I recently came to realize that there is geographic information about third-fourth century maritime Southeast Asia in a Daoist text, the Grand Clarity Scripture of Divine Elixir Made from Liquid Gold (Taiqing jinye shendan jing 太清金液神丹經).
This text is attributed to Ge Hong 葛洪(283–343 CE), also known as “The Master Who Embraces Simplicty” (Baopuzi 抱朴子), and it has been studied by people interested in early Daoism.
What I never realized, is that it contains a section about Southeast Asia. In this section, there is a preface in which Ge Hong talks about visiting Funan. It then contains information about places from what is now central Vietnam to the Middle East. In this sense, it is very similar to later works like the twelfth-century Lingwai daida which I recently translated here.
There is a lot that I can say about this text, but I will wait to do that in future posts. For now, I will just share this rough draft of my translation of the main section on geography in this text.
The text is available online, but I followed this print version which enabled me to correct errors in the online version, but this text in turn has some errors as well.
Recently, historian Andrew Chittick compiled together extracts from lost works by third-century Chinese, a couple of whom visited Funan, Kang Tai, Zhu Ying and Wang Zhen. Ge Hong’s text contains some of the same information.
However, what makes Ge Hong’s text particularly valuable is that it has more information than we have in the extant extracts from Kang Tai’s works, and the information in Ge Hong’s book is presented in a full and logical manner.
I’ll be talking about all of this later. For now, here is the translation.
[. . .]
[1b / 5]
余少欲學道，志遊遐外。昔以少暇，因旅南行。初謂觀交嶺而已。有緣之便，遂到扶南。扶南者，地方千餘里，眾以億計，包山帶海，邈乎其畿。意亦以為南極之國，齊此而已。至於中夏之月，凱風時動，又有自南而來者，至若川流。問其地土，考其國俗。乃云自天竺、月支以來，名邦大國，若扶南者，十有幾 [2a] 焉。且自大奈拂林地，各方三萬里。其間細國往往而處者，不可稱數也。名字處所既有本末，且觀士女信各不同，乃知夫乾壤之間廣矣。雖在聖賢遊心遠覽，猶不能究，況乎俗儒而不有疑。
In my youth, I wished to study the Dao and longed to travel to distant places. Once, having a brief respite, I took the opportunity to journey south. At first, I thought only to see Jiaoling [i.e., Jiaozhou and Nanling]. But through a fortunate turn of events, I ended up reaching Funan.
Funan spans over a thousand leagues in area. Its population numbers in the hundreds of millions. Embraced by mountains and girded by the sea, its domain is vast beyond measure. I believed it must surely be the southernmost kingdom, that this was the very limit. But when midsummer came and the southerly breeze began to stir, there were still others arriving from even farther south, flowing in like a river. I inquired into their lands and examined their customs. They said that coming from Tianzhu 天竺 and Yuezhi 月支, there are more than a dozen great kingdoms of renowned name comparable to Funan.
Furthermore, from the land of Danai 大奈 [should be Daqin 大秦] and Fulin 拂林, each extends thirty thousand leagues in every direction. Between them lie many small kingdoms, scattered in every direction, they are far too numerous to count. The names and locations of these places have histories and lineages; and observing the differences in the ways that men and women express their beliefs, I came to understand just how vast the space between Heaven and Earth truly is. Even sages and worthies, with their far-reaching minds and broad contemplation, cannot fully grasp it. How then could conventional scholars be free from doubt?
[. . .]
[6a / 6]
象林，今日南縣也。昔馬援為漢開南境，立象林縣，過日南四五百里，立兩銅柱，為漢南界。後漢衰，徼外夷內侵，沒取象林國銅柱，所在海邊，在林邑南，可三百里，今則別為西圖國，國至多丹砂如土。出日南壽靈浦，由海正南行，故背辰星，而向箕星 [6b] 也。晝夜不住十餘日，乃到扶南。
Xianglin 象林 is now the Rinan 日南 district. In the past, Ma Yuan, during his southern campaigns for the Han dynasty, opened up the southern frontier and established Xianglin district. It lay four or five hundred leagues beyond Rinan, where he erected two bronze pillars to mark the southern boundary of Han territory.
Later, as the Han declined, foreign barbarians from beyond the border invaded and seized the bronze pillars of Xianglin. These pillars stood by the sea, about 300 leagues south of Linyi 林邑. Today, this area has become a separate polity known as the Western Tu kingdom [Xitu 西圖國], which possesses large quantities of cinnabar, as common as soil.
From Shouling Inlet 壽靈浦 in Rinan, if one sails directly south over the sea, one travels with one’s back to the star Chen and faces toward the star Ji 箕. After sailing continuously day and night for more than ten days, one arrives at Funan 扶南.
