NANHAI TRADE (HAN SHU RECORD)

The records from the Han Shu (Book of Han), compiled in the 1st century AD, are indeed among the most significant historical documents for understanding early maritime contact between China and the Malay Peninsula.

The specific chronicle detailing this is found in the "Treatise on Geography" (Dilizhi), which describes a voyage commissioned during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BC).

The Nanhai Trade Record (c. 140 BC)

The Han Shu describes a route starting from the Leizhou Peninsula (in modern-day Guangdong) and passing through various kingdoms in the "Southern Seas" (Nanhai). According to the text, Han officials traveled on foreign ships to acquire luxury goods.

• Key Commodities: The Chinese sought pearls, glass, rare stones, and exotic animals (notably rhinoceroses), while offering gold and silk in exchange.
• The Route: The ships sailed along the coast of Vietnam, crossed the Gulf of Thailand, and reached the Malay Peninsula.
• The Identification of "Huangzhi": The record mentions a kingdom called Huangzhi (黄支) as the furthest point. While some historians identify this as Kanchipuram in India, others suggest it refers to a polity on the Malay Peninsula or Sumatra.

Polities on the Peninsula: The text mentions several stops, including:

• Duyuan (都元): Often identified as a location on the east coast of the Malay Peninsula or Southern Thailand.
• Yilumo (邑盧沒): Suspected to be in the northern part of the peninsula.
• Pizong (皮宗): Frequently identified as Pulau Pisang (an island off the west coast of Johor, Malaysia).

Historical Significance

This record is vital for several reasons:

• Earliest Written Proof: It provides the earliest written evidence of organized maritime trade between the Chinese imperial court and the Malay Peninsula, predating the rise of later empires like Srivijaya by over 700 years.
• Multicultural Cooperation: The Han Shu explicitly mentions that the Han officials "traveled on ships of the barbarians," indicating that the actual navigation and seafaring were conducted by skilled Austronesian (Malay/Indonesian) or Indian sailors.
• The "Maritime Silk Road" Foundation: It proves that a "Maritime Silk Road" existed as a counterpart to the overland route even during the peak of the Han Dynasty's power.

Comparison of Early Records

Period	Source	Main Focus
c. 140 BC	Han Shu	Earliest mission to the "Southern Seas"; mentions trade for pearls and silk.
2nd Century AD	Ptolemy's Geographia	Western record mentioning the "Golden Chersonese" (Malay Peninsula).
3rd Century AD	Wei Lue	Mentions further stops and the role of intermediaries in the Malay/Sumatran region.

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE

The archaeological evidence in Malaysia provides a physical "bridge" to the written accounts of the Han Shu. While the text describes officials traveling to the "Southern Seas" around 140 BC, archaeology shows that the Malay Peninsula was already a sophisticated "connector" in a global network involving Vietnam, India, and even the Roman Mediterranean.

1. The Dong Son Bells: The Link to Mainland Southeast Asia

The "Dong Son" culture (centered in modern-day North Vietnam) is famous for its advanced bronze-casting.1 In Malaysia, several Dong Son Bronze Bells and Drums have been discovered, dating roughly from 200 BC to 150 AD.

• Key Site - Klang, Selangor: Three bronze bells were found here in 1905.2 One of them (the "Klang Bell") is now in the British Museum and is decorated with double spirals and "eye" motifs typical of the Dong Son style.3
• Key Site - Kampung Pencu, Johor: A similar bell was found in 1963 near the Muar River.4 It is estimated to date back to 150 AD.5
• Significance: These bells were likely prestige items or ritual objects. Their presence suggests that as early as the Han Dynasty, there was a consistent maritime flow between the Vietnamese coast (where Han influence was strong) and the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula.

2. Roman and Indo-Pacific Beads: The Global Reach

The Han Shu mentions Han officials trading gold and silk for "rare stones." Archaeology in Malaysia reveals an astonishing variety of beads that confirm the peninsula's role as a "trans-shipment" hub.

• Roman Glass Beads: Found in sites like Kuala Selinsing (Perak) and Kota Tinggi (Johor), these beads originate from the Roman Mediterranean.They likely arrived via Indian intermediaries who traded with both the Romans and the people of the Malay Peninsula.
• Indo-Pacific Beads: These are small, monochrome glass beads. Research shows that while many came from Arikamedu (South India), sites like Sungai Mas (Kedah) were actually manufacturing their own beads as early as the 2nd century AD using imported techniques.
• Carnelian and Agate: High-quality stone beads from India have been found in Iron Age graves across the peninsula, proving that the trade routes mentioned by the Han were part of a larger "Maritime Silk Road" linking Rome, India, Southeast Asia, and China.

3. Early Iron and Gold: The "Suvarnabhumi" Connection

The Han Shu implies the peninsula was a source of wealth. This aligns with the ancient Sanskrit name for the region, Suvarnabhumi ("Land of Gold").

• Sungai Batu (Kedah): This is perhaps the most groundbreaking site. Excavations have revealed an iron-smelting industry dating back to 788 BC. By the time of the Han Dynasty (c. 140 BC), this was a highly developed industrial port.
• Significance: The discovery of ritual sites and administrative buildings at Sungai Batu proves that the "barbarians" the Han officials visited were actually part of a highly organized, technologically advanced society capable of mass-exporting iron.

Summary of Archaeological Correlates

These findings suggest that when the Han officials arrived, they weren't entering a "wilderness" but a thriving network of river-mouth polities that had been trading for centuries.

KUNLUN-BO

The "Kunlun" ships, referred to in Chinese records as Kunlun bo (崑崙舶), are some of the most fascinating vessels in maritime history. They were not Chinese ships, but were the massive, ocean-going vessels of the Austronesian peoples (the ancestors of the Malays and Indonesians).

