1
撒馬兒罕
Samarkand
2
撒馬兒罕，即漢罽賓地，隋曰漕國，唐復名罽賓，皆通中國。 元太祖蕩平西域，盡以諸王、駙馬為之君長，易前代國名以蒙古語，始有撒馬兒罕之名。 去嘉峪關九千六百里。 元末為之王者，駙馬帖木兒也。
Samarkand was the region known to the Han as Kapisa; the Sui called it Caogu, and the Tang restored the name Kapisa. In every era it maintained ties with China. When the Yuan founder pacified the Western Regions, he installed princes and imperial sons-in-law as local rulers and replaced the old country names with Mongol designations; it was then that the name Samarkand first appeared. It lies nine thousand six hundred li from Jiayu Pass. At the end of the Yuan dynasty, the ruler there was Timur, an imperial son-in-law.
3
洪武中，太祖欲通西域，屢遣使招諭，而遐方君長未有至者。 二十年九月，帖木兒首遣回回滿剌哈非思等來朝，貢馬十五，駝二。 詔宴其使，賜白金十有八錠。 自是頻歲貢馬駝。 二十五年兼貢絨六匹，青梭幅九匹，紅綠撒哈剌各二匹及鑌鐵刀劍、甲胄諸物。 而其國中回回又自驅馬抵涼州互市。 帝不許，令赴京鬻之。 元時回回遍天下，及是居甘肅者尚多，詔守臣悉遣之，於是歸撒馬兒罕者千二百餘人。
During the Hongwu era, the founding emperor sought contact with the Western Regions and sent envoys again and again to invite their rulers, but none of the distant chiefs came. In the ninth month of year twenty, Timur sent his first embassy—the Muslims Manlaha Feisi and others—bearing fifteen horses and two camels as tribute. The court held a banquet for the envoys and granted them eighteen ingots of silver. Thereafter they sent horses and camels as tribute nearly every year. In year twenty-five they added six bolts of woolen cloth, nine bolts of blue tabby weave, two bolts each of red and green saha-la fabric, along with wootz-steel blades, armor, and other goods. Muslims from their country also drove horses on their own to Liangzhou to trade at the border markets. The emperor refused and ordered them to bring their horses to the capital to sell. Under the Yuan, Muslim communities had spread across the empire, and many still remained in Gansu. The emperor ordered local officials to send them home, and more than twelve hundred people returned to Samarkand.
4
二十七年八月，帖木兒貢馬二百。 其表曰：「恭惟大明大皇帝受天明命，統一四海，仁德洪布，恩養庶類，萬國欣仰。 咸知上天欲平治天下，特命皇帝出膺運數，為億兆之主。 光明廣大，昭若天鏡，無有遠近，鹹照臨之。 臣帖木兒僻在萬里之外，恭聞聖德寬大，超越萬古。 自古所無之福，皇帝皆有之。 所未服之國，皇帝皆服之。 遠方絕域，昏昧之地，皆清明之。 老者無不安樂，少者無不長遂，善者無不蒙福，惡者無不知懼。 今又特蒙施恩遠國，凡商賈之來中國者，使觀覽都邑、城池，富貴雄壯，如出昏暗之中，忽睹天日，何幸如之！ 又承敕書恩撫勞問，使站驛相通，道路無壅，遠國之人鹹得其濟。 欽仰聖心，如照世之杯，使臣心中豁然光明。 臣國中部落，聞茲德音，歡舞感戴。 臣無以報恩，惟仰天祝頌聖壽福祿，如天地永永無極。」 照世杯者，其國舊傳有杯光明洞徹，照之可知世事，故云。 帝得表，嘉其有文。 明年命給事中傅安等齎璽書、幣帛報之。 其貢馬，一歲再至，以千計，並賜賓鈔償之。
In the eighth month of year twenty-seven, Timur sent two hundred horses as tribute. His memorial read: 'We respectfully acknowledge that the Great Emperor of the Great Ming received Heaven's mandate, united the four seas, spread his benevolence far and wide, nurtured all living kinds, and won the joyful admiration of every realm. All know that Heaven wished to bring peace to the world and specially appointed the emperor to take up his destined role as sovereign over the myriad people. His brilliance is vast and bright, clear as a mirror in the sky; none, whether near or far, escapes his gaze. Your subject Timur, dwelling ten thousand li away, has respectfully heard that your sage virtue is magnanimous beyond anything known in all ages. Blessings never known since antiquity—the emperor possesses them all. States not yet brought to submission—the emperor has brought them all to submission. Distant lands and remote borders, places once shrouded in darkness—all have been brought into the light. The aged know peace and contentment, the young grow to maturity, the virtuous receive blessings, and the wicked know fear. Now your grace has been extended anew to distant lands: merchants who come to China are shown the capital and its cities, rich and majestic beyond compare—as though stepping from darkness into daylight. What greater fortune could there be! We have also received your gracious edict of consolation and inquiry, with relay stations linked so that the roads are clear and travelers from distant lands may all find their way. We revere your sage heart as one would the world-illuminating cup, and our hearts are suddenly filled with light. The tribes of my realm, hearing this proclamation of virtue, dance for joy in grateful devotion. Your subject has no means to repay such grace and can only look to Heaven, praying that your sacred life, fortune, and blessings endure as endlessly as heaven and earth.' The 'world-illuminating cup' refers to an old tradition in their country of a cup so luminous and clear that gazing into it revealed the affairs of the world—hence the expression. The emperor received the memorial and commended its eloquence. The following year he dispatched the supervising secretary Fu An and others with an imperial letter and silks in reply. Their tribute horses arrived twice yearly, numbering in the thousands, and the court paid for them with guest notes.
5
成祖踐阼，遣使敕諭其國。 永樂三年，傅安等尚未還，而朝廷聞帖木兒假道別失八里率兵東，敕甘肅總兵官宋晟儆備。 五年六月，安等還。 初，安至其國被留，朝貢亦絕。 尋令人導安遍曆諸國數萬里，以誇其國廣大。 至是帖木兒死，其孫哈裏嗣，乃遣使臣虎歹達等送安還，貢方物。 帝厚賚其使，遣指揮白阿兒忻台等往祭故王，而賜新王及部落銀幣。 其頭目沙裏奴兒丁等亦貢駝馬。 命安等賜其王彩幣，與貢使偕行。 七年，安等還，王遣使隨入貢。 自後，或比年，或間一歲，或三歲，輒入貢。 十三年遣使隨李達、陳誠等入貢。 暨辭歸，命誠及中官魯安偕往，賜其頭目兀魯伯等白銀、彩幣。 其國復遣使隨誠等入貢。 十八年復命誠及中官郭敬齎敕及彩幣報之。 宣德五年秋、冬，頭目兀魯伯米兒咱等遣使再入貢。 七年遣中官李貴等齎文綺、羅錦賜其國。
When the Yongle Emperor took the throne, he sent envoys with an edict to their country. In Yongle year three, Fu An's party had not yet returned when the court learned that Timur was marching east through Beshbalik. The regional commander of Gansu, Song Sheng, was ordered to stand ready. In the sixth month of year five, Fu An and his party returned. When Fu An first reached their country he was detained, and tribute missions ceased as well. They then had guides lead Fu An on a tour of their dominions for tens of thousands of li, to display how vast their realm was. By then Timur had died and his grandson Khalil had succeeded. He sent the envoy Hudaida and others to escort Fu An home with local products as tribute. The emperor richly rewarded the envoys and sent the commander Bai A'erxintai and others to perform rites for the late king, granting silver and silks to the new king and his tribes. Their chieftains, including Shalinu'erdin, also sent camels and horses as tribute. Fu An and his party were ordered to present colored silks to their king and return with the tribute envoys. In year seven, Fu An returned, and the king sent envoys to accompany him to court with tribute. Thereafter they sent tribute every other year, every year, or every three years, as the case might be. In year thirteen they sent envoys to court with Li Da, Chen Cheng, and their party. When they departed, Chen Cheng and the eunuch Lu An were sent with them to grant silver and colored silks to their chieftains, including Ulubek. Their country again sent envoys to court with Chen Cheng's party. In year eighteen, Chen Cheng and the eunuch Guo Jing were again dispatched with an edict and colored silks in reply. In the autumn and winter of Xuande year five, the chieftains Ulubek Mirza and others sent another tribute mission. In year seven the eunuch Li Gui and others were sent with figured silks and brocades as gifts to their country.
6
正統四年貢良馬，色玄，蹄額皆白。 帝愛之，命圖其像，賜名瑞ＤＯ，賞賚有加。 十年十月書諭其王兀魯伯曲烈幹曰：「王遠處西陲，恪修職貢，良足嘉尚。 使回，特賜王及王妻子彩幣表裏，示朕優待之意。」 別敕賜金玉器、龍首杖、細馬鞍及諸色織金文綺，官其使臣為指揮僉事。
In Zhengtong year four they sent fine horses, black with white hooves and foreheads. The emperor was delighted, ordered a portrait painted, and bestowed the name Auspicious Colt, with lavish rewards besides. In the tenth month of year ten a letter was sent to their king Ulubek Quliegan: 'Though you dwell far on the western frontier, you have faithfully maintained your tribute obligations—conduct truly worthy of commendation. On your envoys' return, We have specially granted colored silks, outer and inner garments, to you, your wife, and your children, as a sign of Our favor.' A separate edict granted gold and jade vessels, a dragon-headed staff, fine saddles, and brocaded figured silks in various colors, and appointed their envoy assistant commander.