[6b / 1]
扶南，在林邑西南三千餘里。自立為王，諸屬國皆君。長王號炮到大國，次王者號為鄱歎小國，君長及王之左右大臣，皆號為崑崙也。扶南地多硃砂珍石，從扶南北至林邑三千里，其地豐饒，多朱丹、硫黃，典遜在扶南南去五千里，本別為國。扶南先生 [should be 王] 范蔓有勇略討服之，今屬扶南，其地土出鐵。其南又有都昆、比嵩、句稚諸國，范蔓時皆跨討服，故曰名函典遜。
Funan is located over 3,000 leagues southwest of Linyi. It established its own kingship, and all its vassal states are ruled by local lords. The senior king is titled Paodao [or Baodao or Pudao] Great Kingdom 炮到大國, while subordinate kings are titled Potan Small Kingdom 鄱歎小國. The local rulers and the senior king’s chief ministers are all called Kunlun 崑崙.
The land of Funan is rich in cinnabar and precious stones. From Funan northward to Linyi is some 3,000 leagues. The territory is fertile and abundant in vermilion and sulfur.
The kingdom of Dianxun (典遜) lays 5,000 leagues south of Funan and was originally an independent state. The former king of Funan, Fan Man 范蔓, who was brave and strategic, conquered it. It now belongs to Funan. Its soil produces iron.
To its south are the kingdoms of Dukun 都昆, Bisong 比嵩, and Juzhi 句稚, all of which were subdued and annexed by Fan Man during his reign. Hence, the expression “Enveloped Dianxun” (Han Dianxun 函典遜).
[6b / 9]
典遜去日南二萬里，扶南去林邑似不過三千七八百里也。何以知之，舶船發壽靈浦口，調風晝 [7a] 夜不解帆十五日，乃到典遜。一日一夕，帆行二千里。
問曰：今長江舟船高牆廣帆，因流順風而下，日才行三百里耳。吾子今陳海行，晝夜三千里，豈不虛哉。答曰：余昔數曾問之舶船，高張四帆，斯作云當得行之日，試投物於水，俯仰一息之頃，以過百步，推之而論，疾於逐鹿，其於走馬，馬有千里，以此知之，故由千里左右也。其國出丹砂、曾青、硫黃、紫白石英。
Dianxun is said to be 20,000 leagues from Rinan, while the distance from Funan to Linyi seems to be no more than 3,700 or 3,800 leagues. How is this known? Ships departing from the mouth of Shouling Inlet (壽靈浦口), catching favorable winds and sailing day and night without stopping for fifteen days, would arrive at Dianxun. In one day and night, the ship would cover 2,000 li.
Question: Nowadays, ships on the Yangzi River, with high sides and wide sails, even when drifting downstream with a favorable wind, can only travel about 300 leagues in a day. But you say that on the southern seas one can travel 3,000 leagues day and night. How can that not be an exaggeration?”
答曰：余昔數曾問之舶船，高張四帆，斯作云當得行之日，試投物於水，俯仰一息之頃，以過百步，推之而論，疾於逐鹿，其於走馬，馬有千里，以此知之，故由千里左右也。其國出丹砂、曾青、硫黃、紫白石英。
Answer: In the past, I often inquired about sea-going vessels. Their sails are raised high, four masts resembling clouds, allowing them to sail when the conditions are right. If you drop an object into the water, in the time of a single breath or blink, it would travel over 100 paces. Calculated from this, the speed is faster than a fleeing deer. Compared to a galloping horse, a horse that can run 1,000 leagues, the ship is comparable. From this, we can know that it can go a distance of around 1,000 leagues per day.
This kingdom [i.e., Dianxun or the surrounding region] produces cinnabar, azurite, sulfur, and purple-white quartz crystals.
[7a / 9]
杜薄，闍婆，國名也。在扶南東漲海中洲，從扶南船行直截海度，可數十日乃到。其土人民眾多，稻田耕種，女子織作白疊花布，男女白色， [7b] 皆著衣服，土地饒，金及錫鐵丹砂如土，以金為錢貨，出五色鸚鵡、豕鹿，豢水牛，犬羊、雞鴨，無犀象及虎豹，男女溫謹，風俗似廣州人也。
Dubo and Shepo are the names of the kingdom. It is located on an island to the east of Funan in the Swelling Sea [Zhanghai 漲海]. From Funan, one can sail directly across the sea, and after several tens of days, arrive there.
The land is populous. People cultivate rice paddies. The women weave white patterned cloth. Both men and women are fair-skinned and wear clothing.
The land is rich. Gold, tin, iron, and cinnabar are as common as soil. Gold is used as currency. It produces five-colored parrots, pigs and deer, and they raise water buffalo, dogs, goats, chickens, and ducks. There are no rhinoceroses, elephants, tigers, or leopards. The men and women are gentle and respectful, and their customs resemble those of the people of Guangzhou.
