The Junk Trade from Southeast Asia: Translations from the Tosen Fusetsu-gaki, 1674-1723 9789814519793

Citation preview

The Junk Trade from Southeast Asia

The Institute of Southeast Asian Studies (ISEAS) in Singapore was established as an autonomous organization in 1968. It is a regional research centre for scholars and other specialists concerned with modern Southeast Asia, particularly the manyfaceted problems of stability and security, economic development, and political and social change. The Institute's research programmes are the Regional Economic Studies (RES, including ASEAN and APEC), Regional Strategic and Political Studies (RSPS), Regional Social and Cultural Studies (RSCS), and the ASEAN Transitional Economies Programme (ATEP). The Ins titute is governed by a twenty-two-member Board of Trustees comprising nominees from the Singapore Government, the National University of Singapore, the various Chambers of Commerce, and professional and civic organizations. A ten-man Executive Committee oversees day-to-day operations; it is chaired by the Director, the Institute's chief academic and administrative officer. The Proj ect on the Economic History of Southeast Asia was established in 1988 by the Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies of the Australian National University, Canberra. It is premised on the conviction that the varied contemporary economic performance of Southeast Asia cannot be understood without reference to the past, and that a concentration on this neglected area will provide an important input into Southeast Asian Studies on the one hand, and a better understanding of the development process on the other. This book in the Data Paper Series: Sources for the Economic History of Southeast As ia is published in conjunction with the ASEAN Economic Research Unit of ISEAS . To provide the data necessary for broader economic work, the series will make available in Engl ish. and in contemporary metric measures. statistical data, contemporary description, and pioneering scholarship currently inaccessible to most analysts because of the diversi ty of languages, measures and locations in which they are found. The project welcomes translations of sources and long statistical time series.

DATA PAPER SERIES Sources for the Economic History of Southeast Asia

No.6

1he Junk Trade fiao10 Southeast Asia Translations from the

Tosen Fusetsu,..gaki, 1674-1723

Edited by

Yoneo Ishii

Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies Australian National History

Institute of Southeast Asian Studies Singapore

Cover pictun: Painting by Maruyama Okyo of the pon of Nagasaki, 171[1J., with the fan-shaped artificial island of Desh.ima (see bottom of front cover) flying the Dutch flag. The Cllineae camp is shown lower left, with five Chinese ships anchored in a row nearby, and a sixth apparefttly being towed into pon. A lqer Dutch vessel is shown in the centre of the harbour, while another is being towed into port (see top of ~k cover). ( Counesy ofNagasaki Prefectural Museum ofAn)

Published by Institute of Southeast Asian Studies 30 Heng Mui Keng Terrace, Pasir Panjang Singapore 119614

Internet e-mail: publish (it iseas.edu.sg World Wide Web: http://www.iseas.edu.sg/pub.html All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by a.ny means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, record.i ng or otherwise, without the prior permission of the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. C 1998 Institute of Southeast Asian Studies, Singapore

The responsibility for translation of the facts and opinions in this publication rests exclusively with the editor and his interpretations do not necessarily reflect the views or the policy of the Institute or its supporters.

Cataloguing In PubUcatlon Data The junk trade from Southeast Asia : translations from the Tosen Fusetsu-gaki, 1674-1723 I edited by Yonco Ishii. (Data paper series. Sources for the economic history of Southeast Asia ; no. 6) I . Junk trade-Asia, Southeastern-History. I. Ishii, Yoneo, 192911. Tosen Fusetsu-gaki, 1674-1723. English III. Series. DS511 A81 D no. 6 1998 sls98-6656 ISBN 981-230-022-8 (hard cover)

Printed in Singapore by Seng Lee Press Pte Ltd.

Contents Map and Illustrations

vt

Preface Introduction

vu 1

1.

18

Ships from Siam, 1679-1728 2. Ships from Pattani, 1675-1709 3. Ships from Ligor (Nakhon Sithammarat), 1684-1697 4. Ships from Songkhla, 1693-1696 5. Ships from Cambodia, 1679-1723 6. Ships from Kelapa (Batavia), 1674-1726 7. Ships from Malacca, 1685- 1694 8. Ships from Banten, 1680- 1694 Glossary Index The Editor

103 130 143 153 194 255 265 27 1 273 283

Map The South China Sea of the Tosen

13

Illustrations 1.

A tosen under sail, in a Nagasaki wood-cut which list at top the distances from Nagasaki to various Asian ports.

14

2.

Contemporary drawings of tosen from Kelapa and Siam, as displayed in the Kuan-yin temple of the old Chinese camp of Nagasaki.

14

3

Prominent Chinese traders at dinner in the Chinese camp of Nagasaki. From a contemporary wood-block print.

15

4

View inside the Chinese camp of Nagasaki, by an unknown Nagasaki painter. (Courtesy of Nagasaki Prefectural Museum of Art)

15

5 . The Chinese camp of Nagasaki, as drawn by Tomishimayu Emon in 1780. (Courtesy of Nagasaki Prefectural Library)

16

6 . A Chinese ship-captain being entertained in Nagasaki. 7 . Nagasaki harbour, from a wood-block printed map.

17

8. 9.

A shinpai licence issued to ships by the Japanese authorities. (Courtesy of Nagasaki Municipal Museum )

A smaller junk used on the Guangnan (Cochinchina) to Nagasaki route, from a Japanese scroll. 10. A junk from Kelapa, from a Japanese scroll.

17 91 155 196

Preface It is with pride and pleasure that the Economic History of Southeast Asia Project includes this book in its series of Sources for the Economic History of Southeast Asia. The reports of Chinese ship captains as given to Japanese officials in Nagasaki are a precious source of information on the countries of Southeast Asia.