7
成化中，其鎖魯檀阿黑麻三入貢。 十九年偕亦思罕酋長貢二獅，至肅州，其使者奏請大臣往迎。 職方郎中陸容言：「此無用之物，在郊廟不可為犧牲，在乘輿不可被驂服，宜勿受。」 禮官周洪謨等亦言往迎非禮，帝卒遣中使迎之。 獅日啖生羊二，醋、酐、蜜酪各二瓶。 養獅者，光祿日給酒饌。 帝既厚加賜賚，而其使者怕六灣以為輕，援永樂間例為請。 禮官議從正統四年例，加彩幣五表裏。 使者復以為輕，乃加正、副使各二表裏，從者半之，命中官韋洛、鴻臚署丞海濱送之還。 其使者不由故道赴廣東，又多買良家女為妻妾，洛等不為禁止。 久之，洛上疏委罪於濱，濱坐下吏。 其使者請泛海至滿剌加市狻猊以獻，市舶中官韋眷主之，布政使陳選力陳不可，乃已。
During the Chenghua era, their ruler Sulṭān Aḥmad sent tribute three times. In year nineteen, together with the Yishihan chieftain, they sent two lions as tribute. At Suzhou their envoys petitioned for senior officials to come and receive them. Lu Rong, director in the Bureau of Operations, said: 'These creatures serve no useful purpose—they cannot be offered at the suburban altars, nor harnessed to the imperial carriage. They should not be accepted.' The ritual officials Zhou Hongmo and others also argued that sending officials to welcome them violated propriety, but the emperor ultimately dispatched eunuchs to receive them. Each lion consumed two live sheep daily, along with two jars each of vinegar, fermented grain drink, and honeyed curds. The lion keepers received daily provisions of wine and food from the Court of Imperial Entertainments. Though the emperor had granted lavish rewards, their envoy Paliuwan considered them insufficient and petitioned by citing the Yongle precedent. The ritual officials decided to follow the precedent of Zhengtong year four and add five sets of colored silks, outer and inner garments. The envoys again found the rewards insufficient, so two additional sets were granted to the chief and deputy envoys and half that to their attendants. The eunuch Wei Luo and the Honglu assistant director Haibin were ordered to escort them home. The envoys did not take the usual route to Guangdong and bought many respectable families' daughters as wives and concubines; Wei Luo and his party did nothing to stop them. Eventually Wei Luo memorialized, shifting blame onto Haibin, who was handed over to the judicial authorities. The envoys asked permission to sail to Malacca to buy lions for tribute. The maritime-trade eunuch Wei Juan supported the plan, but the provincial commissioner Chen Xuan strongly objected, and the proposal was abandoned.
8
弘治二年，其使由滿剌加至廣東，貢獅子、鸚鵡諸物，守臣以聞。 禮官耿裕等言：「南海非西域貢道，請卻之。」 禮科給事中韓鼎等亦言：「猙獰之獸，狎玩非宜，且騷擾道路，供費不貲，不可受。」 帝曰：「珍禽奇獸，朕不受獻，況來非正道，其即卻還。 守臣違制宜罪，姑貸之。」 禮官又言：「海道固不可開，然不宜絕之已甚，請薄犒其使，量以綺帛賜其王。」 制可。 明年又偕土魯番貢獅子及哈剌、虎剌諸獸，由甘肅入。 鎮守中官傅德、總兵官周玉等先圖形奏聞，即遣人馳驛起送。 獨巡按御史陳瑤論其糜費煩擾，請勿納。 禮官議如其言，量給犒賞，且言：「聖明在禦，屢卻貢獻，德等不能奉行德意，請罪之。」 帝曰：「貢使既至，不必卻回，可但遣一二人詣京。 獅子諸物，每獸日給一羊，不得妄費。 德等貸勿治。」 後至十二年始來貢。 明年復至。 而正德中猶數至。
In Hongzhi year two, their envoys arrived in Guangdong via Malacca with lions, parrots, and other tribute, which the local officials reported to the court. The ritual officials Geng Yu and others said: 'The South Sea is not the Western Regions' tribute route. We ask that they be turned away.' The supervising secretaries of the Ritual Section, Han Ding and others, also argued: 'Such fierce beasts are not fit for amusement, and they disturb the roads at incalculable cost. They should not be accepted.' The emperor said: 'We do not accept rare birds and strange beasts as tribute, especially when they arrive by an improper route. Send them back at once. The local officials violated protocol and deserve punishment, but for now We pardon them.' The ritual officials added: 'The sea route must not be opened, yet we should not cut them off entirely. Grant the envoys a modest reward and send their king a measured gift of silks.' The emperor approved. The following year they again joined Turfan in sending lions and beasts such as hala and hula, entering through Gansu. The garrison eunuch Fu De and regional commander Zhou Yu first sent painted likenesses in a memorial, then immediately dispatched men by express relay to hurry the animals to the capital. Only the touring censor Chen Yao argued that the expense and disruption were excessive and petitioned that they not be accepted. The ritual officials agreed and granted a measured reward, adding: 'Under your sage reign, tribute has repeatedly been declined, yet De and his colleagues failed to carry out your intent. We ask that they be punished.' The emperor said: 'Since the tribute envoys have arrived, they need not be turned back entirely—send only one or two to the capital. For the lions and other beasts, grant one sheep per animal daily, and permit no wasteful expenditure. De and his colleagues were pardoned and not prosecuted.' Only twelve years later did they send tribute again. They came again the following year. During the Zhengde era they still came on several occasions.
9
嘉靖二年，貢使又至。 禮官言：「諸國使臣在途者遷延隔歲，在京者伺候同賞，光祿、郵傳供費不貲，宜示以期約。」 因列上禁制數事，從之。 十二年偕天方、土魯番入貢，稱王者至百餘人。 禮官夏言等論其非，請敕閣臣議所答。 張孚敬等言：「西域諸王，疑出本國封授，或部落自相尊稱。 先年亦有至三四十人者，即據所稱答之。 若驟議裁革，恐人情觖望，乞更敕禮、兵二部詳議。」 於是言及樞臣王憲等謂：「西域稱王者，止土魯番、天方、撒馬兒罕。 如日落諸國，稱名雖多，朝貢絕少。 弘、正間，土魯番十三入貢，正德間，天方四入貢，稱王者率一人，多不過三人，余但稱頭目而已。 至嘉靖二年、八年，天方多至六七人，土魯番至十一二人，撒馬兒罕至二十七人。 孚敬等言三四十人者，並數三國爾。 今土魯番十五王，天方二十七王，撒馬兒罕五十三王，實前此所未有。 弘治時回賜敕書，止稱一王。 若循撒馬兒罕往歲故事，類答王號，人與一敕，非所以尊中國制外蕃也。 蓋帝王之馭外蕃，固不拒其來，亦必限以制，其或名號僭差，言詞侮慢，則必正以大義，責其無禮。 今謂本國所封，何以不見故牘？ 謂部落自號，何以達之天朝？ 我概給以敕，而彼即據敕恣意往來，恐益擾郵傳，費供億，殫府庫以實溪壑，非計之得也。」 帝納其言，國止給一敕，且加詰讓，示以國無二王之義。 然諸蕃迄不從，十五年入貢復如故。 甘肅巡撫趙載奏：「諸國稱王者至一百五十餘人，皆非本朝封爵，宜令改正，且定貢使名數。 通事宜用漢人，毋專用色目人，致交通生釁。」 部議從之。 二十六年入貢，甘肅巡撫楊博請重定朝貢事宜，禮官復列數事行之。 後入貢，迄萬曆中不絕。 蓋番人善賈，貪中華互市，既入境，則一切飲食、道途之資，皆取之有司，雖定五年一貢，迄不肯遵，天朝亦莫能難也。
In Jiajing year two, tribute envoys arrived again. The ritual officials said: 'Envoys from various states linger on the road for years, while those in the capital wait together for rewards, burdening the Court of Imperial Entertainments and the postal service with incalculable expense. A fixed schedule should be announced. They then listed several regulatory restrictions, which were approved. In year twelve they came to court with Mecca and Turfan, and more than a hundred men styled themselves kings. The ritual officials Xia Yan and others argued that this was improper and asked that the grand secretaries be ordered to deliberate on the appropriate response. Zhang Fuling and others said: 'The various kings of the Western Regions are probably titles granted within their own countries, or honorifics adopted by the tribes themselves. In earlier years there were as many as thirty or forty; we simply addressed them by the titles they claimed. If we suddenly move to cut back these titles, we fear resentment; we ask that the Ministries of Rites and War be ordered to deliberate further. Xia Yan and chief minister Wang Xian and others then said: 'Among the Western Regions, only Turfan, Mecca, and Samarkand have rulers who properly style themselves kings. As for the states of the Land of Sunset, though they bear many titles, they send tribute only rarely. Between the Hongzhi and Zhengde eras, Turfan sent tribute thirteen times and Mecca four times during Zhengde. Typically only one man styled himself king, never more than three; the rest called themselves merely chieftains. By Jiajing years two and eight, Mecca sent as many as six or seven self-styled kings, Turfan eleven or twelve, and Samarkand as many as twenty-seven. When Fuling spoke of thirty or forty, he was counting all three countries together. Now Turfan claims fifteen kings, Mecca twenty-seven, and Samarkand fifty-three—numbers never seen before. During the Hongzhi era, return edicts addressed only one king. If we follow Samarkand's recent precedent of answering every claimant with a royal title and granting each man an edict, we fail to uphold China's dignity and its regulation of foreign states. An emperor governing foreign states does not reject their coming, yet he must bound them with regulations. If their titles overstep propriety or their words are insulting, he must correct them with righteous principle and rebuke their lack of decorum. They claim these titles were granted within their own countries—why do no records of this appear in our archives? They claim these are titles their own tribes assumed—how did such claims come to the attention of the Celestial Court? If we issue edicts to all alike, they will use them as licenses to travel freely back and forth, further burdening the courier routes, draining provisioning costs, and emptying the treasury to enrich private pockets. That is no sound policy.' The emperor accepted this advice. Each state received only a single edict, along with stern reproaches explaining the principle that a realm cannot acknowledge two sovereigns. The foreign states nonetheless refused to comply, and by the fifteenth year their tribute missions had resumed their former pattern. Gansu grand coordinator Zhao Zai memorialized: More than one hundred fifty men among the tributary states style themselves as kings, yet none hold titles granted by our court. They should be ordered to correct their usage, and the roster of tribute envoys should be fixed by regulation. Interpreters and trade liaison should be Han Chinese; exclusive reliance on Semu personnel breeds collusion and provokes trouble. The ministry approved and implemented the proposal. When tribute arrived in the twenty-sixth year, Gansu grand coordinator Yang Bo petitioned to reform tribute regulations, and the Board of Rites again issued a set of rules that were put into effect. Tribute missions continued thereafter without interruption through the Wanli era. The peoples of the frontier were skilled traders eager for trade with China. Once inside the border, they drew all provisions for food, drink, and travel from local officials. Although tribute was fixed at once every five years, they refused to observe the schedule, and the court had no effective means to compel them.
