The Chinese and Santubong
The italics are my comments.
There was a tradition among the lesser states to pay homage to China by sending emissaries to the Emperor. Santubong was referred in the Chinese literature as “Poli (婆利),” “Boni (渤尼/渤泥/浡泥)” or “Polo (婆罗).
Santubong was at that time a port where ships could arrive, replace sails which were made of palm leaves, load water and then continue on with their journey to China. Could there have been an entrepot trade at Santubong? Who was in charge of Santubong at this early time is unknown. I have four possibilities: The Chinese established a colony to repair the ships.2. Malays who were Buddhists from Sumatra were the people who repaired and found water for the ships. 3. The Javaenese established a colony. 4.The Bidayuh managed a civilization there.
Archaeologists have discovered coins marked with Han writing, steel sabers, iron hooks, and a great deal of Han dynasty pottery along the coastal regions of Borneo generally and especially on the southwest coastline. The Han dynasty was from 202 BC to 9 AD followed by the Xin dynasty 9 AD to 23 AD and then back to the Han dynasty 25 to 220 AD.
Professor Cheng Te-k’un came to the conclusion that Chinese in significant numbers had settled in Borneo since the Han dynasty.
The Han dynasty ruled from 206 BC to 220 AD. This could mean the Chinese were in control of Santubong at that time servicing shipping from Palembang to China.
Under the Han dynasty, The Silk Road was extended and connected the South China Sea with the African Red Sea. While the existence of this major route connecting the Poli nation with China has yet to be documented, it is impossible there was no trade activity linking the nation Poli with other countries, especially China, given the conditions prevailing at that time.
Goods could have travelled from Palembang to Santubong to China and then across the Silk Road to points west.
The Maritime Silk Road route became more comprehensive and stable with the arrival of the Tang(618-907) and Song(960-1279) dynasties.
This would mean more and more goods were sent via Santubong and the Maritime Silk Road.
In 631, three states followed the tradition of sending emissaries to the Emperor: Campadesa (林邑, present-day Vietnam), Poli, and Luo Cha (罗刹, present-day Sri Lanka) sent emissaries to the capital of China, Chang’an (长安).
My question here is would the Chinese living in Santubong send emissaries to a Chinese emperor?
Examining the maelstrom of the mid-seventh century, many scholars are of the opinion that the Srivijaya Empire,(scholar Liam C. Kelly states there was no Sri Vijaya. I have a copy of his article. Just ask) which ruled the Malay Archipelago at that time, also ruled a substantial part of the western side of Borneo Island. This meant that Borneo was under great influence from a Hindu kingdom that practiced Mahayana Buddhism from the seventh to the thirteenth century AD.
Now we have to ask whether it was the Indians who came from Sumatra or the Malay Buddhists who also came from Sumatra and established a ruling body. We have, after ~966, an oral history stating a group came from Tanjungpura and established a Sultanate. For a free copy of the oral history, please contact Sa********@gm***.com
We also wonder where the Pallava script on both sides of the beach about half way up observed by Suriani binti Sahari and myself at Pulau Lakei?
There is very little recorded in the literature until the writings in the Ming Shi (明史), volume 325, where the Maharajah Karna arrived in China, was received by the Emperor and died.
Oral history states the Maharaja came from Santubong while a confused account informs he was from Brunei.
There are descriptions of life on Borneo undertaken by the Chinese. In “Wanli” (万历, 1573–1620), there is noted a man from Zhang Zhou (漳州) China with the family name “Zhang” (张), upon whom was bestowed the honorific “Dato’ (那督)” in Borneo.
By ~1512, Santubong had been defeated and abandoned and the stopping over place was Brunei.
Dato’ Zhang committed suicide after being falsely accused by his own daughter. The queen of Borneo was furious and sentenced Dato’ Zhang’s daughter to death for the offense. At the same time, the queen conferred honors upon Dato’ Zhang’s heir and gave him more “government duties” and responsibilities.
In the Ming Shi (明史), volume 323, “A Biography of Polo (婆罗 列传)” it is mentioned that there was a king of Borneo who originated from Southern China (王 者闽人也). Some speculate that when Admiral Zheng He arrived in Brunei, some of his followers settled there and their descendants became leaders of the nation (据其国而王之).
This refers to the establishment of the Brunei lineage.
During the reign of the Majapahit regime, locals in Borneo showed solidarity with the Chinese, notably recorded in the book of Yuan dynasty author Wang Dayuan (汪大渊), Dao Yi Zhi Lue (岛夷志 略), which stated that the people of Borneo liked the Tang people (the Chinese). If the Tang people were drunk, they would be sent safely home.
Here again, I believe this refers to Brunei.
Chinese villages blossomed at the mouth of the Sarawak River at that time.
I assume the author means at the time of Majapahit, 1292 to 1527. This could be true because there was vast trade between China and Santubong until the Brunei attack in ~1512.The demise of Santubong meant trade was forced north to Brunei. According to oral history, the change from Buddhism to Islam occurred in the early 1400’s in order to accommodate the Arab traders.
Bibliography
Walker, John From Poli to Rajah Brooke: Culture, Power and the Contest for Sarawak in Journal of Borneo and Kalimatan, December 2016
Wan Kong Ann Examining the Connection between Ancient China and Borneo through Santubong Archeological Sites Philadelphia: Sino Platonic Papers, April, 2013
BorneoHistory.net
