Ma, Dong-tian wen-ji (Collected works of Ma Zhong-xi), juan 3, pp. 317b–319aGoogle Scholar, Ji-u f cong-shu edition (); Lin Ke-chong was the personal name of Lin Xiao.

81 Vliet, Van, Short History, p. 64.Google Scholar

82 , Frankfurter, “Events in Ayuddhya” p. 7.Google Scholar

83 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 2.14b.

84 Ibid., juan 54.8a-b and 129.3a.

85 , Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese” p. 190.Google Scholar

86 Ming Shi-zong shi-lu, juan 414.8a and 462.4b.

87 Ming Shen-zong shi-lu, juan 11.2a.

88 Ibid., juan 236.3b.

89 Ibid., juan 490.3b.

90 Ming Xi-zong shi-lu, juan 31.17b; the reconstruction is suggested by Vickery (personal communication).

91 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 55.3a.

92 See, for example, ibid., juan 76.3b–4a.

93 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 157.8a-b.

94 “Tula” (Sanskrit for “cotton“) appears to designate cotton fabrics from West Asia. See Hsin, Fei, Hsing-ch'a Sheng-lan: the Overall Survey of the Star Raft, trans. Mills, J.V.G., ed. Ptak, Roderich (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1996), p. 77Google Scholar note 225, for various references to such textiles.

95 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 183.4a.

96 Suebsaeng suggests that these aromatics were sent by Chao Nakhon In with a request for investiture (“Sino-Siamese” pp. 166-67). I have found no Ming source which supports such a claim.

97 Atsushi, Kobata and Mitsugu, Matsuda, Ryukyuan Relations with Korea and South Sea Countries: An Annotated Translation of Documents in the Reidai Hoan (Kyoto: Kobata Atsushi, 1969), pp. 53–64.Google Scholar

98 Ming Shen-zong shi-lu, juan 562.8a.

99 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 153.3a.

100 Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 97.7b.

101 Ibid., juan 279.1a and 217.4a.

102 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 158.1b.

103 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 48.1a.

104 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 158.4a-b.

105 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 121.4b.

106 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 73.3a-b.

107 Ming Shi-zong shi-lu, juan 476.3b.

108 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 200.5b-6a.

109 See, for example,ing Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 17.2b (seals) and 34.3a (weights and measures).

110 Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 192.3a-b.

111 Ibid., juan 206.2b.

112 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 97.1b.

113 Ming Shi-zong shi-lu, juan 4.27b.

114 Ming Shen-zong shi-lu, juan 236.3b.

115 Ibid., juan 256.1b-2a. See O.W. Wolters, “Ayudhya and the Rearward Part” for details of this incident.

116 , Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese” pp 187–90, 192-93.Google Scholar

116 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 2.14b.

117 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 85.7b (1373) and 183.4a (1387).

119 Ibid., juan 254.6a-7a. See also Wolters, O.W., The Fall ofSrivijaya in Malay History (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1970), pp. 49–71Google Scholar, for details of a possible scenario which might have given rise to this letter.

120 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 132.8a.

121 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 24.3a.

122 Ibid., juan 34.1b-2a.

123 , Kobata and , Matsuda, Ryukyuan Relations, pp. 60–72Google Scholar; relations with Siam are covered on pp. 53-100.

124 Wyatt, D., “The Thai ‘Kata Mandiarapala’ and Malacca”, JSS 55, 2 (1967): 279–86Google Scholar; see pp. 281, 285. Wyatt has accepted this identification as a possibility in the reprinted version of the article; see his Studies in Thai History (Chiang Mai: Silkworm Books, 1994), p. 89Google Scholar, note 21.

125 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 72.4b-5a.

126 Ibid., juan 217.a-b (1419) and 236.4a (1421).

127 Ming Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 76.6b-7a.

128 Ming Ting-zong shi-lu, juan 47.4b.

129 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 82.6a-b.

130 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 132.1b.

131 , Frankfurter, “Events in Ayuddhya” p. 5Google Scholar. For fuller details of the Ayudhyan campaigns against Lanna, see Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “A Fifteenth-Century Siamese Historical Poem” in Southeast Asian History and Historiography — Essays Presented to D.G.E. Hall, ed. Cowan, C.D. and Wolters, O.W. (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1976), pp. 130–40Google Scholar.

132 Ming Shen-zong shi-lu, juan 394.3b-4a.

133 See , Vickery, “The Khmer Inscriptions” “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’ “Review of Jeremias van Vliet” (pp. 223–28)Google Scholar; Vickery, Michael, “Prolegomena to Methods for Using the Ayutthayan Laws as Historical Source Materials” JSS 72 (1984): 37–58Google Scholar, and “On Traibhumikatha”, JSS 79, 2 (1991): 37–58Google Scholar; Terwiel, B.J., “Ahom and the Study of Early Tai Society” JSS 71 (1983): 42–62Google Scholar; Yoneo, Ishii et al., An Index of Officials in Traditional Thai Governments (Kyoto: Kyoto University Centre for Southeast Asian Studies, 1974)Google Scholar; Condominas, Georges, L'espace social a propos de I'Asie du Sud-est (Paris: Flammarion, 1980), pp. 475–97Google Scholar; Jones, R.B., Thai Titles and Ranks, including a Translation of Traditions of Royal Lineage in Siam by King Chulalongkorn, (Ithaca: Cornell University Southeast Asia Program, 1971)Google Scholar.

134 , Terwiel, “Ahom and the Study” p. 46.Google Scholar

135 , Condominas, L'espace social, pp. 483–84.Google Scholar

136 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 68.4b.