10
其國東西三千餘里，地寬平，土壤膏腴。 王所居城，廣十餘里，民居稠密。 西南諸蕃之貨皆聚於此，號為富饒。 城東北有土屋，為拜天之所，規制精巧，柱皆青石，雕為花文，中設講經之堂。 用泥金書經，裹以羊皮。 俗禁酒。 人物秀美，工巧過於哈烈，而風俗、土產多與之同。 其旁近東有沙鹿海牙、達失幹、賽藍、養夷，西有渴石、迭裏迷諸部落，皆役屬焉。
The realm stretched more than three thousand li from east to west. The terrain was broad and level, the soil rich and fertile. The royal capital sprawled more than ten li across, with densely packed dwellings. Merchandise from the southwestern states converged there, earning it a reputation for wealth. Northeast of the city stood an earthen mosque, their place of worship. It was finely built, with blue-stone pillars carved in floral designs and, at its center, a hall for preaching scripture. The scriptures were written in gold ink and bound in sheepskin. Wine was prohibited by custom. The people were handsome and their crafts surpassed those of Herat, though customs and products largely resembled those of Herat. Nearby to the east lay Shahrukhiya, Tashkent, Sayram, and Yangi; to the west were Kesh, Termez, and other subordinate tribes, all under its dominion.
11
沙鹿海牙
Shahrukhiya
12
沙鹿海牙，西去撒馬兒罕五百餘里。 城居小岡上，西北臨河。 河名火站，水勢沖急，架浮梁以渡，亦有小舟。 南近山，人多依崖谷而居。 園林廣茂。 西有大沙洲，可二百里。 無水，間有之，鹹不可飲。 牛馬誤飲之，輒死。 地生臭草，高尺余，葉如蓋，煮其液成膏，即阿魏。 又有小草，高一二尺，叢生，秋深露凝，食之如蜜，煮為糖，番名達郎古賓。
Shahrukhiya lies more than five hundred li west of Samarkand. The city stood on a low hill, with a river to the northwest. The river was called the Huozhan. Its current ran swift and strong; travelers crossed on pontoon bridges, though small boats were also available. Mountains lay to the south, and most inhabitants lived along the cliff-lined valleys. Gardens and orchards spread widely and grew luxuriantly. To the west stretched a great sandy waste some two hundred li across. Fresh water was scarce; where water appeared it was brackish and undrinkable. Cattle and horses that drank it by mistake died at once. The ground bore a foul-smelling grass over a foot tall with umbrella-like leaves; boiling its sap yielded a paste known as asafoetida. Another low plant, one or two feet tall and growing in clusters, collected autumn dew that tasted sweet as honey when eaten; boiled down it became a sugar the locals called dagangubin.
13
永樂間，李達、陳誠使其地，其酋即遣使奉貢。 宣德七年命中官李貴齎敕諭其酋，賜金織文綺、彩幣。
During the Yongle reign, Li Da and Chen Cheng were dispatched there, and the local chief promptly sent envoys bearing tribute. In the seventh year of the Xuande reign, the court sent the eunuch Li Gui with an imperial edict to its chief, granting gold-woven brocades and colored silks.
14
達失幹
Tashkent
15
達失幹，西去撒馬兒罕七百餘里。 城居平原，週二里。 外多園林，饒果木。 土宜五穀。 民居稠密。 李達、陳誠、李貴之使，與沙鹿海牙同。
Tashkent lies more than seven hundred li west of Samarkand. The city stood on the plain, about two li in circumference. Outside the walls lay many gardens rich in fruit trees. The soil was well suited to grain cultivation. Houses stood close together. The missions of Li Da, Chen Cheng, and Li Gui followed the same pattern as that to Shahrukhiya.
16
賽藍，在達失幹之東，西去撒馬兒罕千餘里。 有城郭，週二三里。 四面平曠，居人繁庶。 五穀茂殖，亦饒果木。 夏秋間，草中生黑小蜘蛛。 人被螫，遍體痛不可耐，必以薄荷枝掃痛處，又用羊肝擦之，誦經一晝夜，痛方止，體膚盡蛻。 六畜被傷者多死。 凡止宿，必擇近水地避之。 元太祖時，都元帥薛塔剌海從征賽藍諸國，以砲立功，即此地也。 陳誠、李貴之使，與諸國同。
Sayram lay east of Tashkent, more than a thousand li west of Samarkand. It had walled defenses two or three li in circumference. The land lay flat and open on every side, and the population was large and prosperous. Grain grew abundantly, and fruit trees were plentiful as well. Between summer and autumn, small black spiders appeared in the grass. A human sting brought unbearable pain throughout the body. Sufferers had to brush the wound with mint branches, rub it with sheep liver, and recite scripture for a full day and night before the pain ceased and the skin peeled away entirely. Most livestock stung by them died. Travelers making camp had to choose sites near water to avoid them. During the reign of the Yuan founder, supreme commander Xue Talahai campaigned against Sayram and neighboring states and won distinction with artillery—this was that place. The missions of Chen Cheng and Li Gui followed the same pattern as those to the other states.
17
養夷，在賽藍東三百六十里。 城居亂山間。 東北有大溪，西流入巨川。 行百里，多荒城。 蓋其地介別失八里、蒙古部落之間，數被侵擾。 以故人民散亡，止戍卒數百人居孤城，破廬頺垣，蕭然榛莽。 永樂時，陳誠至其地。
Yangi lay three hundred sixty li east of Sayram. The city stood amid rugged mountains. A great stream to the northeast flowed west into a major river. For a hundred li along the route lay many abandoned cities. Its territory lay between Beshbalik and the Mongol tribes and had suffered repeated raids. The populace had therefore scattered; only a few hundred garrison troops remained in a lonely walled town amid ruined huts, collapsed walls, and desolate scrubland. During the Yongle reign, Chen Cheng visited the place.
18
渴石，在撒馬兒罕西南三百六十里。 城居大村，周十餘里。 宮室壯麗，堂以玉石為柱，牆壁窗牖盡飾金碧，綴琉璃。 其先，撒馬兒罕酋長駙馬帖木兒居之。 城外皆水田。 東南近山，多園林。 西行十餘里，饒奇木。 又西三百里，大山屹立，中有石峽，兩崖如斧劈。 行二三里出峽口，有石門，色似鐵，路通東西，番人號為鐵門關，設兵守之。 或言元太祖至東印度鐵門關，遇一角獸，能人言，即此地也。
Kesh lay three hundred sixty li southwest of Samarkand. The city occupied a large settlement more than ten li in circumference. Its palaces and halls were magnificent, with jade and stone pillars in the main halls, walls and windows gilded and painted in azure, and glazed tiles set throughout. Timur, the Samarkand ruler and Yuan imperial son-in-law, had once made his residence there. Beyond the walls lay nothing but irrigated paddies. Mountains rose nearby to the southeast, and gardens were numerous. Some ten li west, rare trees grew in abundance. Three hundred li farther west, great mountains rose sheer, with a stone gorge between cliffs cut as if by an axe. After two or three li one emerged from the gorge mouth onto a stone gate dark as iron, with a road running east and west. The locals called it Iron Gate Pass and posted troops to guard it. Some say that when the Yuan founder reached the Iron Gate Pass of eastern India and met a unicorn that spoke human language, it was this very place.
19
迭裏迷
Termez
20
迭裏迷，在撒馬兒罕西南，去哈烈二千餘里。 有新舊二城，相去十餘里，其酋長居新城。 城內外居民僅數百家，畜牧蕃息。 城在阿術河東，多魚。 河東地隸撒馬兒罕，西多蘆林，產獅子。 陳誠、李達嘗使其地。
Termez lay southwest of Samarkand, more than two thousand li from Herat. It had old and new cities some ten li apart; the chief resided in the new town. Inside and outside the walls lived only a few hundred households, though livestock thrived. The city stood east of the Ashu River, where fish were plentiful. The land east of the river was subject to Samarkand; to the west lay extensive reed marshes where lions were found. Chen Cheng and Li Da were once dispatched there.
21
卜花兒
Bukhara
22
卜花兒，在撒馬兒罕西北七百餘里。 城居平川，周十餘里，戶萬計。 市里繁華，號為富庶。 地卑下，節序嘗溫，宜五穀桑麻，多絲綿布帛，六畜亦饒。
Bukhara lay more than seven hundred li northwest of Samarkand. The city stood on level ground, more than ten li around, with households numbering in the tens of thousands. Its markets were bustling, and it was renowned for wealth. The terrain was low-lying and the climate generally mild. Grain, mulberry, and hemp flourished; silk floss, cotton cloth, and silks were abundant, and livestock were plentiful.
23
永樂十三年，陳誠自西域還，所經哈烈、撒馬兒罕、別失八里、俺都淮、八答黑商、迭裏迷、沙鹿海牙、賽藍、渴石、養夷、火州、柳城、土魯番、鹽澤、哈密、達失幹、卜花兒凡十七國，悉詳其山川、人物、風俗，為《使西域記》以獻，以故中國得考焉。 宣德七年命李達撫諭西域，卜花兒亦與焉。
In the thirteenth year of the Yongle reign, Chen Cheng returned from the Western Regions having traveled through seventeen states—Herat, Samarkand, Beshbalik, Andahuai, Badakhshan, Termez, Shahrukhiya, Sayram, Kesh, Yangi, Huozhou, Liucheng, Turpan, Yanzhe, Hami, Tashkent, and Bukhara. He recorded their geography, peoples, and customs in a Record of a Mission to the Western Regions and presented it to the throne, enabling China to study them. In the seventh year of the Xuande reign, Li Da was ordered to reassure and instruct the Western Regions; Bukhara was included among the states visited.
