The Journal of the Siam Society Vol. LXIV, Part 1-2, 1976 - Khamkoo

REVIEW Al\TICLE 277
the monsoons, for ships to sail from the Middle East to Ceylon, from
Ceylon straight across the Ten Degree Channel to a port on the west
coast of the Malay Peninsula, slip down tbe Malacca Straits to a port on
the east coast, and from there on to China. When the monsoon changed
the ships could return and be horne within a year. The same applied to
ships sailing the other way. But to go off the route to any extent, such
as to a port on either coast of India or below the equator, could mean
losing a whole season. In this way, the ports of Ceylon became important
entrepots where Indian goods and merchandise were collected for this
long distance trade.
All this Rajaraja did not know until he sent an embassy to China
in about 1014. The embassy returned just before or just after the king's
death, and the report brought back in 1016 impressed the new king,
Rajendra. It opened his eyes as to the possibilities of this traffic, and he
decided to wrestle the trade from Sri Vijaya-why, who knows be might
even be able to conquer China itself! But to subdue Sri Vijaya he first
had to have complete control of the ports of Ceylon. So he invaded the
southern part of the island in 1017, captured King Mahinda V and took
him to India. Then in 1025 he successfully invaded Sri Vijaya, sent an
embassy to China in 1033, and visited the Malay Peninsula in 1044,
possibly to see what prospects there were of invading China itself.
Unfortunately he got into trouble with a young girl and was assassinated.
In this way the Chinese Empire was saved from Chola invasion. This
is a good story even if I only bring it in as a joke. However the Sejarah
Melayu has something like it (from page 10 of C.C. Brown's translation,
Oxford 1970), although the story is too long to give in detail.
When Raja Shulan (Rajendra I of Chola India) died, he was
succeeded by his grandson, Raja Chulan (Kulottuoga I). The new king
decided to invade China and arrived at Temasek (Singapore) with his
forces. When the Raja of China heard the news there was consternation,
but the Chinese produced a thoroughly Chinese ruse to put him off, and
Raja Chulan returned home to India. The episodes of Rajendra's conquest
of the Peninsula and Kulottunga's visit to China seemed to .have
been well entrenched in the minds of the local people, but as the stories