137 Ibid., juan 94.4b.

138 Ibid., juan 102.3a.

139 Ibid., juan 68.4b, 85.7b, 117.5b, 164.2a-b, 177.2b.

140 Ibid., juan 101.3a.

141 , Jones, Thai Titles and Ranks, p. 3Google Scholar; , Vickery, “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’” p. 168Google Scholar.

142 , Condominas, L'espace social, p. 487.Google Scholar

143 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 134.21a.

144 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 56.5a.

145 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 44.3a-b.

i46 Jenner, Philip N. and Pou, Saveros, A Lexicon of Khmer Morphology (Mon-Khmer Studies IX-X, Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1980–1981), p. 118.Google Scholar

147 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 68.4b, 85.6b, and 159.1a respectively. “Srisrindara” is not a very satisfying representation of “Si-li Duo-luo-lu” but the titles given in , Vickery, “The Khmer Inscriptions” (p. 56Google Scholar, table facing p. 62, and p. 69) and “Review of Jeremias van Vliet” (p. 224), suggest that this is the most likely reconstruction of the title represented by these characters.

148 , Vickery, “On Traibhumikatha”, p. 28Google Scholar; Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 148.1b.

149 Ibid., juan 185.4a and 34.1a-b respectively.

150 Shorto, H.L., A Dictionary of the Mon Inscriptions from the Sixth to the Sixteenth Centuries (London: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 57.Google Scholar

151 , Jones, Thai Titles and Ranks, p. 3.Google Scholar

152 , Vickery, “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’” pp. 169–70.Google Scholar

153 McFarland, G.B., Thai-English Dictionary (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1944), pp. 566–67.Google Scholar

154 Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “Devices and Expedients: Vat Pa Mok 1727 A.D.” in In Memoriam Phya Anuman Rajadhon, ed. Bunnag, Tej and Smithies, M. (Bangkok: The Siam Society, 1970), pp. 147–220Google Scholar; see p. 150. See also , Vickery, “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’” pp. 168–69Google Scholar.

155 Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 225.11a-b.

156 Ibid., juan 344.7b.

157 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 2.14b.

158 , McFarland, Thai-English Dictionary, p. 530.Google Scholar

159 Griswold, A.B. and Nagara, Prasert na, “The Asokarama Inscription of 1399 A.D. (EHS No. 2)” JSS 71, 1 (1969): 29–56Google Scholar; see p. 40. For further examples of the use of “Pu”, see , Griswold and , Prasert, “The Pact” pp. 75Google Scholar, 82; and Vickery, Michael, “The Lion Prince and Related Remarks on Northern History” JSS 64, 1 (1976): 375Google Scholar.

160 Ming Tai-zong shi-lu, juan 86.4b-5a.

161 , McFarland, Thai-English Dictionary, p. 577.Google Scholar

162 , Terwiel, “Ahom and the Study” p. 45.Google Scholar

163 Ming Tai-m shi-lu, juan 101.3a.

164 , McFarland, Thai-English Dictionary, p. 452.Google Scholar

165 Davids, T.W. Rhys and Stede, W., The Pali Text Society's Pali-English Dictionary, Part IV (London: Pali Text Society, 1923), p. 186Google Scholar; , Shorto, Dictionary of the Mon Inscriptions, p. 213Google Scholar.

166 See, for example, Ming Ying-zong shi-lu, juan 113.5b (1444, “Krung Ayudhya”) and Ming Xian-zong shi-lu, juan 229.2a (1482, “Krung Phra Nakhon Sri Ayudhya”).

167 , McFarland, Thai-English Dictionary, p. 54Google Scholar; , Boeles, “The King of Sri DvaravatI”, p. 112Google Scholar.

168 Jenner, Philip, A Chrestomathy of Pre-Angkorian Khmer, Vol. II (Lexicon of the Dated Inscriptions) (Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii, 1981), p. 24Google Scholar, and Vol. IV (Lexicon of the Undated Inscriptions) (published in 1982), p. 50. Michael Vickery (personal communication) suggests that the “kurung” of Old Khmer had ceased to mean a paramount ruler by the time of the first Cambodian inscriptions in the seventh century, and that the term “krung” was used in both Ayudhya and Cambodia to refer to both the city and also the king. He avers that the terms are likely related.

169 , Vickery, “Review of ‘Thai Titles and Ranks’”, p. 168.Google Scholar

170 Ming Shen-zong shi-lu, juan 490.3b.

171 , Suebsaeng, “Sino-Siamese”, p. 199.Google Scholar

172 Ming Xuan-zong shi-lu, juan 22.2a.

173 , Charnvit, The Rise of Ayudhya, pp. 81–82.Google Scholar

174 Ming Xiao-zong shi-lu, juan 129.1a.

175 Ibid., juan 129.2a.

176 Ming Tai-zu shi-lu, juan 71.2b-3a, 135.5b and 208.3b.

177 Ibid., juan 224.1a.

178 Photocopies of the relevant pages from the monograph Phraphuttharup lae phraphim nai km phraprang Wat Ratburana [Buddha images and votive tablets in the crypt of Wat Ratburana] (Bangkok: Fine Arts Department, 1967)Google Scholar were kindly provided by Charnvit Kasetsiri.

179 I am grateful to Bruce Lockhart (personal communication) for clarifying the significance of the MSL account of this event.

180 Personal communication from David Wyatt.

181 Li Dao-gang suggests that this title can be reconstructed as Chao Ai Kuman, meaning “first son of the ruler” (“Can-Lie Bao Bi-Ya”, p. 53).

182 For a detailed study of the mission by “Kun Lu-qun Xie-ti” and his Chinese deputy Xie Wen-bin, see Chan Hok-lam, “Xian-luo gong-shi”.