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

280 REVIEW AIUICLES
Say about ten days from Champa to Patiew, or a little over a
month from Canton to the border of Chih-tu. (Chang Chun's return
journey between the same two points also took ten days.) But the point
is, if Patiew was the border of Chih-tu, and Chih-tu was in the Singora
Inland Sea, then the 'territory' of Chih-tu would include Chaiya and
Nakorn as well. As these two cities had played bigger parts in the Sri
Vijaya story than Singora, this is quite a problem.
(The King of Chih- tu) "sent the Brahman Chiu-mo-lo, with
thirty ocean-going junks, to welcome them. Conches were blown
and drums beaten to entertain the Sui envoys on their arrival, and
a metal cable was used as a hauser for Chang-chun's vessel. It
took more than a month to reach the capital."
Say another ten days from Patiew to the capital, or a total of
between 40 and 45 days from Canton for the whole journey. It took
between 30 and 40 days to reach Foche or Holing, and if Chih-tu was
further down the coast, 'it took more than a month to reach the capital'
is correct.
But this is not what the experts think at all. They think the
capital was located far inland, or was up a mountain, or something, and
it took more than a month to get from the borders to the capital. There
is no place on the Malay Peninsula that you cannot get to in one month,
and you can even walk from one coast to the other in less than that
time. The picture of the thirty ocean-going junks sent by the king as
being trawlers sent to berth Chang-chun's vessel as though it were the
Queen Elizabeth, does not seem right to me. They were part of the
welcoming ceremony, as were the conches and drums. Today fighter
planes are sometimes sent to welcome V.I.P. visitors at an airport.
Other evidence is also available:
"The king sent his son, the Na-ya-chia, to welcome Changchun
with appropriate ceremony . . . . On the same day at the
hour of Wei (one to three p.m.), the Na-ya-chia again sent two
elephants, bearing canopies of peacock feathers, to welcome the
ambassadors."