24
別失八里
Beshbalik
25
別失八里，西域大國也。 南接于闐，北連瓦剌，西抵撒馬兒罕，東抵火州，東南距嘉峪關三千七百里。 或曰焉耆，或曰龜茲。 元世祖時設宣慰司，尋改為元帥府，其後以諸王鎮之。
Beshbalik was a major power of the Western Regions. It bordered Khotan to the south and the Oirats to the north, reached Samarkand in the west and Huozhou in the east, and lay three thousand seven hundred li southeast of Jiayu Pass. Some identified it with Yanqi, others with Kucha. Under Kublai Khan an pacification commission was established, soon converted to a marshal's headquarters, and later princes were posted to govern the region.
26
洪武中，藍玉征沙漠，至捕魚兒海，獲撒馬兒罕商人數百。 太祖遣官送之還，道經別失八里。 其王黑的兒火者，即遣千戶哈馬力丁等來朝，貢馬及海青，以二十四年七月達京師。 帝喜，賜王彩幣十表裏，其使者皆有賜。 九月命主事寬徹、御史韓敬、評事唐鉦使西域。 以書諭黑的兒火者曰：「朕觀普天之下，後土之上，有國者莫知其幾。 雖限山隔海，風殊俗異，然好惡之情，血氣之類，未嘗異也。 皇天眷佑，惟一視之。 故受天命為天下主者，上奉天道，一視同仁，俾巨細諸國，殊方異類之君民，鹹躋乎仁壽。 而友邦遠國，順天事大，以保國安民，皇天監之，亦克昌焉。 曩者我中國宋君，奢縱怠荒，奸臣亂政。 天監否德，於是命元世祖肇基朔漠，入統中華，生民賴以安靖七十餘年。 至於後嗣，不修國政，任用非人，致幻綱盡弛，強陵弱，眾暴寡，民生嗟怨，上達於天。 天用是革其命，屬之於朕。 朕躬握乾符，以主黔黎。 凡諸亂雄擅聲教違朕命者兵偃之，順朕命者德撫之。 是以三十年間，諸夏奠安，外蕃賓服。 惟元臣蠻子哈剌章等尚率殘眾，生釁寇邊，興師致討，勢不容已。 兵至捕魚兒海，故元諸王、駙馬率其部屬來降。 有撒馬兒罕數百人以貿易來者，朕命官護歸已三年矣。 使者還，王即遣使來貢，朕甚嘉之。 王其益堅事大之誠，通好往來，使命不絕，豈不保封國于悠久乎？ 特遣官勞嘉，其悉朕意。」 徹等既至，王以其無厚賜，拘留之。 敬、鉦二人得還。
During the Hongwu reign, Lan Yu campaigned into the desert as far as Buyur Lake and captured several hundred Samarkand merchants. The founding emperor sent officials to escort them home by way of Beshbalik. Its king, Khizr Khoja, promptly sent the chiliarch Hamaliding and others to court with horses and hunting falcons as tribute; they reached the capital in the seventh month of year twenty-four. The emperor was pleased and granted the king ten lengths of colored silks, inside and out; every envoy received gifts as well. In the ninth month he appointed the senior clerk Kuanchi, Censor Han Jing, and Reviewer Tang Zheng as envoys to the Western Regions. He sent a letter instructing Khizr Khoja: I look upon all under Heaven and the broad earth, and none can count how many states there are. Though mountains and seas divide them and winds and customs differ, the feelings of liking and disliking and the nature of living beings have never truly differed. August Heaven favors and protects all alike, viewing them as one. Therefore whoever receives Heaven's mandate to rule all under Heaven serves the Way of Heaven above and treats all with equal kindness, so that great and small states alike, and rulers and peoples of every distant land and alien kind, may attain benevolence and long life. Friendly states and distant countries that obey Heaven and serve the great power thereby secure their realms and their people; August Heaven watches over them, and they too may flourish. Formerly the Song rulers of our China grew extravagant, dissolute, and negligent, while treacherous ministers threw the government into disorder. Heaven observed this want of virtue and commanded the Yuan founder to establish his base in the northern steppe and rule the Central Realm, upon which the people enjoyed peace for more than seventy years. But their later descendants neglected statecraft and appointed unworthy men, until governance collapsed entirely: the strong oppressed the weak and the many tyrannized the few, and the people's grievances rose to Heaven. Heaven therefore changed the mandate and entrusted it to me. I myself hold the mandate of Heaven and rule the black-haired people. All rebellious warlords who monopolize authority and defy my command I shall subdue by force; those who obey my command I shall comfort with virtue. Thus within thirty years the civilized lands were settled and secure, and the outer dominions submitted in tribute. Only the former Yuan minister Manzi Hala Zhang and his fellows still led remnant bands, stirring trouble and raiding the frontier, so that military action became unavoidable. When the army reached Buyur Lake, the former Yuan princes and imperial sons-in-law brought their followers in submission. Several hundred Samarkand merchants who had come to trade had been under official escort on their return journey for three years already. When the envoys returned, you promptly sent tribute envoys, and I was greatly pleased. Strengthen your devotion to serving the great power, maintain friendly exchanges, and let envoys pass unceasingly—will you not thereby secure your realm for generations? I have specially dispatched officials to convey my commendation; understand my intentions fully. When Kuanchi and his party arrived, the king, finding their gifts insufficient, detained them. Han Jing and Tang Zheng alone were allowed to return.
27
三十年正月復遣官齎書諭之曰：「朕即位以來，西方諸商來我中國互市者，邊將未嘗阻絕。 朕復敕吏民善遇之，由是商人獲利，疆埸無擾，是我中華大有惠于爾國也。 前遣寬徹等往爾諸國通好，何故至今不返？ 吾于諸國，未嘗拘留一人，而爾顧拘留吾使，豈理也哉！ 是以近年回回入境者，亦令於中國互市，待徹歸放還。 後諸人言有父母妻子，吾念其至情，悉縱遣之。 今復使使諭爾，俾知朝廷恩意，毋梗塞道路，致啟兵端。 《書》曰：『怨不在大，亦不在小。 惠不惠，懋不懋。』 爾其惠且懋哉。」 徹乃得還。
In the thirtieth year, first month, he again sent officials with a letter of instruction: Since my accession, frontier commanders have never hindered Western merchants coming to trade in China. I also commanded officials and commoners to treat them kindly, so that merchants profited and the border was untroubled—thus has China greatly benefited your country. I previously sent Kuanchi and his companions to your lands to establish goodwill—why have they still not returned? I have never detained anyone from any state, yet you detain my envoys—how can this be reasonable! Therefore in recent years I have even permitted Muslim traders who entered the realm to trade in China, intending to release them when Kuanchi returns. Later they spoke of parents, wives, and children; moved by their deep attachment, I released them all. I now send envoys again to make known the court's goodwill: do not block the roads and provoke war. The Book of Documents says: Whether the grievance is great or small, whether kindness is shown, whether earnest effort is made. You must be kind and earnest! Only then was Kuanchi allowed to return.
28
成祖即位之冬，遣官齎璽書彩幣使其國。 未幾，黑的兒火者卒，子沙迷查幹嗣。 永樂二年遣使貢玉璞、名馬，宴賚有加。 時哈密忠順王安克帖木兒為可汗鬼力赤毒死，沙迷查幹率師討之。 帝嘉其義，遣使賚以彩幣，令與嗣忠順王脫脫敦睦。 四年夏來貢，命鴻臚寺丞劉帖木兒齎敕幣勞賜，與其使者偕行。 秋、冬暨明年夏，三入貢，因言撒馬兒罕本其先世故地，請以兵復之。 命中官把太、李達及劉帖木兒齎敕戒以審度而行，毋輕舉，因賜之彩幣。 六年，太等還，言沙迷查幹已卒，弟馬哈麻嗣。 帝即命太等往祭，並賜其新王。
In the winter of the Yongle emperor's accession, he sent envoys with a sealed edict and colored silks to Beshbalik. Before long Khizr Khoja died, and his son Shamsh Khan succeeded him. In the second year of Yongle he sent envoys bearing jade rough and fine horses; the court feasted them and granted extra rewards. At that time Anketmur, the Loyal and Obedient King of Hami, had been poisoned by the khan Guilichi; Shamsh Khan led an army against him. The emperor commended his conduct, sent envoys with colored silks, and instructed him to live in harmony with Toto, the new Loyal and Obedient King of Hami. In the summer of year four he sent tribute; the emperor ordered Liu Timur, vice director of the Court of State Ceremonial, to carry an edict and silks as rewards and to return with the envoys. In autumn, winter, and the following summer he sent tribute three times, stating that Samarkand was his ancestors' former domain and asking for troops to recover it. The emperor ordered the eunuchs Batai and Li Da, together with Liu Timur, to carry an edict warning him to weigh his actions carefully and not act rashly, and granted him colored silks. In year six, Batai and his party returned with word that Shamsh Khan had died and his younger brother Mahmud had succeeded. The emperor at once ordered Batai and his companions to perform the mourning rites and to bestow gifts on the new ruler.