They

provide a very different perspective from the much more accessible reports of Dutch and English factors at this period. They tend to be strong, moreover, on the areas where European sources are weak-notably Cambodia, Pattani and post-1688 Siam. These documents have been known to historians for some time, particularly since they were published in their original old-style Japanese in 1958-59. For most students of Southeast Asia, however, they have remained inaccessible, and only glimpsed at second hand through the work of East Asianists who have used them. In Professor Yoneo Ishii we have an exceptionally able and distinguished translator. He has put future generations of historians of the region in his debt with his translation here of all the extant reports from Siam, Cambodia and the Malay world. Some editing of all the texts has been carried out by the ECHOSEA team at the ANU, notably Yiqi Wu , David Bulbeck, Clare Guenther, Maxine McArthur. and myself, while I have added some material to the introductions and footnotes. Clare Guenther and Oanh Collins formatted the text. Maxine McArthur prepared the index and Keith Mitchell drew the map. Anthony Reid

Introduction In the 1630s Japan closed her door to the rest of the world. This political decision of the then ruling Tokugawa Shogunate ( 16031868) is known as "sakoku" . The "sakoku" policy, which mainly derived from the rulers' fear of unchecked proliferation of the Catholic faith among the Japanese populace, was implemented by five decrees successively issued between 1633 and 1639. By the completion of these increasingly restrictive measures, the Japanese were completely deprived of the right to leave the country for whatever purpose. Four decades prior to the beginning of the "sakoku ", a period of Japanese commercial expansion to Southeast Asia had begun whereby a number of Japanese--persecuted Christians, lordless samurai, ambitious merchants and the like--had crossed the oceans to settle in major port cities of the region. Baan yiipun, the Japanese settlement in the southern outskirts of the Siamese capital of Ayutthaya, for example, was one of these Japanese establishments in early seventeenth century Southeast Asia 1• The population of the settlement in Ayutthaya was estimated at 1,500 at the height of its prosperity. These Japanese as well as those who lived in other parts of Southeast Asia2 were engaged in trading such things as the "forest products" available in the country of their residence. Once the "sakoku" policy was in place, these overseas Japanese were not only abandoned by their home government but had lost any hope of repatriation , and so were compelled to find some other way to earn their living. The more ambitious found their way into intra-regional trade, and the less

1

The Japanese settlements in Southeast Asia have been studied in great detail by the late Professor Seiichi Iwao in his Nan'yo nihon-machi no kenkyfi (A Study of Japanese settlements in Nanyangl. 2 vols .. (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. 1966 and 1993). 2 Simi lar Japanese settlements were found in other parts of Southeast Asia such as the ones in Vietnam (Hoi An. known also as Faifo), Cambodia (Phnom Penh). Philippines (Manila) (lwao. 1966). and Java (Batavia) (lwao. 1993).

2 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

ambitious came to earn their living as employees of their fonner rival, the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The policy of seclusion, however, did not affect the demand in Japan for imported foreign goods. There remained a vacuum which had to be filled. This task was eventually perfonned by the former competitors of the Japanese merchants, the VOC and the Chinese traders, whose ships continued to enjoy exclusive right of entry at Nagasaki, the single authorized port for trade, until 1853 when Japan reluctantly opened her door to the west. Despite their apparently xenophobic stance, the Tokugawa rulers were not unconcerned about political developments in the rest of the world. On the contrary, they made a systematic effort to collect current information on external affairs by any possible means. The Chinese junks (categorized as rosen) and VOC ships coming from China and Southeast Asia were chosen as the two major sources from which they could obtain the infonnation they needed. From the Chinese junks, in particular, reports were expected on domestic political developments in China under Manchu rule, as well as on the activities of the different anti-Manchu rebel groups in and around the Chinese Empire. These Chinese junks were classified by the Nagasaki port authorities into three categories according to their provenance: namely, the kuchi-bune or "short-distance" ships, the naka-okubune or "middistance" ships, and the okubune or "long-distance" ships.' The kuchi-bune included those junks from the Chinese provinces nearest to Japan such as Jiangsu and Zhejiang. Junks from Shangdong, Nanjing, Zhoushan, Putuoshan, Ningbo, Taizhou and Wenzhou also fell into this category. The naka-okubune referred to junks from Fujian and Guangdong provinces and their adjacent islands, including such commercial centres as Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Xiamen (Simingzhou), Dongning (Taiwan), Zhangzhou, Shacheng, ' Kuchi which means mouth. entrance. or threshold. here refers to any port which is fell nearest to Japan . Oku implies remoteness in distance. while naka means something in between.

INTRODUCTION 3

Chaozhou, Guangdong, Gouzhou and Hainan. The okubune, literally meaning ships from remote countries, were ships from the countries of Southeast Asia such as Tonkin, Guangnan (Quang Nam or Cochinchina), Champa, Cambodia, Siam, Ligor, Songkhla, Pattani, Malacca, Bantam and Kelapa (Batavia). It may seem strange that these "remote" or Southeast Asian ships were treated as tosen or "Chinese" junks in Tokugawa Japan , since the category included even ships royally commissioned by the Siamese and Cambodian kings. But a gl impse at the composition of crew and passengers on board these junks from the "remote countries" soon reveals the reason: between 98% and 100% of those on board were Chinese, with only a handful of Southeast Asians, even in cases of royally commissioned junks from Siam and Cambodia. The number of crew on board these tosen ranges from twentyfi ve on a junk from Malacca (7-6), to one hundred and three on one Siamese junk (1 -23). The average crew size works out at 87 on the junks from Ayutthaya, 59 from Pattani, 56 from Cambodia, 55 from Batavia, 54 from Songkhla and Ligor and 35 from Malacca.4 Ship size was not therefore determined simply by the length of the journey, but by the scale of exports available in different ports for the Japanese market. If John Crawfurd's formula for the Chinese ships he observed in the 1820s can be taken as valid, that is 20 crew members for every 100 tons capacity,5 then the tosen ships wou ld have fallen in the range of 120 to 500 tons. Leonard Blusse calculated that 80% of the junks arriving in Batavia from China in the period 1685-1 7 J5 were in fact in the range 150-200 tons. 6 Junks fitted out in Siam for Nagasaki appear to have been the largest. Japanese sources attest that some of them loaded as much as one to two million kin (600-1200 tons) of cargo. The next biggest, the nakaoku-lnme from South 4

Anthony Reid. "The Unlhreatening Alternative: Chinese Shipping to Southeast Asia. 1567-1842." Rel'iew of Indonesian and Malaysian Affairs 27 ( 1993). p.20. ~ John Crawfurd. Joumal of an Embassy to the Courts of Siam and Cochin-China (London. 1828; reprinted Kuala Lu mpur. 1967), p.4 15. (• Leonard Blusse. Strange Company: Chinese Settlers, mestizo women and the Dutch in VOC Batm•ia (Dordrecht: KITLV, 1985), p.l23.

