The early "Singaporean" here is Parameswara. His destination, today's Nanjing, in Jiangsu province, China. The date, 1411 CE.
Parameswara was the founding ruler of the Malay Kingdom circa 1400 CE that became the Melaka Sultanate. He had originally been the ruler of Singapura before being turned out of the place in ~1396 CE. His reign in Melaka lasted till 1414 [1,2].
Nanjing was the capital of early Ming dynasty in China, from 1368, the start of the reign of the first Ming emperor Hongwu 洪武 till 1420 towards the near the end of the reign of the third emperor Yongle 永乐, when the capital was moved northwards to Beijing.
Parameswara (拜裡迷蘇剌 Bai li mi su la) as a King of a vassal state to China, paid a homage visit to imperial capital of the Ming Dynasty in the 9th year of Yongle reign (1411). He and his gigantic entourage of 540 people got a lift from Zheng He's fleet which was returning back to China after their third voyage to the 'Western Seas' [2]
Parameswara's visit to the Ming imperial capital was recorded in the 《太宗文皇帝实录》 "The Veritable Records of the Taizong Wen Emperor (Emperor Yongle)". These are part of 明实录"The Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty" which is an official compilation of the accounts of all the Ming emperors' reigns [3]. Here are the extracts from the Veritable Records that relates to Parameswara's visit:
Yongle Year 9, Month 7, Day 15 (4th Aug 1411)
...满刺加国王拜里迷苏刺来朝遣中官海寿礼部郎中黄裳等往宴劳之... [4]
The King of Melaka Parameswara arrived. Officials Hai Tao, Huang Shang and others were sent to feast their arrival...
Yongle Year 9, Month 7, Day 25 (14th Aug 1411)
...满剌加国王拜里迷苏刺率其妻子及陪臣五百四十馀人入朝初 上闻之念其轻去乡土跋涉海道以来即遣官往劳复命有供张会同馆是日奉表入见并献方物 上御奉天门宴劳之... [4]
The King of Melaka Parameswara led his wife and accompanying officials to the number of more than five hundred and forty to attend the imperial court (at Fengtian dian (palace) 奉天殿 [5]). The emperor commanded to set up tent (provide lodging?) at 会同馆 (Huitong guan (building)).... The Emperor feasted the visitors at 奉天门 (Fengtian men (gate))...
Yongle Year 9, Month 7, Day 28 (17th Aug 1411)
赐满刺加国王拜里迷苏刺及其妃八儿迷速里等宴于会通馆…[4]
(The emperor) gifted a banquet to Parameswara, his wife and entourage at 会通馆 (Huitong building)...
Yongle Year 9, Month 9, Day 1 (18th Sep 1411)
宴满刺加国王拜里迷苏刺及榜葛刺古里等国使臣云南木邦军民宣慰司等处所遣头目于午门 [6]
Melaka King Parameswara, envoys from Bangla, Kuli (Calicut) and others were banqueted at 午门 (Wu men or 'Noon Gate')
Yongle Year 9, Month 9, Day 15 (2nd Oct 1411)
满刺加国王拜里迷苏刺辞归赐宴于奉天门... [6]
The King of Melaka bade his farewell and was banqueted at 奉天门 (Fengtian Gate)...
And finally away, home they go...
Yongle Year 9, Month 9, Day 18 (5th Oct 1411)
...命礼部宴饯满刺加国王及榜葛刺古里诸国使臣于龙江驿仍赐宴于龙潭驿… [6]
(The emperor) commanded an official to banquet the King of Melaka at 龙江驿 (Longjiang yi or literally "Dragon River Stop"), and again at 龙潭驿 (Longtan yi or literally "Dragon Pool Stop").
So what are some of these places that Parameswara visited? One can imagine the glory and bustle of Nanjing during the early days of the Ming. Today, unfortunately most of these spots are long gone.
午门, 奉天门, 奉天殿
The mostly ruined or razed grounds of the imperial palace, where much of the feasting and feting took place, can still be visited. It is well worth a visit, and it is near to the excellent Nanjing Museum, and not too far away from a major sight of Nanjing, the World Heritage Site of the Mausoleum of the first Ming emperor Zhu Yuanzhang.
午门 or "Noon gate" (Figure 1), where some of the banquets that Parameswara attended were held, is the main entrance into the palace. Some of its bulky majestic structure are still left.
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| Figure 1. 午门 or "Noon gate". The entrance to the Ming Imperial Palace. |
Entering the Noon Gate, a couple of hundred metres later is what is leftover of 奉天门 (Fengtian Gate), where more banquets were held.
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| Figure 2. The remains of 奉天门 (Fengtian Gate).午门 or "Noon gate". The entrance to the Ming Imperial Palace. |
To pay homage to the Ming Emperor, Parameswara will have to attend the court session by entering via Fengtian Gate, where 奉天殿 (Fengtian Palace) is situated (Figure 3 and 4). This is the largest and most majestic building on the palace grounds and was used for court assembly and the most important official events [7].