[7b / 5]
無倫國，在扶南西二千餘里，有大道，左右種桃榔及諸華果，白日行其下，陰涼蔽熱，十餘里一亭，亭皆有井水，食麥飯、蒲桃酒，木實如膠，若飲時以水沃之，其酒甘美，其地人多考壽，或有得二百年者。
The kingdom of Wulun lies more than 2,000 leagues west of Funan. There is a great road, with peach and palm trees, and various flowering fruit trees planted on either side. Walking beneath them in the daytime, one is shaded from the heat. Every ten or so leagues, there is a pavilion, and each pavilion has a well with water.
The people there consume cooked grains and grape wine. The fruits of the trees are as sticky as resin When they wish to drink it, they dilute it with water. It is sweet and delicious.
The people of this land commonly live long lives; some are said to reach the age of two hundred.
[7b / 10]
句稚國，去典遜八百里，有江日 [should be 口] ，西南向，東北入，正東北行，大崎頭出漲海中，水淺而多慈 [8a] 石，外徼人乘舶船皆鐵葉，至此崎頭，閡慈石不得過，皆止句稚，貨易而還也。
The kingdom of Juzhi [or Gouzhi] 句稚 lies 800 leagues from Dianxun 典遜. There is a river estuary that faces to the southwest and which you enter from the northeast. Proceeding directly northeast, one reaches a large cape that juts into the Swelling Sea [Zhanghai 漲海]. The water here is shallow and filled with lodestones [cishi 慈石]. Foreign merchants who travel in ships sheathed in iron reach this cape, but because of the lodestones, their ships are blocked and cannot pass. Therefore, they all stop at Juzhi, where they conduct trade and then return.
[8a / 3]
歌營國，在句稚南，可一月行乃到其國。又灣中有大山林迄海邊，名日蒲羅。中有殊民，尾長六寸，而好啖人。論體處類人獸之問，言純為人則有尾且啖人，言純為獸則載頭而倚行，尾同於獸而行同於人。由形言之，則在人獸之間，末黑如漆，齒正白銀，眼正赤，男女裸形無衣服，父子兄弟姊妹露身對面伺臥，此是歌營國夷人耳，別自有佳人也。
The kingdom of Geing 歌營 lies to the south of Juzhi. It takes about one month of travel to reach this land. In a bay within its territory is a large forested mountain that stretches to the seacoast, called Puluo 蒲羅.
Within it live a peculiar people whose tails are six inches long and who are said to be fond of eating humans. In bodily form they lie somewhere between human and beast: if one says they are fully human, then they nonetheless have tails and eat people; if one says they are fully beasts, then they carry their heads upright and walk erect. Their tails are like those of beasts, but they walk as humans do.
In appearance, they fall between man and animal. Their skin is jet black like lacquer, their teeth pure white like silver, and their eyes bright red. Men and women go naked, without clothing. Fathers, sons, brothers, and sisters all lie together exposed, face to face.
These are the barbarians [yiren 夷人] of the kingdom of Geying, but among them, there are also good people.
[8a / 11]
林楊，在扶南西二千餘里，男女白易，多仁和，[8b] 皆奉道，用金銀為錢，多丹砂、硫黃、曾青、空青、紫石英，好用絳絹白珠，處地所服也。
Linyang lies over 2,000 leagues to the west of Fúnán. The men and women have light complexions and gentle natures, and they are mostly benevolent and harmonious. They all revere the Way [Dao 道], and use gold and silver as currency. The region yields abundant cinnabar, sulfur, azurite, malachite, and purple quartz. They are fond of using crimson silk and white pearls, in keeping with the customs of their land.
[8b / 3]
加陳國，在歌營西南海邊，國海水漲淺，有諸國梁人常伺行人，劫掠財物，賈人當須輩旅乃敢行。
The kingdom of Jiachen 加陳 is located on the seacoast to the southwest of Geying. The sea around the country is shallow and rises with the tide. People from various neighboring kingdoms lie in wait for travelers, ambushing them and plundering their goods. Therefore, merchants only dare to pass through in groups.
[8b / 6]
師漢國，在句稚西南，從句稚去船行，可十四五日乃到其國，國稱王，皆奉大道，清潔脩法度，漢家威儀，是以名之曰師漢國。上有神仙人，及出明月珠，但行仁善，不忍殺生，土地平博，民萬餘家，多金玉硫黃之物。
The kingdom of Shihan 師漢 lies to the southwest of Juzhi. Travelling there by ship from Juzhi takes about fourteen or fifteen days. The country has a king and all revere the Great Way [Dadao 大道], cultivating purity and observing laws and regulations. Their customs resemble the ceremonial propriety of the Han dynasty, and thus it is named the “Emulating Han” [my note: this is what the characters in the name “Shihan” mean] kingdom. There dwell divine immortals above, and luminous moon-pearls are found there. The people practice benevolence and kindness, and cannot bear to take life. The land is vast and level, with over ten thousand households, and is rich in gold, jade, and sulfur.
I will not continue translating this text, but from this point onward, the text goes on to record information about places in India and then places in the Middle East, like Daqin 大秦 and Fulin 拂林 (wherever exactly those places were – I have never tried to delve into the details on those places).