4

T HE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

C hina, were much smaller with 100,000 to 600,000 kin (59-360 tons) of cargo.7 Wood-block prints of the tosen on display at the old Chinese Kuan-yin temple in Nagasaki show a typical junk from Siam to be three-masted and measuring 20 ken, 4 shaku (27.6 metres) in keel length; 4 ken, 4 shaku, 5 sun (8.64m.) in breadth, and 19 ken, 6 shaku, 5 sun (36.6m.) in height of the main mast. The ship depicted from Batavia was two-masted, and its comparable measurements were on ly 21.5, 5.91 and 30.3 metres respectively. The contents of cargoes brought into the port of Nagasaki have recently been reconstructed by Yoko Nagazumi from inventories of imported merchandise derived from Dutch archival sources. We know , for example, that a Siamese junk which entered Nagasaki in Jul y, 1658 carried, among other things, 160,000 kin (c. 96 tons) of sappanwood, 26,550 kin ( 16 tons) of pepper, 2,670 deer hides and 3,400 sharkskins. By comparison 450 kin (ca. 270 kg) of Tonkin si lk, 300 kin ( 180 kg) of aloeswood, 11,600 kin (7 tons) of sugar and 2,000 kin ( 1.2 tons) of natural medicines were imported by a j unk from Cambodia which reached Japan in June of the same year.8 The reports translated below provide much fascinating detail on the pattern of the Chinese junk trade. They of course followed the rhythm of the monsoons in the South China Sea, always travelling northwards in June or July, southward from China in January or February, and southward from Japan a little earlier. Junks from Ayutthaya typically sailed directly to Nagasaki and back, taking on average 54 days on the northward journey. Those from Cambodia, on the other hand, regularly called at a Chinese port (presumably sometimes their home port) on their voyage southward, and about one in six also stopped there on the northward journey. At smaller ports the calls were often purely speculative, and in the case of Malacca it 1

Hamkatsu Hayashi and Nobutoku Hayashi (eds.). Koi-Hentai. with an Introduction by Re n'ichi Ura. 3 vols. (Tokyo: Toyo Bunko: 1958-59). vol. I. pp. l2- 13. K Yoko Nagazumi (ed.). Tfiun Yuslwtszm.\'llhin Suryou lchim 1637- 1833. Fukugen Tfisen Kamollf Amtamecho-Kihan Nimotsu Kailmwshicho. (Tokyo. 1987). pp.80 -81.

INTRODUCTION 5

appears that Chinese shippers were using the quota provided on historic grounds to ships from Malacca to import goods from China. The Malacca ships invariably carried Malayan tin and pepper to China, and then exchanged it for Chinese silks on the run to Nagasaki. Whereas the sailing time from Pattani to Nagasaki was the shortest, at an average 47 days, that from Malacca and Batavia was the longest, taking an average 81 and 85 days respectively .9 The Tokugawa Shogunate kept very tight control on the Chinese vessels, as well as the Dutch ones, arriving in Japan. The coast was carefully guarded, and shippers knew that the punishment was severe for anyone who smuggled goods in any other way than the authorized traffic with Nagasaki . Hence all the reports below emphasize that they stopped nowhere except Nagasaki, or in the event of being forced by conditions to anchor somewhere else they stressed repeatedly that they had had no choice in doing so, and had alerted the authorities to their presence by firing their gun. Arriving ships in each year were allotted a number indicating the sequence in that year in which they arrived. Each ship therefore knew that it carried a particular number in the year of its arrival, and identified itself as the same ship which had visited before not by name but by the number given it in that preceding year. Hence the documents given below all begin by indicating the number of the ship in the Nagasaki annual sequence. The Chinese crews were regulated ashore almost as strictly as were the Dutch, whose enforced seclusion on the artificial island of Deshima is well known . In 1689 a Chinese camp, Tojin Yashiki, was established on the sloping ground behind the tosen landing place, northeast of Deshima. According to a careful drawing of this camp by Tomishimaya Emon in 1780 (see fig. I) the camp measure 126 ken by 73 ken (229x 133 metres) and was surrounded by a fence and ditch , with a guard-post on each of its four s ides. Inside were twenty twostoried residential buildings for the Chinese, as well as three temples, at which offerings were made by each arriving crew.

borwmakhadi Phallafumg (Proceeding of the Seminar on History and Archaeology of Phalthalung). Phallhalung. 1985. pp. I 25. q Smith. 1977. p.J2. '" Smith. 1977. p.34 . 11 Yongyut. 1985. p.l27. 12 Hutchinson. I 968. p.36 and 36n.

SH IPS FROM SONGK HLA 145

4-1 Ship No. 100 26 October 1686 In spring we sailed from Xiamen to trade in Songkhla which is a Siamese territory. Having completed our business there, we set sail on the 28th day of the 4th month lMay J7th] of this year. We called at Xiamen where we sold some goods suitable for foreign countries, and in exchange we purchased various goods suitable for Japan which we are hoping to sell here. On the 22nd of the 6th month we left Xiamen. Several times we had to endure strong winds which damaged the fittings such as the masts and rudders, and even the hull of the ship so much that we were on the verge of sinking. We threw some upper cargo overboard to reduce the weight of the ship, which saved us. Including the days of our departure from Xiamen, our sea voyage took 80 days during which we had hardships but nevertheless did not drift to any Japanese port and arrived here safely. In Songkhla, from whence we have come, and in its neighbouring "inner states" everything was peaceful. When we called at Xiamen we were told that all the 15 provinces of the Great Qing are particularly peaceful. The sh ips which left there before us might be able to give you details about the situation in X iamen. We did not see any suspicious ships. Yesterday we saw two Chinese junks returning home outside the port of Nagasaki. The lOth day of the 9th month, Year of the Tiger.

