South India (Chola)

Chola is in southern India (Yintu) of the west.

Its capital is 5 li away from the sea.

• Western India is 1,500 li west
• Lolan is 2,500 li south
• Tun-tien is 3,000 li norht

This country had not from olden times carried on trade with China. Its distance to Canton by water is around 411,400 li.

To get here, you must change ships at Kulin, or travel by Pukan.

Chola has a city with a 7-fold wall, 7-feet high and 12 li north-south and 7 li east-west.

The diferent walls are

There are flowers, first to south and seven U from

kingdom east to west. hundred paces distant from each other. fruit trees, and other trees planted (on them?). and second walls enclose the dwellings of the people, are surrounded by small

they and fourth walls (surround) the ditches; the third dwellings of the court officers; within the within the sixth are the Buddhist Four" of lo mud, and the one in the centre of wood. walls are of brick, two of The of the a city with a seven-fold wall, seven feet high, from north li different walls are one thiese by way

In this kingdom there The then you must change ships at dwell the king’s four sons; fifth e., idol) monasteries (’^ ^) 13 where the seventh wall encloses over four hundred buildings form- priests dwell; the ing the royal palace.

It has 31 pulo. Of these, 12 are in the west, namely:

• Chi-tu-ni
• Shi-ya-lu-ni
• Lopalipipai
• Pulinpapuni
• Kutanpulinputong
• Kuli
• Po-lun-ts'6n
• Yen-li-ch’i-li {f^
• Cho-ku-lin (jg
• Ya-li-cho-lin (Eg
• Pon-t’i-kie-ti
• Napuni

Eight are in the south, namely:

• Wu-ya-kia-li-ma-Ian
• Mi-to-ld-mo
• Mei-ku-li-k’u-ti
• Sho-li-ni
• Kie-lan-p’u-tong
• Mong-kie-lin-kia-lan
• Palipaliyu
• Yalinchimongkielan

12 are in the north:

• Faloye

• Wumolikiang

• Chulin

• Kialimong kielan

• Tsikiemalan

• Wuchomongkielan

• Pilinkielan

• Pulongholan

• Paupalai

• Tienchuli

• Lusolo

• Mimong kielan

When anyone commits an offense, one of the Court Ministers punishes him. If the offense is light, the culprit is tied to a wooden frame and given fifty, seventy, or up to an hundred blows with a stick.

Heinous crimes are punished with decapitation or by being trampled to death by an elephant. At salaam and the four Court Ministers the foot of the throne, then the whole, (company state banquets both the Prince at present) break into music, song and dancing. 25 wine, but he eats meat, and, as ing and eats flour-cakes. dancing-girls When For is He (the Prince) does not drink the native custom, dresses in cotton cloth- his table and escort he employs «fully a myriad (^), three thousand of whom are in attendance daily in rotations". contracting marriage, they send, in the between with a gold 30 afterwards there is a (or) silver finger-ring to first place, a female go- the girl’s home. Three days meeting of the man’s family to decide upon the amount of land, cotton, betel nuts, wine and the like to be given as marriage por- tion. The cloth' girl’s family

and brocaded clothing (intended) son-in-law. 35 sends in return (a Should the man gold or silver finger-ring, piie-no to be As the man to the wish to withdraw from the engage- ment, he would not dare reclaim the marriage to reject the worn by the bride gifts; if the girl should wish she must pay back double. taxes and imposts of the kingdom are numerous and heavy, traders rarely go there.cnoLA Dommox.

Chola is at war with the Chakulayas. The government owns 60,000 war elephants, each one 7-8 feet high. When fighting, these elephants carry on their backs houses full of soldiers who shoot arrows at long range and fight with spears at close quarters.

When victorious, the elephants are granted honorary names to signahze their merits. The people are hot-tempered and reckless of life. In the presence of the king, they will fight man to man with swords and die without regret.

Father and son, elder and younger brother, have their meals cooked in separate kettles and served in separate dishes; yet they are deeply alive to family duties

Their native products are:

• pearls
• elephants’ tusks
• coral
• transparent glass
• betel nuts
• cardamoms
• opaque glass
• cotton stuff with coloured silk

They have:

• goats
• domestic cattle.
• parrots

Of fruits, they have:

• yukan
• tonglo
• Persian dates
• coconuts
• kanlo
• kunlun plum
• jackfruit

They have the white jasmine

the san-ssi

the blue, yellow the li-isHu the yau-lien-ch^an Of grain they have green and black beans, wheat and

pheasants

the sho-tsH-sang ($|^ and green p^o-lo

cattle; of birds, the red canna rice; the bamboo indigenous. 25 In former times they did not send tribute to our court, but «in the eighth year of the ta-chung and siang-fu periods (A. D. 1015), its sovereign sent a mission with pearls and like articles as tribute. The interpreters, in translating their speech, said they wished to evince the respect of a distant nation for (Chinese) remain civilization)). in waiting at the They were ordered by Imperial Decree side gate of the Palace, to 30 and to be entertained at a banquet by the Associates in the College of Court Annalists. By Imperial favour they were ranked with the envoys of K’iu-tz’i. It happened to be the Emperor’s birthday, and the envoys had a congratulations in the Sacred Enclosure (^ fine opportunity to witness the ^)^^- «In the tenth year si-ning (1077) they again sent tribute of native produce. The Emperor Shiin-tsung sent an officer of the Inner Department (i. e., a Chamberlain) to bid them welcome»".

The remaining others, are countries (of India), Nan-ni-hua-lo more than a hundred term of «“Western» in number; they are

Western Heaven

included under the all

According to tradition, it takes less than 40 days of travel between Wangshochong and Yunnan China.

Kia Tan in the Huang-hua-ssi (or si)-ta-ki An-nan says that there is a land route from Annan to Iran Tienchu

Yet as Tamo sailing across the sea to Panyu, Canton, the sea journey is faster than the land route.

Pongkielo

Pongkielo of the Chalukya has a capital called Ch’a-na-ki. Its walls are 120 li around.

The common people are combative and devoted solely to robbery. They use pieces of white conch shells ground into shape as money.

Their native products are:

• fine swords
• cotton stuff
• common cotton cloth

Some say Buddhism began in Pongkielo. Huan The native products include into shape as money. ^J), tou-lo cotton (^ stuffs

Hiian-tsang, the master of the Tripitaka in the T’ang period, (when) he got 20 the Buddhist Classics (to bring to China), had already reached the West

Nan-ni-hua-lo

This city has a triple wall. Its people in the morning and evening bathe and smear their bodies with so as to look like golden coloured images (lit., 25 tion of them are called P’o-lo-mon descendants of Fo

The inhabitants with yu-kin (turmeric) Buddhas). Brahmans)

A large propor as they are genuine {•i^). «The walls of their rooms and the mats they sit on are besmeared with cow-dung, which they look upon as a clean substance. In their houses they set up altars, three feet high and which are reached by three steps, and on which 30 daily in the morning they burn incense and «the offering to offer flowers»; this is called Fo. When Arab (Ta-shi) foreigners come to this country, they give them seats outside the doors and. lodge them in separate houses supplied with beddmg and household When 35 cials a woman is utensils

guilty of adultery she is put to death, and the officials make no enquiry about it.

The native products include:

• the best quality of putchuck
• flowered (or dotted) cotton stuffs (^^

The fine white people eat much butter, rice, beans and vegetables. They rarely eat fish or meat.

Western Regions leads to the when (Si-yii);

there are raids (on Nan-ni-hua-lo?) by the light horsemen of the Western Regions, the only resistance they offer and short, In a few days provisions run to lock their gates. is withdraw of their own accord» (the raiders)