Hsuan-Tsung Shih-Lu, is one of the most important sources for early Melaka.
What is HSUAN-TSUNG SHIH-LU?
Xuanzong Shih-lu (宣宗實錄) is the Veritable Records of the Xuande Emperor — Zhu Zhanji, the 5th emperor of the Ming Dynasty.
- Hsuan-Tsung / Xuande = reign title, ruled 1425-1435
- Shih-lu / Shilu = "Veritable Records" — the official court diary, compiled day-by-day by court historians from memorials, edicts, tribute reports. It's not a personal diary, it's the state archive.
For Southeast Asia, scholars use the English translation project Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu by Geoff Wade at NUS, which extracts all the Melaka entries.
Why it matters for Melaka: Melaka (recorded as Manlajia / 滿剌加) was founded around 1400-1402, and almost all we know about its first 30 years comes from the Ming Shilu, because Melaka itself left no contemporary written records.
What does the Xuande (Hsuan-tsung) volume say about Melaka?
The Xuande reign is especially critical because it covers the last voyage of Admiral Zheng He (Cheng Ho).
1. 1430 - The order for the 7th voyage:
"The Eunuch Director Zheng He and others were sent with an Imperial proclamation to go and instruct the various fan countries... Variegated silks, as appropriate, were to be conferred upon the rulers or chiefs of all 20 countries through which the eunuchs were to pass, including Hormuz, Sri Lanka, Calicut, Melaka, Cochin..."
This is the famous final treasure fleet that left Nanjing in 1430. Melaka was listed as a core stop.
2. 1433/1434 - New Sultan of Melaka enfeoffed:
The Shilu records a succession crisis. The old king had died, and his son came to the throne.
"The Supervising Secretary Chen Jia-you was sent as chief envoy..to enfeoff Su-dan Mang-su Sha, the son of the deceased king of the country of Melaka... You are the legitimate heir and you have been able to send an envoy to present tribute... I am thus especially sending envoys with a proclamation enfeoffing you as king of the country of Melaka."
Historians identify this as Sultan Muhammad Shah taking over from Parameswara / Megat Iskandar Shah. The Ming court did official sacrifices for the deceased king and formally recognized the new one — this is how Melaka got legitimacy to fend off Siamese threats.
3. 1433 - Tribute missions returning:
On 14 September 1433, as recorded in the Xuanzong Shilu, envoys from 20 states including Melaka, Samudera, Calicut, Cochin came to present tribute together after travelling with Zheng He's fleet.
Earlier volumes (Yongle Shilu) give even more detail that the Xuande scribes were copying — that Melaka asked to be treated like a province of China, and the Ming Emperor enfeoffed Melaka's western hill as Zhen-guo Shan (the mountain that protects the country) with a stone tablet.
In short: For Melaka, the Xuande Shilu is proof that by 1425-1435 Melaka was already a recognized, enfeoffed tributary kingdom under Ming protection, rich enough to be a mandatory stop for the treasure fleets, and undergoing its second royal succession.
Hj Zulheimy Maamor
6/9/2026: 3.43 a.m
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