4-2 Ship No. 64 12 August 1693 Our ship was originally from Xiamen. In the 12th month last year we went to trade in Songkhla which is under Siamese control. On the lith day of the 5th month Ll4 June] of this year we left Songkhla on our own with 70 tojin on board without an accompanying ship. On the last day of the same month we called at Xiamen where we discharged cargoes for Xiamen and loaded sugar

146 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

from Taiwan. "' and on the 25th day of the 6th month [27 July] we set sail from Xiamen. Two ships followed us from Songkhla, both of which went there from Xiamen last year. They were said to be preparing for departure, so presumably they were due to leave soon. There was no indication whether they may be coming here. They told us there that they were going to Ningbo. Thus, ours was the only ship travelling from Songkhla to Japan. Though we had to endure strong winds during our voyage we managed to proceed, and without stopping anywhere in Japan we entered here easily today . Our captain Zhou Dongguan and vice-captain Zhou Baoshe came here last year as did this ship as Ship No. 41. Our captain was the purser then and our current vice-captain was the captain. Reports on the Great Qing will be made by other ships arriving here soon. Because we only made a brief call at Xiamen where we were preoccupied with our busi ness transactions, we had no time to obtain news about the provinces of the Great Qing. Songkhla is located 500 li away from Siam by sea. Despite it being controlled by Siam, the king is not Siamese but Songkhlanese. The country is small and half of it is occupied by Chinese residents. The goods we bought there are miscellaneous goods from various places. There is no raw si lk in Songkhla. The local products include such miscellany as tin, lead , sappanwood and rattan, all in small quantities. The people and their customs are inferior to those of Siam. Rice is extremely cheap there. There is nothing else to report to you. The I I th day of the 7th month, Year of the Cock.

4-3 Ship No. 40 5 July 1694 Our ship was fitted out in Songkhla which is under the control of Pattani in Java. Though Pattani itself is in Java, 14 as a vassal of Siam, it sends tribute to the latter. Likewise, being under the control 1

~ The Zheng name Dongning is no longer mentioned. since Taiwan had passed under the control of the Qing in I 683. 14 See Introduction to Pattani chapter.

SHIPS FROM SONGKHLA 147

of Pattani Songkhla sends its tribute to Pattani. The land is rather extensive and the inhabitants are rustic but the population is no more than several thousands. They produce some sugar. We went there last winter with 46 tojin on board and on the 8th of the 5th month [29 June] we left on our own. Another ship which was staying in Pattani may return to Xiamen, but it is possible that she may come here instead. It is difficult to say what will happen. During our recent voyage the sea was calm and we did not see any ships. In the evening of the 9th day of t~is month when we came close to the mountains near this port it suddenly became foggy and windy and it started to rain heavily. We sailed to an island. On the following lOth day since we had no idea of our whereabouts, we signalled by firing off a gun shot and cast anchor. A patrol boat came out immediately and placed us under close guard. We discovered that our water and firewood supplies were running low, so we asked for help and obtained a bit of both. Tugboats towed us away and we entered here today. Except for casting anchor at the afore-mentioned place, we made no other stops anywhere else in Japan. Our captain Lin Wuguan came here last year as captain aboard Ship No. 32 which was this ship. The situation in the provinces of the Great Qing may have been reported to you by the earlier ships. We have no news about the Great Qing because we came here directly from Songkhla. Songkhla and the countries of "Java" are peaceful. There is nothing else to report to you. The 14th day of the inrercalm:v 5th month, Year of the Dog.

4-4 Ship No. 69 29 August 1694 Our ship was fitted out in Songkhla in the kingdom of Siam. On the 29th of the 5th month [21 June] we left Songkhla and on the first of the 6th month [22 July] we called at Putuoshan to load some raw silk which we had ordered in advance. Together with the raw silk we procured water and firewood there. We were ordered by the [Chinese] authorities to take a group of Japanese on board, who had

148 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

been shipwrecked and sent there from Guangdong. We obtained an official certificate from the authorities, and on the 23rd day of the same month [ 13 Augustj we left Putuoshan with 116 people on board, 104 tiJjin and the 12 shipwrecked Japanese. Hindered by strong winds at sea we found it difficult to come here directly, so we sailed into the territorial waters of Hirado and cast anchor there. On the 5th of this [7th] month [25 August] we came too close to the mountains and decided to cast anchor and fire a gun as a sig nal. A patrol boat emerged immediately and placed us under close g uard . We were towed to this port this morning. While we were in the territorial waters of Hirado we onl y asked for water and firewood and nothing e lse. After departing from Songkhla the sea was as usual and we encountered no ships. We suffered a little from unfavourable winds. Except for casting anchor in the territory of Hirado, we did not stop anywhere else in Japan. Ours was the only ship fitted out in Songkhla. No other ship was followin g us. Our captai n Zhou Baoshe came here last year aboard Ship No. 64 which was this ship. When we called at Putuoshan our captai·n went to Ningbo where he heard nothing unusual except that peace was prevailing in all provinces of the Great Qing. In those provinces rice and other cereals are cheap which pleases the population. Because we were totally preoccupied with the preparations for our departure and the accommodation of the Japanese on board, we had no time to hear detailed news before we left. This is what l can report to you and there is nothing else to add.

The 9th day of the 7th month, Year of the Dog.