Chinese records from the Han to the Tang Dynasties admit that for centuries, Chinese travelers—including diplomats and famous Buddhist monks like I-Tsing—relied almost entirely on these foreign ships to cross the "Southern Seas."

1. The Design: "Ships Without Nails"

The most striking feature of Kunlun ships to Chinese observers was their construction. While Chinese river craft used iron nails, the Kunlun bo used a "stitched-plank" or "lashed-lug" technique.

• Materials: Instead of iron, which was prone to rust and believed by some sailors to be "attracted to magnetic rocks" in the sea, the ships were held together by coconut fiber (coir) ropes and wooden dowels.
• Hull Integrity: The hulls were made of multiple layers of planks. Even without iron, they were incredibly flexible and could withstand the "dashing waves" of the open ocean better than the rigid Chinese river boats of that era.
• Waterproofing: They were sealed with dammar resin, a natural tree sap common in the Malay Archipelago.

2. Massive Scale and Capacity

Chinese accounts, such as those by the 3rd-century scholar Wan Chen in Strange Things of the South (Nanzhou Yiwuzhi), describe these ships in awe-inspiring terms:

• Size: They were reportedly over 50 to 60 meters long and stood 4 to 5 meters out of the water.
• Capacity: A single Kunlun bo could carry 600 to 1,000 people and up to 600–1,000 tons of cargo. For comparison, this was significantly larger than the ships used by Columbus over a millennium later.
• The "Covered Gallery" Look: From a distance, they were described as looking like floating "covered galleries" or palaces due to their high freeboards and multi-deck structures.

3. Sophisticated Rigging: The "Tanja" Sail

While many ships of the time used simple square sails, Kunlun ships utilized multi-masted systems (often 4 masts) with Tanja sails (canted rectangular sails).

• Tacking against the Wind: This rigging allowed the ships to sail even when the wind wasn't blowing directly behind them.
• Safety: The records note that because the sails were "oblique," they could be adjusted to let violent winds pass through, preventing the high masts from snapping during a storm.

4. Who were the "Kunlun"?

In ancient Chinese texts, "Kunlun" was a general term used for the dark-skinned, curly-haired peoples of the Southern Seas (Maritime Southeast Asia).

• The term "Kunlun bo" literally means "Ships of the Kunlun People."
• The word "Bo" (舶) itself is thought by many linguists to be a Chinese transcription of the Old Malay/Javanese word "Prahu" or "Parahu," which today still means "boat" (Perahu).

Why this matters for the Malay Peninsula

These records prove that the Malay Peninsula was not just a destination but a source of high-technology. The people of the peninsula and the surrounding islands were the "truck drivers" of the Maritime Silk Road. It wasn't until the Song Dynasty (around the 11th century AD) that the Chinese began building their own large-scale ocean-going "junks" that could rival the Kunlun ships they had admired for nearly a thousand years.

I-TSING - TANG DYNASTY MONK AT SRIVIJAYA

The story of the Tang Dynasty monk I-Tsing (also spelled Yijing) is the most vivid human account we have of the Malay Peninsula during the 7th century. While the Han Shu gives us a "satellite view" of early trade, I-Tsing gives us a "ground-level" diary of someone who actually lived there.

In 671 AD, I-Tsing set sail from Guangzhou on a Persian merchant ship. His journey was a maritime version of the famous pilgrimage of Xuanzang (the inspiration for Journey to the West).

1. Srivijaya: The Buddhist "Oxford" of the East

I-Tsing's first major stop was Shih-li-fo-shih (Srivijaya), located in modern-day Palembang, Sumatra.

• The Academic Hub: I-Tsing was stunned by the level of scholarship. He wrote that there were more than 1,000 Buddhist monks living there, studying the same curriculum as the famous Nalanda University in India.
• His Famous Advice: He famously wrote to other Chinese monks:

"If a Chinese priest wishes to go to the West [India] to hear and read, he had better stay here [Srivijaya] for one or two years and practice the proper rules... and then proceed to Central India."

• Language Learning: He spent six months in Srivijaya just learning Sanskrit and the local Malay language (which he referred to as "Kunlun-yu") before moving on.

2. Kedah (Chieh-cha): The Gateway to the West

After Srivijaya, I-Tsing traveled to Chieh-cha (Ancient Kedah) on the Malay Peninsula.

• Strategic Stopover: Kedah was the final "jumping-off point" before crossing the Bay of Bengal to India. Ships waited there for the monsoon winds to change.
• The Iron Connection: I-Tsing’s records align perfectly with the archaeology of Sungai Batu. He noted that travelers often traded local products for supplies; Arabic records of the same era (naming it Kalah) explicitly mention it as a world-renowned source of high-quality iron and tin.
• The Return Journey: On his way back from India in 685 AD, he stopped in Kedah again. He stayed in the region for several more years to translate the 500,000 Sanskrit stanzas he had collected.

3. The "Forgot My Ink" Incident

One of the most humanizing stories about I-Tsing happened in 689 AD. While living in Srivijaya (Palembang), he was busy translating a massive volume of texts but realized he had run out of paper and ink.

He went to the port to send a letter back to China asking for supplies. However, the ship was about to sail, and in a moment of panic/impulse, he stayed on the boat just to ensure his manuscripts were safe. He accidentally "shipped himself" back to China! He eventually recruited four assistants and sailed right back to Srivijaya to finish his work.

I-Tsing’s writings transformed our understanding of the Malay Peninsula from just a "trade stop" into a sophisticated "knowledge hub."

24/12/2025: 6.53 P.M