29
八年以朝使往撒馬兒罕者，馬哈麻待之厚，遣使齎彩幣賜之。 明年貢名馬、文豹，命給事中傅安送其使還，賚金織文綺。 時瓦剌使者言馬哈麻將襲其部落，因諭以順天保境之義。 十一年，貢使將至甘肅，命所司宴勞，且敕總兵官李彬善遇之。 明年冬，有自西域還者，言馬哈麻母及弟相繼卒。 帝湣之，命安齎敕慰問，賚以彩幣。 已而馬哈麻亦卒，無子，從子納黑失只罕嗣。 十四年春，使來告喪。 命安及中官李達弔祭，即封其嗣子為王，賚文綺、弓刀、甲胄，其母亦有賜。 明年遣使來貢，言將嫁女撒馬兒罕，請以馬市妝奩。 命中官李信等以綺、帛各五百匹助之。 十六年，貢使速哥言其王為從弟歪思所弑，而自立，徙其部落西去，更國號曰亦力把裏。 帝以番俗不足治，授速哥為都督僉事，而遣中官楊忠等賜歪思弓刀、甲胄及文綺、彩幣，其頭目忽歹達等七十餘人並有賜，自是奉貢不絕。
In year eight, because Mahmud had treated court envoys bound for Samarkand with great hospitality, the emperor sent envoys with colored silks in reward. The following year he sent famous horses and snow leopards; the emperor ordered Fu An, supervising secretary of the Office of Scrutiny, to escort the envoys home and granted gold-woven brocades. At that time Oirat envoys reported that Mahmud was about to attack their tribes; the emperor therefore admonished him to obey Heaven and keep within his borders. In year eleven, when tribute envoys were approaching Gansu, he ordered the local authorities to entertain them and instructed the regional commander Li Bin to treat them hospitably. The following winter a traveler returned from the Western Regions with word that Mahmud's mother and younger brother had died in succession. The emperor was moved to pity and ordered Fu An to carry an edict of condolence with colored silks as gifts. Before long Mahmud also died without an heir, and his nephew Naghach Khan succeeded. In the spring of year fourteen envoys came to announce his death. He ordered Fu An and the eunuch Li Da to perform mourning rites, enfeoffed the successor as king, and granted patterned silks, bows, knives, and armor; his mother received gifts as well. The following year he sent tribute envoys, saying he would marry his daughter in Samarkand and asking permission to trade horses for her dowry. The emperor ordered the eunuch Li Xin and others to assist with five hundred bolts each of brocade and plain silk. In year sixteen the tribute envoy Suke reported that their king had been murdered by his cousin Wais, who seized power, moved the tribes westward, and renamed the state Yilibali. The emperor, deeming the frontier customs beyond full regulation, appointed Suke assistant regional commander and sent the eunuch Yang Zhong and others to grant Wais bows, knives, armor, brocades, and colored silks; more than seventy chieftains including Hudaida received gifts as well, and from then on tribute never ceased.
30
其國無城郭宮室，隨水草畜牧。 人性獷悍，君臣上下無體統。 飲食衣服多與瓦剌同。 地極寒，深山窮穀，六月亦飛雪。
The country had no walled cities or palaces; the people followed pasture and water in nomadic herding. The people were fierce by nature, and no proper order obtained between ruler and subject. Their food, drink, and dress largely resembled those of the Oirats. The land was bitterly cold; in its deep mountains and remote valleys snow fell even in the sixth month.
31
哈烈，一名黑魯，在撒馬兒罕西南三千里，去嘉峪關萬二千餘里，西域大國也。 元駙馬帖木兒既君撒馬兒罕，又遣其子沙哈魯據哈烈。
Herat, also known as Heilu, lay three thousand li southwest of Samarkand and more than twelve thousand li from Jiayu Pass; it was a major power of the Western Regions. After the Yuan imperial son-in-law Timur became ruler of Samarkand, he sent his son Shahrukh to hold Herat.
32
洪武時，撒馬兒罕及別失八里咸朝貢，哈烈道遠不至。 二十五年遣官詔諭其王，賜文綺、彩幣，猶不至。 二十八年遣給事中傅安、郭驥等攜士卒千五百人往，為撒馬兒罕所留，不得達。 三十年又遣北平按察使陳德文等往，亦久不還。
During the Hongwu reign, Samarkand and Beshbalik both sent tribute, but Herat, being so remote, did not. In year twenty-five he sent officials with an edict to their king and granted brocades and colored silks, yet they still did not come. In year twenty-eight he sent Fu An and Guo Ji, supervising secretaries, with fifteen hundred soldiers, but Samarkand detained them and they never reached Herat. In year thirty he again sent Chen Dewen, surveillance commissioner of Beiping, and others, who likewise did not return for a long time.
33
成祖踐阼，遣官齎璽書彩幣賜其王，猶不報命。 永樂五年，安等還。 德文遍曆諸國，說其酋長入貢，皆以道遠無至者，亦於是年始還。 德文，保昌人，采諸方風俗作為歌詩以獻。 帝嘉之，擢僉都御史。 明年復遣安齎書幣往哈烈，其酋沙哈魯把都兒遣使隨安朝貢。 七年達京師，復命齎賜物偕其使往報。 明年，其酋遣使朝貢。
When the Yongle emperor took the throne, he sent officials with a sealed edict and colored silks to their king, yet still received no response. In the fifth year of Yongle, Fu An and his party returned. Chen Dewen traveled through many states urging their chieftains to send tribute, but none came, citing the distance; he too returned only in that year. Dewen, a native of Baochang, collected the customs of many regions and composed songs and poems to present at court. The emperor was pleased and promoted him to vice censor-in-chief. The following year he again sent Fu An with a letter and silks to Herat; the chieftain Shahrukh Batur sent envoys to accompany him to court with tribute. In year seven they reached the capital; the emperor again ordered them to carry gifts back with the envoys in reply. The following year its chieftain again sent envoys to court with tribute.
34
撒馬兒罕酋哈裏者，哈烈酋兄子也，二人不相能，數構兵。 帝因其使臣還，命都指揮白阿兒忻台齎敕諭之曰：「天生民而立之君，俾各遂其生。 朕統禦天下，一視同仁，無間遐邇，屢嘗遣使諭爾。 爾能虔修職貢，撫輯人民，安於西徼，朕甚嘉之。 比聞爾與從子哈裏構兵相仇，朕為惻然。 一家之親，恩愛相厚，足制外侮。 親者尚爾乖戾，疏者安得協和。 自今宜休兵息民，保全骨肉，共用太平之福。」 因賜彩幣表裏，並敕諭哈裏罷兵，亦賜彩幣。
Khalili, chieftain of Samarkand, was the nephew of Herat's ruler; the two were at odds and repeatedly went to war. When their envoys were about to return, the emperor ordered the regional commander Bai A'ertai to carry an edict, saying: Heaven created the people and set rulers over them so that each might live in peace. I rule all under Heaven and treat all alike, near and far without distinction, and have repeatedly sent envoys to instruct you. You have dutifully maintained tribute, governed your people, and kept the western frontier at peace, and I have greatly commended this. I have lately heard that you and your nephew Khalili have taken up arms against each other, and I am deeply troubled. Within a single family, mutual love and affection are enough to repel outside enemies. If kin turn against one another, how can strangers hope to live in harmony? Henceforth you should cease hostilities, spare your people, preserve your kinship, and together enjoy the blessings of peace. He then granted colored silks, outer and inner, and also instructed Khalili to cease hostilities, granting him colored silks as well.
35
白阿兒忻台既奉使，遍詣撒馬兒罕、失剌思、俺的幹、俺都淮、土魯番、火州、柳城、哈實哈兒諸國，賜之幣帛，諭令入朝。 諸酋長咸喜，各遣使偕哈烈使臣貢獅子、西馬、文豹諸物。 十一年達京師。 帝喜，禦殿受之，犒賜有加。 自是諸國使並至，皆序哈烈於首。 及歸，命中官李達、吏部員外郎陳誠、戶部主事李暹、指揮金哈藍伯等送之，就齎璽書、文綺、紗羅、布帛諸物分賜其酋。 十三年，達等還，哈烈諸國復遣使偕來，貢文豹、西馬及他方物。 明年再貢，及還，命陳誠齎書幣報之，所過州縣皆宴餞。 十五年遣使隨誠等來貢。 明年復貢，命李達等報如初。 十八年偕於闐、八答黑商來貢。 二十年復偕于闐來貢。
Having received his commission, Bai A'ertai traveled to Samarkand, Shiraz, Andigan, Andahuai, Turfan, Huozhou, Liucheng, Kashgar, and other states, granting silks and instructing their rulers to come to court. The chieftains were all pleased and each sent envoys with those from Herat, offering lions, western horses, snow leopards, and other goods. In year eleven they reached the capital. The emperor was pleased, received them in audience in the main hall, and granted them lavish rewards. Thereafter envoys from many states arrived together, with Herat always given precedence. When they departed, he ordered the eunuch Li Da, Chen Cheng of the Ministry of Personnel, Li Xian of the Ministry of Revenue, Commander Jin Halangbo, and others to escort them home, bearing sealed edicts, brocades, gauzes, silks, and cloth to distribute among the chieftains. In year thirteen Li Da and his party returned, and Herat and other states again sent envoys together, offering snow leopards, western horses, and other regional products. The following year they sent tribute again, and when they departed the emperor ordered Chen Cheng to carry a letter and silks in reply; every prefecture and county along the route entertained them. In year fifteen they sent envoys to accompany Chen Cheng and his party with tribute. The following year they sent tribute again, and the emperor ordered Li Da and his party to respond as before. In year eighteen they came to court with Khotan and Badakhshan. In year twenty they again came to court with Khotan.
36
宣德二年，其頭目打剌罕亦不剌來朝，貢馬。 自仁宗不勤遠略，宣宗承之，久不遣使絕域，故其貢使亦稀至。 七年復命中官李貴通西域，敕諭哈烈酋沙哈魯曰：「昔朕皇祖太宗文皇帝臨禦之日，爾等尊事朝廷，遣使貢獻，始終如一。 今朕恭膺天命，即皇帝位，主宰萬方，紀元宣德。 小大政務，悉體皇祖奉天恤民，一視同仁之心。 前遣使臣齎書幣往賜，道阻而回。 今已開通，特命內臣往諭朕意。 其益順天心，永篤誠好，相與還往，同為一家，俾商旅通行，各遂所願，不亦美乎？」 因賜以文綺、羅錦。 貴等未至，其貢使法虎兒丁已抵京師，卒於館。 命官致祭，有司營葬。 尋復遣使隨貴貢駝馬、玉石。 明年春，使者歸。 復命貴護送，賜其王及頭目彩幣。 是年秋及正統三年並來貢。
In the second year of Xuande its chieftain Darqan Ibilai came to court and presented horses. From the Renzong emperor onward the court did not pursue distant ventures, and the Xuande emperor followed suit, so that envoys were long not sent to remote lands and tribute missions became rare. In year seven he again ordered the eunuch Li Gui to open communications with the Western Regions and instructed Herat's chieftain Shahrukh: In the days when my imperial grandfather, the Taizong Wendi emperor, ruled, you honored the court and sent tribute envoys without fail from first to last. Now I have reverently received Heaven's mandate, ascended the throne, rule all the realm, and have proclaimed the Xuande era. In great affairs and small I embody my imperial grandfather's devotion to Heaven, his care for the people, and his equal kindness to all. Envoys I sent earlier with letters and silks were turned back because the route was blocked. Now that the route is open again, I have specially ordered palace officials to convey my intentions. Obey Heaven's will all the more, keep your friendship sincere and lasting, exchange visits as one family, let merchants and travelers pass freely, and let each attain his desire—would that not be excellent? He then granted brocades and gauze brocades. Before Li Gui arrived, their tribute envoy Faghur al-Din had already reached the capital and died in the guest lodge. The emperor ordered officials to perform funeral rites, and the responsible offices arranged his burial. Soon afterward they again sent envoys with Li Gui, presenting camels, horses, and jade. The following spring the envoys returned. The emperor again ordered Li Gui to escort them home and granted colored silks to their king and chieftains. That autumn and again in the third year of Zhengtong they both sent tribute.