4-5 Ship No. 41 29 August 1695 Our ship was fitted out in Songkhla which is ruled by Pattani in Java. Songkhla is within Java. Pattani, bei ng part of Siam . sends tribute to the latter. and likewise Songk hl a, under the control of Pattani, sends tribute to Pattani. The land is exte nsive and the inhabitants are rustic but on ly several thousand people li ve there. In

SHIPS FROM SONGKHLA 149

the first month of thi s year our ship went there from Ningbo to trade, and on the 12th day of the 6th month [2 August] we left Songkhla on our own with 38 tojin on board. The two ships which were still there will have most probably returned to their home country of Fujian. However, if they were successful in purchasing goods suitable for Japan, then they may be coming here, but we are not certain. After we departed from Songkhla on the afore-mentioned date we called at Putuoshan on the 12th day of the 7th month LI September], in order to fulfil our long-cherished dream of paying homage to the Guan Yin [temple] there. We visited the Guan Yin temple, and after having loaded the raw silk which we had ordered last winter we left Putuoshan on the 28th day of the 7th month. We suffered much from adverse winds but on the two days of lith and 12th of this month we had favourable winds which gradually helped us progress. Of course we intended to enter here directly, but when we were approaching the port of Nagasaki at night adverse winds began to blow sudden ly. The rapid current almost pushed our sh ip ashore. We were greatly surprised and decided to cast anchor in the territory of Ohmura. We signalled by firing off a gun shot. Immediately afterwards a patrol boat emerged and under close guard we were towed here today. Except for casting anchor in the territory of Ohmura, we did not stop anywhere else in Japan . During our voyage we encountered no other ships. Our captain Chen Siguan last came here as a passenger aboard Ship No. 38. This is the first voyage to Japan for our ship. The earlier sh ips may ha ve reported to you about the situation in the Great Qing. Because we went to Songkhla in early spring, we have received no news about the situation in the Great Qing for thi s year. However, while we were in Putuoshan we heard that every province in the Great Qing is peaceful. Those ships which went from Zhejiang to the "inner countries" were returning home gradually. If they get their cargoes for Japan ready, then they may come here. This is what I heard in Putuoshan. We were also told that several other merchant ships were preparing for the voyage [to Nagasaki]. Depending upon the winds. they should be coming here eventually. In Java and in

150 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

Songkhla nothing has changed, it is as peaceful as usual. There is nothing else to report to you.

The 16th day of the 8th month, Year of the Boar.

4-6 Ship No. 73 15 August 1696 Last winter on the 18th day of the 12th month [22 January J we loaded raw silk at Nanyu in the province of Guangdong and went to trade in Songkhla. Five or six merchant ships from Guangdong, Fujian and Zhejiang went there ahead of us and completed their trading. Songkhla is a small country, therefore, it was hard for us to clear all our cargo. After having been compelled to stay there for a while, we loaded the unsold raw si lk and on the 25th of the 4th month [25 May] this year with 46 tojin on board we left Songkhla without an accompanying ship. Ours was the only ship departing from Songkhla and no other ship from the main port of Songkhla was bound for Japan. The ships from various provinces [of the Great QingJ which went to trade in Songkhla were all going to return to their respective homes. Our ship departed from Songkhla on the afore-mentioned date. After having endured strong winds at sea several times which damaged some fittin gs so badly that we were on the verge of sinkin g, our good fortune brought us safely as far as Putuoshan on the 3rd day of the 6th month [I July]. We stayed there for a while to repai r the damaged fittings and then on the II th day of this month we left Putuoshan. Probably because our ship was old the hull of the ship began leaking again while we were crui sing and everybody on board had to bail out water day and night. Finally we approached the vicinity of this port. Because of the large amount of water leak ing into the ship we found it difficult to enter the port directly. On the 16th day o f this month, that is the day before yesterday, we cast anchor in the territory of Ohmura and fired a g un as a signal. A patrol boat emerged immediately to guard us strictly and we were towed to this port today. Except for casting anchor in the afore-mentioned territory of Ohmura, we did not stop anywhere else in Japan. During our

SH IPS FROM SONGKHLA 151

voyage nothing happened at sea. This is the first voyage to Japan for both our captain Li Erguan and our ship. The vice-captain Chen Oongguan last came here on board Ship No. 5 1. ln Songkhla peace prevails as before. As for Siam and her neighbouring "inner countries", nothing has changed and everything is tranquil. We are aware that some merchant ships wi ll be coming to Nagasaki from the main port of Siam but we have no idea how many. Because we went to Songkhla last winter, we have had no news about the si tuation in the Great Qing this year. However. whi le we were staying at Putuoshan we heard that peace prevails everywhere. As for Putuoshan, it is extremely prosperous with many people visiting the local Guan Yin temple. We fo und two or three merchant ships visiting Putuoshan from other provinces [of the Great Qingj . But we were told that none of them will be comi ng here. There is noth ing else to report to you. The 18th day of the 7th month, Year of the Mouse. Ship No. 95 I 9 July 1697 Our ship was ori ginal ly fitted out in Xiamen. In the 12th month last winter we went to Songkhla, a vassal state of Siam, conducted some trading and stayed there for a wh ile. On the first of the 4th month LI Mayj this year we left there with 73 tojin on board planning to come here directly. Because we thought that the direct passage to Japan with insufficient cargo is inadvisable, we called at Xiamen on the 2nd of the 5th month ll JuneJ to load some crystall ized sugar, and we left there on the 6th day of the same month. We sailed into the wrong prevailing cou rse, and we spent more days at sea than expected. Especially on the 2nd day of this l6thJ month, it was extremely foggy at sea and we failed to identify any mountains and had to cast anchor in the territory of Satsuma. We fired a gun shot as a signal. A patrol boat emerged immediately to place us under close guard. Tugboats pulled us to this port today. Except for casting anchor in the territory of Satsuma, we did not stop anywhere else in

4-7

152 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST AS IA

Japan. During our voyage we saw no ships. No ship was following us from Songkhla. We came alone. Our captain Zhou Baoshe is the one who left Fuzho u in the 7th month the year before last and on his way to Japan e ncountered a storm which wrecked hi s ship in the territory of Satsuma, and in the 6th month last year he was finall y sent here. This is the first voyage to Japan for this ship. In Songkhla nothing has changed. It is peaceful all over the country . We heard that in Siam and her neighbouring "inner countries" no di sturbances have happened. We had heard that some merchant ships will be coming to Nagasaki from the main port of Siam. But we do not know how many. We heard in Xiamen that peace prevails in the Great Qing. The details should have been reported by captains from the various ports of the Great Qing. There is nothing else to report to you.