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| Figure 3. The marker of the original location of 奉天殿 (Fengtian Palace). |
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Figure 4. The green patches of grass and the patch between them marks the original footprint of 奉天殿 (Fengtian Palace). |
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| Figure 5. Google map snapshot of The Nanjing Ming Palace Museum Relics Park with the landmarks mentioned above. The imperial palace grounds cover roughly the green patches in the middle of the figure. Notice the moat around (blue colour waterways), which marks the approximate boundary of the Imperial Citadel 皇城. |
After the capital of the Ming Dynasty was moved to the north (Hence Beijing or Northern Capital) in the 1420s, and Nanjing became Nanjing (Southern Capital), the palace lost its purpose. The invasion by the Qing troops and later warfare during late Qing times 1850-1860s razed the palace grounds to almost nothing. In 1927, the whole place was converted to an airfield! The Nanjing Ming Palace Museum Relics Park was designated a National level protected cultural area in 2006 and is nowadays a pleasant park (Figure 6).
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| Figure 6. Plaque proclaiming the Nanjing Ming Palace Museum Relics Park as a National level cultural protected site. |
会同馆, 龙江驿, 龙潭驿
To figure out where the other places that Parameswara had been, I had to look up《洪武京城图志》[8] "The maps of the Hongwu Imperial Capital", which is a series of maps of Nanjing, officially commissioned and published in 1395 (28th year of Hongwu Emperor's reign. Hongwu being the reign era of Zhu Yuanzhang, the founding Ming emperor and father of Zhu Di, the Yongle emperor). Another reference used is the famous《郑和航海图》(The maritime charts of Zheng He's voyages) [9].
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| Figure 7. 官署图 (map of government buildings) from《洪武京城图志》(The maps of the Hongwu Imperial Capital) The red box outlines the Imperial Citadel, that contains the Imperial Palace. The blue box outlines Huitong Building. North is roughly towards the top. |
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| Figure 8. 京城山川图 (map of the hills and rivers of the imperial capital) from《洪武京城图志》(The maps of the Hongwu Imperial Capital). The lower red box outlines the Imperial Citadel. The red box on the top left is outlines Huitong Building. North is roughly towards the top. |
While in Nanjing, Parameswara was banqueted and probably stayed at 会同馆 (Huitong building), which was the governmental lodge for visiting envoys and dignitaries [8]. This lodge laid on 长安路 [8], a main thoroughfare leading southwest from the south gate 承天门 of the Imperial Citadel 皇城 (The city within the city which contains the major governmental edifices, major sacrificial altars and temples, and the imperial palace grounds). The road and the lodge no longer exist. Figure 7 above shows the 官署图 (map of government buildings) from《洪武京城图志》(The maps of the Hongwu Imperial Capital) where I have marked out the 'Imperial Citadel' (in red) and 'Huitong building' in blue, somewhat southwest of the imperial citadel.
On his departure from Nanjing to return home, Parameswara stopped at 龙江驿 (Longjiang Yi) for yet another banquet. According to《洪武京城图志》, 龙江驿 (Longjiang yi) is another government travel lodge, perhaps serving like a caravanserai, and is situated outside 金川门 (Jinchuan men or literal translated as 'golden river gate'), along the Yangzi jiang river [8]. You can see on the map in Figure 8, 京城山川图 or 'map of the hills and rivers of the imperial capital' from 《洪武京城图志》. In the top left box, is 金川门 which is a gate of the inner city wall, and the great Yangzi jiang river not far beyond. As for Parameswara's next stop, 龙潭驿 (Longtan yi), there are no records in the 《洪武京城图志》. However the place 龙潭 (Longtan) is featured in《郑和航海图》[9], which is shown in Figure 9 below in the blue box. 龙潭 (Longtan) is supposed to be about 60 'li' (chinese miles) from Nanjing [9]. Presumably 龙潭驿 (Longtan yi) is in 龙潭 (Longtan) and therefore can be reached from 观音门 (Guanyin men or Guanyin gate) which is one of the gates of the outer city wall of Nanjing [8] which you can see marked out in the box at the top right of the map in Figure 8.
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| Figure 9. Part of 《郑和航海图》 covering the area east of the imperial capital [9]. The 'map' is orientate roughly opposite from the preceding two maps (Figure 7 and 8), i.e. south is top. Note the Yangzi Jiang river near the bottom of the chart. The blue box marks 龙潭 (Longtan) and the nearby red box marks 观音门 (Guanyin gate) which also appears Figure 8. The big rectangle on the right of Figure 9 is the Imperial Citadel. |
Where Parameswara went after that, I have no idea as The Veritable Records and Ming Shi say nothing. However, he must have taken a boat somewhere soon after, and returned home. He most definitely did not take the boats of Zheng He's 4th voyage which did not leave China till 1413. We do know he did safely reach home, as he then dispatched his nephew to visit Nanjing, who arrived in Nanjing in July 1412 [3].
[1] The Malay Sultanate of Malacca, Muhammad Yusoff Hashim (Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, KL, 1992)
[2] Wang Gungwu, "The First Three Rulers of Malacca". JMBRAS 41, 1 (July 1968), 11-22.
[3] Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu. An Open Access Resource. yihttp://epress.nus.edu.sg/msl/
[4] 《太宗文皇帝实录卷一百十七》
[5] 《明史, 卷三百二十五, 列传第二百一十三, 外国六, 滿剌加》
[6] 《太宗文皇帝实录卷一百十九》
[7] 《中国宫殿史》（修订本）, 雷从云，陈绍棣，林秀贞 (百花文艺出版社, 天津，2005)
[8] 《洪武京城图志》南京稀见文献丛刊 (南京出版社, 南京, 2017)
[9] 《郑和航海图》整理：向达 (中华书局, 北京, 1961) , pg 24.
Date of my visit to Nanjing: 22nd May 2016