37
嘉靖二十六年，甘肅巡撫楊博言：「西域入貢人多，宜為限制。」 禮官言：「祖宗故事，惟哈密每年一貢，貢三百人，送十一赴京，餘留關內，有司供給。 他若哈烈、哈三、土魯番、天方、撒馬兒罕諸國，道經哈密者，或三年、五年一貢，止送三五十人，其存留賞賚如哈密例。 頃來濫放入京，宜敕邊臣恪遵此例，濫放者罪之。」 制可。 然是時哈烈已久不至，嗣後朝貢遂絕。
In the twenty-sixth year of Jiajing, Yang Bo, grand coordinator of Gansu, said: Too many people from the Western Regions are coming on tribute missions, and limits should be imposed. The ritual officials replied: By ancestral precedent only Hami sent tribute once a year, with a mission of three hundred men, of whom eleven were escorted to the capital while the rest remained inside the passes under official provision. As for Herat, Hasan, Turfan, Mecca, Samarkand, and other states whose routes passed through Hami, tribute came every three or five years with only thirty or fifty men escorted onward; those who remained behind were supplied and rewarded according to the Hami precedent. Recently too many tributary parties had been admitted to the capital without authorization; frontier officials were ordered to enforce this rule strictly, and those who admitted entrants improperly would be punished. The emperor approved the proposal. By then Herat had long ceased to send missions, and its tribute missions ended altogether.
38
其國在西域最強大。 王所居城，方十餘里。 壘石為屋，平方若高臺，不用樑柱瓦甓，中敞，虛空數十間。 囪牖門扉，悉雕刻花文，繪以金碧。 地鋪氈罽，無君臣、上下、男女，相聚皆席地趺坐。 國人稱其王曰鎖魯檀，猶言君長也。 男髡首纏以白布，婦女亦白布蒙首，僅露雙目。 上下相呼皆以名。 相見止稍屈身，初見則屈一足三跪，男女皆然。 食無匕箸，有瓷器。 以葡萄釀酒。 交易用錢，大小三等，不禁私鑄。 惟輸稅于酋長，用印記，無印者禁不用。 市易皆徵稅十二。 不知鬥斛，止設權衡。 無官府，但有管事者，名曰刀完。 亦無刑法，即殺人亦止罰錢。 以姊妹為妻妾。 居喪止百日，不用棺，以布裹屍而葬。 常於墓間設祭，不祭祖宗，亦不祭鬼神，惟重拜天之禮。 無干支朔望，每七日為一轉，周而復始。 歲以二月、十月為把齋月，晝不飲食，至夜乃食，周月始茹葷。 城中築大土室，中置一銅器，周圍數丈，上刻文字如古鼎狀。 遊學者皆聚此，若中國太學然。 有善走者，日可三百里，有急使，傳箭走報。 俗尚侈靡，用度無節。
Herat was the most powerful state in the Western Regions. The royal city measured more than ten li on each side. Houses were built of stacked stone, square and level like raised platforms, without beams, pillars, or roof tiles; the interior was open, with dozens of vacant chambers. Chimneys, windows, and doors were carved with floral designs and gilded in gold and azure. Floors were covered with felt and rugs; regardless of rank or sex, everyone sat cross-legged on the ground when gathered together. The people called their king Sultan, meaning simply their ruler. Men shaved their heads and wrapped them in white cloth; women likewise covered their heads in white, showing only their eyes. People of every rank addressed one another by personal name alone. On meeting, one bowed slightly; on a first meeting one bent one knee and knelt three times, whether man or woman. They ate without spoons or chopsticks but used porcelain vessels. Wine was brewed from grapes. Commerce used coins in three sizes; private minting was permitted. Taxes went to the chieftain alone; transactions required his seal, and unstamped coins were rejected. A twelve percent tax was levied on all market trade. They did not use dry-measure standards but weighed goods on scales alone. There were no formal government offices, only administrators called daowan. There was no criminal law as such; even murder was punished only by a monetary fine. Men might marry their sisters as wives or concubines. Mourning lasted a hundred days; the dead were wrapped in cloth without coffins and buried. They made offerings at graves but not to ancestors or spirits, honoring above all the rite of worship toward Heaven. They kept no traditional Chinese calendar but reckoned time in seven-day cycles. The second and tenth months were fasting months; they ate nothing by day and broke their fast at night, resuming meat only when the month ended. In the city stood a great earthen hall housing a bronze vessel several yards around, inscribed with characters like those on ancient tripods. Students from afar gathered there as at an imperial academy in China. Fleet runners could cover three hundred li in a day; urgent messages were relayed by arrow couriers on foot. The people loved luxury and spent without restraint.
39
土沃饒，節候多暖少雨。 土產白鹽、銅鐵、金銀、琉璃、珊瑚、琥珀、珠翠之屬。 多育蠶，善為紈綺。 木有桑、榆、柳、槐、松、檜，果有桃、杏、李、梨、葡萄、石榴，穀有粟、麥、麻、菽，獸有獅、豹、馬、駝、牛、羊、雞、犬。 獅生於阿術河蘆林中，初生目閉，七日始開。 土人于目閉時取之，調習其性，稍長則不可馴矣。 其旁近俺都淮、八答黑商，並隸其國。
The land was rich and fertile, the climate mostly warm and dry. Local products included white salt, copper, iron, gold, silver, glass, coral, amber, pearls, and kingfisher feathers. Silkworms were widely raised and fine silks skillfully woven. Trees included mulberry, elm, willow, locust, pine, and juniper; fruits included peach, apricot, plum, pear, grape, and pomegranate; grains included millet, wheat, hemp, and beans; livestock included lions, leopards, horses, camels, cattle, sheep, chickens, and dogs. Lions were born in the reed marshes of the Amu River, their eyes shut until the seventh day. Locals captured cubs while their eyes were still closed and tamed them; once grown, lions could not be domesticated. Neighboring Andkhui and Badakhshan were both subject to Herat.
40
俺都淮
Andkhui
41
俺都淮，在哈烈西北千三百里，東南去撒馬兒罕亦如之。 城居大村，周十餘里。 地平衍無險，田土膏腴，民物繁庶，稱樂土。 自永樂八年至十四年偕哈烈通貢，後不復至。
Andkhui lay thirteen hundred li northwest of Herat and the same distance southeast of Samarkand. The city stood amid a large settlement, more than ten li around. The land was level and unobstructed, the fields fertile, and the people prosperous—it was called a happy country. From the eighth through the fourteenth year of Yongle it sent tribute together with Herat, but did not come again afterward.
42
八答黑商
Badakhshan
43
八答黑商，在俺都淮東北。 城周十餘里。 地廣無險阻，山川明秀，人物樸茂。 浮屠數區，壯麗如王居。 西洋、西域諸賈多販鬻其地，故民俗富饒。 初為哈烈酋沙哈魯之子所據。 永樂六年命內官把太、李達賜其酋敕書彩幣，並及哈實哈兒、葛忒郎諸部，諭以往來通商之意，皆即奉命。 自是，東西萬里行旅無滯。 十二年，陳誠使其國。 十八年遣使來貢，命誠及內官郭敬齎書幣往報。 天順五年，其王馬哈麻遣使來貢。 明年復貢。 命使臣阿卜都剌襲父職，為指揮同知。
Badakhshan lay northeast of Andkhui. The city was more than ten li around. The country was broad and open, its mountains and rivers bright and fair, its people plain and flourishing. Several Buddhist pagoda precincts were as splendid as a royal palace. Merchants from the Western Ocean and the Western Regions traded there in great numbers, and the people grew wealthy. At first it was held by a son of Shahrukh, chieftain of Herat. In the sixth year of Yongle, the eunuchs Ba Tai and Li Da were sent with edicts and colored silks for its chieftain and for Kashgar, Getelang, and other departments, urging free commerce among them; all complied at once. From then on, travelers could cross ten thousand li east and west without hindrance. In year twelve Chen Cheng was dispatched as envoy to that country. In year eighteen they sent tribute envoys, and Chen Cheng and the eunuch Guo Jing were ordered to carry letters and gifts in return. In the fifth year of Tianshun their king Mahammad sent envoys with tribute. The following year they sent tribute again. The envoy Abdula was appointed to succeed his father as assistant commander.
44
于闐，古國名，自漢迄宋皆通中國。 永樂四年遣使來朝，貢方物。 使臣辭歸，命指揮神忠母撒等齎璽書偕行，賜其酋織金文綺。 其酋打魯哇亦不刺金遣使者貢玉璞，命指揮尚衡等齎書幣往勞。 十八年偕哈烈、八答黑商諸國貢馬，命參政陳誠、中官郭敬等報以彩幣。 二十年貢美玉，賜賚有加。 二十二年貢馬及方物。 時仁宗初踐阼，即宴賚遣還。
Khotan was an ancient state that had maintained contact with China from the Han through the Song. In the fourth year of Yongle they sent envoys to court with local products. When the envoys departed, Commander Shen Zhong Musa and others were sent with a sealed edict and brocaded silks for their chieftain. Their chieftain Daluwa Yibulajin sent envoys with rough jade, and Commander Shang Heng and others were dispatched with letters and gifts to reward them. In year eighteen they presented horses together with Herat, Badakhshan, and other states, and Vice Commissioner Chen Cheng and the eunuch Guo Jing were sent with colored silks in return. In year twenty they presented fine jade and received especially generous rewards. In year twenty-two they presented horses and local products. The Hongxi emperor had just taken the throne; he feasted them, bestowed gifts, and sent them home at once.