The 21st day of the 6th month, Year of the Ox.

5

Cambodia After the ''fall" of Angkor in 1431, the centre of Cambodian power moved toward the southeast to the region where the two great rivers of the Mekong and the Thonle Sap merge. The shift of the political centre is inte1preted as a response to the changing pattems in the international economy of the time in which Cambodia emerged as one of mainland Southeast Asia's flourishing port-polities, which was only to be rivalled by her western neighbour, Ayutthaya. Statistics show that between 1641 and 1663 in the reign of Cambodia's only Muslim king, Chan or Raja Ibrahim ( 1642-59), 2 Cambodia surpassed Siam in the dispatch of junks to Nagasaki.!- It did so again in the 1690s. 1

1

Michael Vickery. "Cambodia after Angkor. the Chronicular Evidence for the Fourteenth to Sixteenth Centuries. Vol. 1." Ph.D. Dissertation. Yale University. 1977. i i. p.520-522. 2 The dates. and even names of all Cambodian kings are uncertain. but this Muslim king is more knowable than most through Dutch sources. See Anthony Reid. Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce (New Haven: Yale University Press. 1988-93). Vol. II. pp.l88-90; Mac Phoeun. Chroniques Royales du Cambod~e (de 1594 a/677) (Paris: EFEO. 1981). p. 187. ' The arrival of junks in Nagasaki from the two countries was as follows: from Cambodia from Siam 1641 I 0 1646 2 0 1648 I 0 1650 2 0 1651 3 0 1653 5 0 1654 3 2 1656 5 2 1657 10 3 1658 2 5 1660 I 4 1663 2 3

154 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

The thirty-three documents contained in this section cover 44 years from 1679 to I 723. This was a period of political turmoil in which rival elements, including the Malays and Muslim Cham, struggled for hegemony by involving various foreign powers such as Siam, the Nguyen of southern Vietnam (Guangnan in these documents), and the Dwch VOC and the Ming-loyalist Chinese 4 partisans who migrated to the southern frontier of Vietnam. The basic configuration of the Cambodian court of that period might be summarized as a conflict between the Udong-based pro-Siam faction represented by King Chey Chettha IV, alias Neak Sor, on the one hand. and the Saigon-based pro-Nguyen faction represented by Sor's cousin Neak Non, viceroy, on the other.5 From c.l675 Neak Sor. though he abdicated and was re-enthroned as many as four times. lost none of his determination to rule. Only in 17I 5 did he suffer a final blow from ·which he never recovered. 6 Our records eloquently witness the political struggle which took place in those years. One would hardly expect the war-stricken Cambodia of the late se\'enteenth cemury to be an allracth•e trading partner for the Chinese merchants. Nevertheless. it am·ac:ted at/east 34 junks over 44 years to procure cargoes for the Japanese market, making it one of the most 7 important Southeast Asian ports in this respect. Two reasons might Yoko Nagazumi (ed.). Tose11 Yusllllt.wllyuhill Surynu khira 1637- 1833 (Tokyo. 1987). pp.36-95. • The history of their migration to south Vietnam was studied in great detail by Ch'cn Ching-ho "Qing-chu Zheng Cheng-gong Can-bu thi yizhi Nanqi". Parts I and 2. in Hsi11-ya Hsiiehpan 5- 1 ( 1960). pp.433-459 and 8-2 ( 1968). pp.413-486. An English summary entitled "The migration of the Cheng pnrtisans to south Vietnam (Pnrt I & II)" is availnble in The Ne11 · Asia Jnumal. vol. 5. no. I and vol. 8. no.2. The New Asia Research Institute. Hong Kong. 'The history of this struggle has been studied by Ch'en Ching-ho (op. sit). Dr. Ch'en's teamed study was followed by Yumiko Hisamitsu who focused on the long but intermittent reign ofSor. Yumiko Hisamitsu. "Kanbojia Soru-ou ( 1675-1715 zni-i) jidai no kokusai kankei" l l ntemational relations during the time of King Sor (r.l675- 1715) of Cambodia!. Oclwnomi-..u Sl1igaku 19 ( 1975). pp.20-38. t. Hi~amitsu. 1975. , Inventories of cargoes of incoming junks from Cambodia are prepared by Nagatumifortheyears 1641.1646.1648.1650.1651 .1653.1654.1656.1657.

SHIPS FROM CAMBODIA I 55

be suggested for this success. Firstly, Cambodia offered an alternative to Siam for the procurement of sappanwood (5-23) and deer hide (5-10), both in great demand on the Japanese market.R Secondly, thanks to its convenient and regular traffic with Guangnan (Cochinchina, see 5-22, 5-24) it could provide Vietnamese silk which was highl_v valued in Japan.q The ami/ability of these commodities may have been instrumental for maintaining Cambodia's relatively high position among the Southeast Asian ports.

.,

9. A smaller junk used on the Guangnan (Cochinchna) to Nagasaki

route. from a Japanese scroll. 1658. 1660. and 1663 and after 19 years of lacunae. 1682 followed by the years 1735. 1742. and 1745 (Nagazumi. 1987. pp.36- J 16). ~ Besides brown sugar of low quality. lacquer. ivory. areca nlll and other nntural drugs arc enumerated in 5-10. '' Teiichiro Yamawnki. Nagasaki 110 To -ji11 Bol'ki !Trade by the Chinese at Nagasaki!. (Tokyo: Yoshiknwa Kobunknn. 1995). p.227. Camhodinn junks hroughl sil k to Naga~aki in the years 1651. 1653-54. 1656-58 nnd 1663 (Naga1.umi. 1987).

