Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms, Volume 32

Page Seven

Collected Illustrations of the Three Realms, Section on People, Volume Twelve

The Kingdom of Champa

The Kingdom of Champa original: "Zhancheng Guo"; located in central and southern Vietnam was known as Linyi original: "Lin-yi" during the Han dynasty. Its subordinate districts include Panduranga original: "Bin-tong-long"; an ancient city-state of the Cham people, Binduoling, Huazhou, Annan, and the City of Sanshe.

The money and grain used annually within their kingdom, as well as the private servants and slaves employed there, are all provided as tribute by Annan Annan refers to northern Vietnam, which at various times was in conflict with or subordinate to Champa. For this reason, the people of Champa refer to Annan as the "Slave State."

On the border of the kingdom stand the Bronze Pillars of Ma Yuan General Ma Yuan of the Han dynasty supposedly erected these pillars to mark the southern limit of the Chinese Empire, located to the west of the sea. To the north, the kingdom borders Annan, and to the south, it reaches Chenla original: "Zhen-la"; an ancient name for Cambodia. Ships departing from Guangzhou can reach the kingdom in eight days with a favorable wind.

Many of the inhabitants share the surname Weng. The land produces famous varieties of incense, rhinoceros horn, and elephants. The ground is composed entirely of white sand; there is very little land suitable for cultivation.

If a citizen is devoured by a tiger or a crocodile, a report is submitted to the King. The King then orders the State Preceptor to recite incantations and write talismans, which are thrown into the place where the person died. The offending tiger or crocodile will then spontaneously appear at the site.

In cases of lawsuits involving public deception where the officials are unable to reach a verdict, the parties are ordered to cross the Crocodile Pool. The person who is in the wrong will be eaten by the "fish" The text uses "fish" (yu) here to refer to the crocodiles in the pool, while the person who is in the right will be avoided by the creatures, who do not dare to eat them.