45
先是，永樂時，成祖欲遠方萬國無不臣服，故西域之使歲歲不絕。 諸蕃貪中國財帛，且利市易，絡繹道途。 商人率偽稱貢使，多攜馬、駝、玉石，聲言進獻。 既入關，則一切舟車水陸、晨昏飲饌之費，悉取之有司。 郵傳困供億，軍民疲轉輸。 比西歸，輒緣道遲留，多市貨物。 東西數千里間，騷然繁費，公私上下罔不怨咨。 廷臣莫為言，天子亦莫之恤也。 至是，給事中黃驥極陳其害。 仁宗感其言，召禮官呂震責讓之。 自是不復使西域，貢使亦漸稀。
Earlier, during the Yongle reign, the Yongle emperor wished every distant state to submit, and Western Region envoys came year after year without pause. The frontier states coveted Chinese silks and goods and profited from trade, so the roads were thronged with travelers. Merchants commonly posed as tribute envoys, bringing horses, camels, and jade while claiming to present gifts. Once inside the frontier passes, every cost of transport by land or water and every meal was charged to the local authorities. Postal stations buckled under the burden of supply, and soldiers and civilians were worn out by transport duties. On their return westward they lingered along the route, buying goods in large quantities. For thousands of li east and west the roads seethed with expense, and everyone from officials to commoners complained. No court minister spoke up, and the emperor paid the matter no heed. Then Supervising Secretary Huang Ji laid out the harm in the strongest terms. Moved by his argument, the Hongxi emperor summoned the ritual official Lü Zhen and rebuked him sharply. From then on missions to the Western Regions ceased, and tribute envoys grew increasingly rare.
46
于闐自古為大國，隋、唐間侵並戎盧、捍彌、渠勒、皮山諸國，其地益大。 南距蔥嶺二百餘里，東北去嘉峪關六千三百里。 大略蔥嶺以南，撒馬兒罕最大； 以北，于闐最大。 元末時，其主暗弱，鄰國交侵。 人民僅萬計，悉避居山谷，生理蕭條。 永樂中，西域憚天子威靈，咸修職貢，不敢擅相攻，於闐始獲休息。 漸行賈諸蕃，復致富庶。 桑麻黍禾，宛然中土。 其國東有白玉河，西有綠玉河，又西有黑玉河，源皆出昆侖山。 土人夜視月光盛處，入水采之，必得美玉。 其鄰國亦多竊取來獻。 迄萬曆朝，于闐亦間入貢。
Khotan had long been a great power; in the Sui and Tang it annexed Ronglu, Hanmi, Quile, Pishan, and other states, and its territory grew still larger. It lay two hundred-odd li south of the Pamirs and six thousand three hundred li northeast of Jiayu Pass. Broadly speaking, south of the Pamirs Samarkand was the greatest power; north of the Pamirs, Khotan was the greatest. At the end of the Yuan its rulers were feeble, and neighboring states raided one another. The population fell to only ten thousand or so, all hiding in the valleys while livelihood withered. During Yongle the Western Regions feared the emperor's majesty, all sent tribute, and dared not attack one another freely; Khotan at last found peace. Merchants gradually returned among the frontier states, and prosperity was restored. Mulberry, hemp, millet, and grain flourished as in the central provinces. East of the country lay the White Jade River, to the west the Green Jade River, and farther west the Black Jade River, all rising in the Kunlun Mountains. By night the people watched where moonlight shone brightest on the water, dove in to gather jade there, and always found fine stones. Neighboring states often seized jade illicitly and presented it as tribute. Down to the Wanli reign Khotan still sent tribute from time to time.
47
失刺思
Shiraz
48
失刺思，近撒馬兒罕。 永樂十一年遣使偕哈烈、俺的幹、哈實哈兒等八國，隨白阿兒忻台入貢方物，命李達、陳誠等齎敕偕其使往勞。 十三年冬，其酋亦不剌金遣使隨達等朝貢，天子方北巡。 至明年夏始辭還，復命誠偕中官魯安齎敕及白金、彩緞、紗羅、布帛賜其酋。 十七年遣使偕亦思弗罕諸部貢獅子、文豹、名馬，辭還。 復命安等送之，賜其酋絨錦、文綺、紗羅、玉系腰、磁器諸物。 時車駕頻歲北征，乏馬，遣官多齎彩幣、磁器，市之失剌思及撒馬兒罕諸國。 其酋即遣使貢馬，以二十一年八月謁帝于宣府之行宮。 厚賜之，遣還京師，其人遂久留內地不去。 仁宗嗣位，趣之還，乃辭去。
Shiraz lay near Samarkand. In the eleventh year of Yongle they sent envoys with Herat, Andigan, Kashgar, and seven other states, following Bai A'erxintai to present tribute; Li Da and Chen Cheng were ordered to carry edicts and escort the envoys home with rewards. In the winter of year thirteen their chieftain Yibulajin sent envoys with Li Da's party to present tribute while the emperor was on a northern tour. They did not take leave until the following summer, when Chen Cheng and the eunuch Lu An were again sent with an edict and gifts of silver, colored damask, gauze, silk, and cloth for their chieftain. In year seventeen they sent envoys with Isfahan and other departments, presenting lions, leopards, and fine horses, then departed. Lu An and others were again ordered to escort them home and grant their chieftain pile silks, brocades, gauze, jade belt ornaments, porcelain, and other goods. The emperor campaigned north year after year and needed horses; officials were repeatedly sent with colored silks and porcelain to buy them in Shiraz, Samarkand, and other states. Their chieftain then sent envoys with horses, who in the eighth month of year twenty-one met the emperor at the traveling palace in Xuanfu. He rewarded them generously and sent them on to the capital, but they lingered long in the interior and would not leave. When the Hongxi emperor succeeded to the throne, he urged them to return home, and at last they departed.
49
宣德二年貢駝馬方物，授其使臣阿力為都指揮僉事，賜誥命、冠帶。 嗣後久不貢。 成化十九年與黑婁、撒馬兒罕、把丹沙諸國共貢獅子，詔加優賚。 弘治五年，哈密忠順王陝巴襲封歸國，與鄰境野乜克力酋結婚。 失剌思酋念其貧，偕旁國亦不剌因之酋，率其平章鎖和卜台、知院滿可，各遣人請頒賜財物，助之成婚。 朝議義之，厚賜陝巴，並賜二國及其平章、知院彩幣。 嘉靖三年與旁近三十二部並遣使貢馬及方物。 其使者各乞蟒衣、膝襴、磁器、布帛。 天子不能卻，量予之，自是貢使亦不至。
In the second year of Xuande they presented camels, horses, and local products; their envoy Ali was appointed assistant chief commander and granted a patent of appointment with cap and sash. After that they sent no tribute for a long time. In the nineteenth year of Chenghua, together with Heilou, Samarkand, Badansha, and other states, they jointly presented lions, and the court ordered especially generous rewards. In the fifth year of Hongzhi, Sham Ba of Hami, Loyal and Obedient Prince, inherited his title and returned home to marry the chieftain of neighboring Yemekli. The chieftain of Shiraz, pitying Sham Ba's poverty, joined with the chieftain of neighboring Yibulajin and, with his chief minister Suohobotai and commissioner Manko, each sent envoys asking the court to grant goods to help pay for the wedding. The court agreed this was fitting, rewarded Sham Ba generously, and granted colored silks to both states and to their chief minister and commissioner. In the third year of Jiajing, Shiraz together with thirty-two neighboring departments sent envoys presenting horses and local products. Each envoy asked for python-pattern robes, knee-length gowns, porcelain, and silks. The emperor could not refuse them outright and granted gifts in moderation, but thereafter no tribute envoys came again.
50
俺的幹
Andigan
51
俺的幹，西域小部落。 元太祖盡平西域，封子弟為王鎮之，其小者則設官置戍，同於內地。 元亡，各自割據，不相統屬。 洪武、永樂間，數遣人招諭，稍稍來貢。 地大者稱國，小者止稱地面。 迄宣德朝，效臣職、奉表箋、稽首闕下者，多至七八十部。 而俺的幹，則永樂十一年與哈烈並貢者也。 迨十四年，魯安等使哈烈、失剌思諸思，復便道賜其酋長文綺。 然地小不能常貢，後竟不至。
Andigan was a small community of the Western Regions. When the Yuan founder pacified the Western Regions, he enfeoffed kinsmen as territorial kings; smaller domains received officials and garrisons on the same model as the interior provinces. After the Yuan fell, each domain seized its own ground and acknowledged no common overlord. Between the Hongwu and Yongle reigns the Ming repeatedly sent envoys to summon them, and little by little they began sending tribute. The larger domains styled themselves states; the smaller ones called themselves mere territories. By the Xuande reign as many as seventy or eighty polities were performing ministerial duties, submitting memorials, and kowtowing at court. Andigan was among those that presented tribute with Herat in the eleventh year of Yongle. In year fourteen the eunuch Lu An and others, while on a mission to Herat, Shiraz, and other states, again granted patterned silks to their chieftains along the route. But the domain was too small to tribute regularly, and in time its envoys stopped coming altogether.
52
哈實哈兒
Kashgar
53
哈實哈兒，亦西域小部落。 永樂六年，把太、李達等齎敕往賜，即奉命。 十一年遣使隨白阿兒忻台入朝，貢方物。 宣德時亦來朝貢。 天順七年命指揮劉福、普賢使其地。 其貢使亦不能常至。
Kashgar was likewise a small community of the Western Regions. In the sixth year of Yongle, Ba Tai and Li Da carried an imperial edict with gifts, and its ruler obeyed at once. In year eleven they sent envoys with Bai A'erxintai to court, presenting local products. During the Xuande reign they also came to court with tribute. In the seventh year of Tianshun the court sent commanders Liu Fu and Puxian as envoys to their territory. Their tribute envoys likewise could not come on a regular schedule.