156 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

5-l Ship No. 20 3 September 1679 In Cambodia the sovereign is known as the Great King and his brother is a viceroy called the First [should read Second] King. During the past six years the latter became rrulitariJy powerful and killed the Great King after which he usurped the throne to become the King of Cambodia himself. 10 This caused the Great King's son 11 much sorrow and induced him to fight against the Second King. But it was in vain. Finally he was compelled to hide in the mountains. The Second King soon died of an illness. Hearing this, the exiled son of the Great King [Sor] came out of his mountain refuge to fight with the bereaved son of the Second King [Non] who was helped by a 600-man strong reinforcement from Guangnan. He was unable to defeat the reinforced army of the Second King. Between last year and spring this year they were pitted against each other. Eventually the deceased Great King's son sought help from the King of Siam who immediately agreed to dispatch reinforcements of 5,000 to 6,000 men. Including his own army of 10,000 men, he then had 15,000 to 16,000 men under his command to fight with the Second King's son who had an army of 5,000 to 6,000 men and 600 men from Guangnan. In this battle on the 2nd of the 4th month, the numerically far superior forces defeated the Second King's son who reportedly fled to a place called Lao [Laos], if he did not disappear elsewhere. 12 His army was dispersed and the reinforcements from Guangnan returned home. 10

This refers to the usurpation of the throne by Neak Non, the Vietnamesesupported candidate. 11 Sor. The great king here refers to Sor's father, Batom Reachea. 12 Nicolas Gervaise writes in his report of 1685 about this battle as follows: "NacNon was not certain that he had the upper hand and therefore sought assistance from the king of Cochinchina, while Nac-Son placed himself under the protection of the king of Siam, who sent him troops and supplied him with money. The two armies met and after a bloody contest, victory rested with Nac-Son, who put the Cochinchinese to flight and compelled Nac-Non to retreat with them into Cochinchina." (Nicolas Gervaise, Th~ Natural and Political History of th~ Kingdom of Siam, trans. by John Yilliers, Bangkok: White Lotus, 1989, p.204).

SHIPS FROM CAMBODIA 157

Now the Great King's son has ascended the throne to restore peace in Cambodia. The Siamese reinforcement are still in Cambodia. There has been no order to withdraw from the King of Siam. The Cambodians are concerned about the possibility of the Siamese reinforcements turning hostile towards them, depending on what orders may come from the Siamese court. We are not certain about the outcome since nothing further had happened up to our departure. Our ship is owned by an army officer, Zuo Wuwei, retainer of Jin She [Zheng Jing] who is our captain's uncle. The year before last we carne here with the approval of Jin She from Sirning, and with 80 kan of silver in our captain's keeping we sailed to Cambodia. Because of the afore-mentioned disturbances in Cambodia, we not only lost a great deal of business, but we also had our money confiscated to cover the war expenses [incurred by the Second King's son's arrnyJ. This is why we were unable to come here last year. Furthermore, the army imposed an order upon us to submit not only our ship but also surrender all our crew for corvee labour in the battle field, a very unreasonable demand but we had to obey it since we were in foreign territory. After the army of the Second King's son had been defeated we managed to escape. We tried our best to find suitable passengers quickly, but due to the post-war ·disorder we found only two passengers to bring with us. Our only cargo is 2,000 kin [about one ton] of zinc. There is nothing else to report to you. The 29th day of the 7th month, Year of the Goat.

5-2 Ship No. 7 29 July 1680 In Cambodia there are two brother kings, the "Mountain King" and the "Water King",'-' the former being the elder brother and the

P The "Mountain King" refers to Siamese-supported Sor and the "Water King" to Vietnamese-supported Non. Ch'en Ching-ho suggests that the dichotomy might reflect the memory of the seventh century distinction between the "land" (=mountain) Chenla and "water" Chenla (Ch'en. 1968. p.464).

158 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

latter the younger. 14 The brothers had been in disagreement with each other for several years and were at war with each other. The "Water King" sent a tribute to the King of Guangnan from whom he sought reinforcements to attack the "Mountain King". The "Mountain King " realized quickly that he could not cope with the "Water King" and sent tribute to Siam asking for assistance. When substantial reinforcements arrived in Cambodia, the "Water King " was surprised to see such a large force and fled to Guangnan with his own army and the reinforcements from Guangnan. During our stay in Cambodia in the 8th month of last year [September to early October 1679] the Siamese reinforcements returned to Siam and Cambodia wns free from danger. Because we travelled from Siming to Cambodia for the first time last year, we are not well informed about the above situation. This is what the people told us . Xue Tao Guan, the captain of Ship No. 20 which returned to Cambodia from here last year, had an argument with Wu Li , an official at the Cambodian river-mouth, and on the 22nd day of the same month [26 September 1679] Wu Li killed him. 1 ~ The local Chinese submitted an appeal to the King of Cambodia, urging him to investigate the case of Tao Guan's unjust murder, but the King of Cambodia refused to do so and argued that Tao Guan was ordered to be killed because of his insolence. The local Chinese could do nothing about it. The cargoes of the deceased Tao Guan were left untouched . One of our passengers, Zhang Shengniang, made himself the captain [of this ship] and was going to be leaving soon after our departure. Zhong Wuguan's ship was also setting sail at the same time as Shengniang's ship. Including ours three ships will be coming from Cambodia. There is nothing else to report to you. The 4th of the 7th month, Yearofrhe Monkey.

14

Probably brothers of different mothers (Ch'en. 1968. p.420). See the previous document (5- I) from the ship in question. referring to its reluctant role in the Cambodian civil war. I\

SHIPS FROM CAMBODIA 159

5-3

Ships No. 4 and 5 8 August 1681

Cambodia was ruled by three kings, the First'". the Second, and the Third King. The First King was sovereign. Several years ago the First King, the sovereign of Cambodia, died during a disturbance and was succeeded by his son [Sor]. The Second King [Non] revolted against him and for the past several years they have been fighting each other. The Second King had been living in Chan-in 17 of Guangnan under the King of Guangnan's protection, and he is seeking assistance from the King of Guangnan to help him fight against the Cambodian sovereign's son. The latter asked for reinforcements from Siam to defend himself from the former's attack. The Second King was inferior in strength and was defeated and his army was disbanded in the afore-mentioned Chan-in. By the time we had arrived things had calmed down under the peaceful reign of the deceased sovereign's son. To demonstrate his appreciation of the Siamese reinforcements. he has been ordered to send an annual tribute to Siam. He also sends a tribute to Guangnan in the hope that the now exiled Second King will stop being a threat to him with the support of the King of Guangnan. Peace has been restored in Cambodia. It is yet to be seen whether another disturbance will occur in the future. Two ships were destined to come here from Cambodia last year. One was shipwrecked at Hainan in the province of Guangdong in June and most of her crew drowned, except for a couple of Chinese crew members. The other ship is probably still drifting somewhere at sea because we have had no news of her. This year ours are the only two ships to come here from Cambodia. We did not encounter any suspicious ships at sea. While

Refers to Batom Reachea. zhen-bian-ying the term referring to an outpost of Nguyen Vietnam (Cochinchina). The place referred to here was probably located in the present Khanh Hoa (Hisamitsu. 1975. p.22). J(,

17

160 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA

in Cambodia we heard no news about other countries; thus, there is nothing else to report to you.

The 25th day of the 6th month, Year of the Cock.

5-4

Ships No. 11 and 12 5 August 1682

Cambodia is as peaceful as usual. 111 The ruler of Cambodia, who was called the First King, is sovereign of the country. Another called the Second King, who is a cousin of the sovereign, rules the country together with the latter. The two kings became antagonistic towards each other. When it became known that the First King might harm the Second, the two Kings began to fight each other. The Second King was defeated and he fled to Guangnan where he took refuge at the court of the King of Guangnan. Every year a rumour goes around that the Second King will attack Cambodia with the su pport of Guangnan's army but it has not happened yet and remains a rumour. This year we heard this rumour several times but up until the time we left Cambodia, nothing had happened. 19 People say that in recent years Cambodia has never failed to send the ancient tribute to Guangnan, which has so pleased the King of Guangnan that he has not given assistance to the Second King. The year before last Zhou Xuanguan's ship sailed from here to Pattani with the intention of coming back again last year. In bad weather condition s, which had forced most ships back, Zhou Xuanguan's sh ip was in adverse winds at sea and during her forced voyage to Guangnan she was shipwrecked at the river-mouth of Guangnan called Seborou. Thirteen people on board including the captain drowned. The survivors went ashore at Guangnan. According to the captain of Ship No. I I , his ship is fitted out every year at Siam. Last year he had planned to return to Siam from Nagasaki but due to extremely bad weather at sea, he was unable to 1

~ This passage refers to a brief period of respite between the battle of 1679 and the following battle whic h started in 1682 probably after the departure of these junks. 1 q As for the subsequent events. see 1-9 and 1- 11 (dated 1683).

SH IPS FROM CAMBODI A 161

return to Siam and headed for Cambodia instead. In the 3rd month of this year his ship went ashore at the Cambodian river-mouth province cal led Mao Jie and was nearly shipwrecked. He threw most of the cargo, which had been brought from here, overboard to reduce the weight of the ship and avoid the shallow waters, and on the 16th day of the same month he arrived at Cambodia. This is why he is reporting his ship as one from Cambodia. T here is nothing else to report. He d id not see any suspicious ships in Cambodia or at sea. Three ships are coming from Cambodia, two of which have entered today. The third one will be arriving soon.

The 3rd day of the 7th month, Year of the [Dog].

S-5 Ship No. 77 30 August 1686 20 Last year our ship intended to come here from Guangdong to do business. But in the Fujian sea a water-sprout surprised us and made our voyage to Nagasaki impossible. We returned to the sea off Guangdong. On departure we had paid the port tax. We were told that should we re-enter the port of Guangdong, we would have to pay the port tax for the same cargo again, otherwise entry would not be permitted by the port authorities. We immediately changed course for Cambodia where we repaired some fittings and procured sappanwood and other local products. On the 9th day of the 5th month we left Cambodia and stayed off Guangdong where we heard that the Great Qing is peaceful. After leaving the vicinity of Guangdong unusually strong winds endangered our ship. We threw our cargo overboard to reduce the weight of the sh ip and escaped disaster, and we arrived here today. Reportedly one or two shi ps from Guangdong are bound for Nagasaki, which may be sai ling in favourable winds. It was peaceful in Cambodia, from where we departed. There was no news of war from the other "i nner countries". This time we have brought only a small amount of cargo with us. and we do not intend to trade it :-26 Zhcng Chcnggong (Guoxinyc; Koxinga), 7, 1-intro, 1-1,1-2 Zhcng Dawei, 6-45 Zhcng Jing (Jin She), 1-3, I -3. 5- I , 6-2, 8-1 Zheng Kezang, 1-9, 1- 11, I -21. 2-3, 57, 5-9 See also Dongning: Zheng regime *Zheng Kongdian, 6-41, 6-42. 6-43, 645 *Zheng Kongqing. 6-43, 6-44. 6-45

2R2 THE JUNK TRADE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA Zhcng Kc-shuang, 3-1 Zhcng regime, 1-20; in Dongning, 7, 1-3 Zhongshan, King of. See Ryokyn *Zhong Wuguan, 5-2 *Zhou Baoshc, 4-2, 4-4, 4-7

*Zhou Cheguan, 5-19 *Zhou Dacheng, 3-5, 3-8 *Zhou Dongguan, 4-2 Zhoushan, 1-59 •zhou Xuanguan, 5-4 Zuo Wuwei, 5- 1

THE EDITOR Yoneo Ishii has had an exceptionally distinguished career in Southeast Asian Studies. He has been Director of the Centre for Southeast Asian Studies at Kyoto University and Professor of Southeast Asian History at Sophia University, and is currently President of Kanda University of International Studies in Chiba, near Tokyo. In addition to many publications in Japanese, his books in English include Sangha, State and Society: Thai Buddhism in History ( 1986), as author; and Thailand: A Rice-Growing Society ( 1978), and The Computer Concordance to the Law of the Three Seals (5 volumes, 1990), as editor. Among many distinctions, he was President of the International Association of Historians of Asia in 1993-94 and received the Fukuoka Prize for Asian Studies in 1994.