54
亦思弗罕
Isfahan
55
亦思弗罕，地近俺的幹。 永樂十四年使俺都淮、撒馬兒罕者道經其地，賜其酋文綺諸物。 十七年偕鄰國失剌思共貢獅、豹、西馬，賚白金、鈔幣。 使臣辭還，命魯安等送之。 有馬哈木者，願留京師。 從其請。 成化十九年與撒馬兒罕共貢獅子、名馬、番刀、兜羅、鎖幅諸物，賜賚有加。
Isfahan lay near Andigan. In the fourteenth year of Yongle envoys bound for Andahuai and Samarkand passed through Isfahan and granted its chieftain patterned silks and other goods. In year seventeen, together with neighboring Shiraz, they presented lions, leopards, and western horses and received grants of silver and paper money in return. When the envoys took their leave, Lu An and others were ordered to escort them home. One envoy named Mahammad asked to remain in the capital. The court granted his request. In the nineteenth year of Chenghua, together with Samarkand, they presented lions, fine horses, foreign knives, gauze, and brocades, and received especially generous rewards.
56
先是，宣德六年，有亦思把罕遣使臣迷兒阿力朝貢，或云即亦思弗罕。
Earlier, in the sixth year of Xuande, a place called Isbahhan sent the envoy Mir Ali to court; some identify it with Isfahan.
57
火剌劄
Hulazha
58
火剌劄，國微弱。 四圍皆山，鮮草木。 水流曲折，亦無魚蝦。 城僅里許，悉土屋，酋所居亦卑陋。 俗敬僧。 永樂十四年遣使朝貢，命所經地皆禮待。 弘治五年，其地回回怕魯灣等由海道貢玻璃、瑪瑙諸物。 孝宗不納，賜道里費遣還。
Hulazha was a feeble little state. Mountains surrounded it on every side, and vegetation was sparse. Its streams wound tortuously, yet held no fish or shrimp. The city measured barely a li across; all dwellings were of earth, and even the chieftain's residence was mean and cramped. The people held monks in reverence. In the fourteenth year of Yongle its envoys came to court, and every place along their route was ordered to receive them courteously. In the fifth year of Hongzhi, Muslims from the region including Parvan came by sea, presenting glass, agate, and other goods. The Hongzhi emperor declined the tribute, granted travel expenses, and sent them home.
59
乞力麻兒
Kilimar
60
乞力麻兒，永樂中遣使來貢，惟獸皮、鳥羽、罽褐。 其俗喜射獵，不事耕農。 西南傍海，東北林莽深密，多猛獸、毒蟲。 有逵巷，無市肆，交易用鐵錢。
Kilimar sent envoys during the Yongle reign, offering only animal hides, bird feathers, and felt rugs. The people loved hunting and did not practice agriculture. To the southwest it bordered the sea; to the northeast lay dense forest teeming with fierce beasts and venomous creatures. It had broad lanes but no marketplaces, and trade was conducted in iron coin.
61
白松虎兒
Baisonghu'er
62
白松虎兒，舊名速麻裏兒。 嘗有白虎出松林中，不傷人，亦不食他獸，旬日後不復見。 國人異之，稱為神虎，曰此西方白虎所降精也，因改國名。 其地無大山，亦不生樹木，無毒蟲、猛獸之害，然物產甚薄。 永樂中嘗入貢。
Baisonghu'er had formerly been called Sumalai'er. Once a white tiger appeared from the pine forest; it harmed no one, preyed on no other animal, and after ten days was seen no more. The people were astonished and called it a divine tiger, saying it was the spirit of the western White Tiger descended to earth, and renamed the state accordingly. The land had no great mountains and produced no timber; poisonous creatures and fierce beasts did not trouble it, yet its resources were very meager. During the Yongle reign it sent tribute once.
63
答兒密
Darim
64
答兒密，服屬撒馬兒罕。 居海中，地不百里，人不滿千家。 無城郭，上下皆居板屋。 知耕植，有毛褐、布縷、馬駝、牛羊。 刑止箠樸。 交易兼用銀錢。 永樂中遣使朝貢，賜《大統曆》及文綺、藥、茶諸物。
Darim was subject to Samarkand. It stood in the sea; its territory did not reach a hundred li and its population numbered fewer than a thousand households. It had no walled towns; everyone lived in plank houses raised above the water. They practiced farming and kept felt cloth, woven goods, horses, camels, cattle, and sheep. Punishment went no further than flogging and clubbing. Trade was conducted in both silver and cash coin. During Yongle its envoys came to court and received the Great Unity Calendar, brocades, medicines, tea, and other gifts.
65
納失者罕
Nasireh
66
納失者罕，東去失剌思數日程，皆舟行。 城東平原，饒水草，宜畜牧。 馬有數種，最小者高不過三尺。 俗重僧，所至必供飲食。 然好氣健鬥，鬥不勝者，眾嗤之。 永樂中遣使朝貢。 使臣還，曆河北，轉關中，抵甘肅，有司皆置宴。
Nasireh lay several days' journey east of Shiraz, entirely reachable by boat. East of the city stretched level plain rich in pasture, well suited to herding. Its horses came in several breeds; the smallest stood no more than three feet high. The people held monks in high regard and always offered them food and drink wherever they went. Yet they were quarrelsome and fond of fighting; anyone who lost in a brawl was mocked by the crowd. During Yongle they sent envoys to court with tribute. On their return the envoys traveled through Hebei, turned west through Guanzhong to Gansu, and officials in every locality entertained them at feast.
67
敏真城，永樂中來貢。 其國地廣，多高山。 日中為市，諸貨駢集，貴中國磁、漆器。 產異香、駝、馬。
Minzhencheng sent tribute during the Yongle reign. Its territory was broad and mountainous. Markets opened at midday with goods crowded in profusion; Chinese porcelain and lacquerware were especially prized. It produced rare incense, camels, and horses.
68
米昔兒
Misr
69
米昔兒，一名密思兒。 永樂中遣使朝貢。 既宴賚，命五日一給酒饌、果餌，所經地皆置宴。 正統六年，王鎖魯檀阿失剌福復來貢。 禮官言：「其地極遠，未有賜例。 昔撒馬兒罕初貢時，賜予過優，今宜稍損。 賜王彩幣十表裏，紗、羅各三匹，白氁絲布、白將樂布各五匹，洗白布二十匹，王妻及使臣遞減。」 從之。 自後不復至。
Misr, also called Misir—Egypt. During Yongle they sent envoys to court with tribute. After the court feast and gifts, they were supplied wine and fruit every five days, and officials along the route held banquets for them. In the sixth year of Zhengtong the king Sultan Ashraf came again with tribute. The director of rites reported: 'Its territory is extremely remote, and there is no precedent for gifts. When Samarkand first sent tribute the court was overly generous; the grant should now be somewhat reduced. Grant the king ten sets of colored silks, three bolts each of gauze and gauze silk, five bolts each of white felted silk and white Jiangle cloth, and twenty bolts of bleached white cloth, with lesser amounts for the queen and envoys in descending order. The memorial was approved. After that they did not come again.
70
黑婁，近撒馬兒罕，世為婚姻。 其地山川、草木、禽獸皆黑，男女亦然。 宣德七年遣使來朝，貢方物。 正統二年，其王沙哈魯鎖魯檀遣指揮哈只馬黑麻奉貢。 命齎敕及金織糸寧絲、彩絹歸賜其王。 六年復來貢。 景泰四年偕鄰境三十一部男婦百余人，貢馬二百四十有七，騾十二，驢十，駝七，及玉石、碸砂、鑌鐵刀諸物。 天順七年，王母塞亦遣指揮僉事馬黑麻舍兒班等奉貢。 賜彩幣表裏、糸寧、絲襲衣，擢其使臣為指揮同知，從者七人俱為所鎮撫。 成化十九年與失剌思、撒馬兒罕、把丹沙共貢獅子。 把丹沙之長亦稱鎖魯檀馬黑麻，景泰七年嘗入貢，至是復偕至。 弘治三年又與天方諸國貢駝、馬、玉石。
Heilou lay near Samarkand and had been linked by marriage for generations. Its mountains and rivers, plants and animals were all black, and so were its men and women. In the seventh year of Xuande they sent envoys to court with local products. In the second year of Zhengtong its king Shahrukh Sultan sent the commander Hajji Mahammad with tribute. He was ordered to carry home an imperial edict and gifts of gold-woven ramie silk and colored silks for their king. In year six they came again with tribute. In the fourth year of Jingtai, together with thirty-one neighboring departments, more than a hundred men and women presented two hundred forty-seven horses, twelve mules, ten donkeys, seven camels, jade, realgar, wrought-iron knives, and other goods. In the seventh year of Tianshun the queen mother Saiyi sent the assistant regional commander Mahammad Shahban and others with tribute. They received colored silks, ramie, and silk ceremonial robes; the envoy was promoted to vice commander, and seven followers were all appointed garrison commissioners. In the nineteenth year of Chenghua, together with Shiraz, Samarkand, and Badansha, they jointly presented lions. The chief of Badansha also styled himself Sultan Mahammad; he had sent tribute in the seventh year of Jingtai and now came again with them. In the third year of Hongzhi they again presented camels, horses, and jade together with Mecca and other states.
71
討來思
Tolays
72
討來思，地小，周徑不百里。 城近山。 山下有水，赤色，望之如火。 俗佞佛。 婦人主家柄。 產牛羊馬駝，有布縷毛褐。 土宜穄麥，無稻。 交易用錢。 宣德六年入貢。 明年命中官李貴齎璽書獎勞，賜文綺、彩帛。 以地小不能常貢。
Tolays was a small domain less than a hundred li in circumference. Its city stood close to the mountains. Below the mountains ran water of red hue that, seen from afar, looked like fire. The people were fervently devoted to Buddhism. In Tollis, women held authority within the household. Tollis produced cattle, sheep, horses, and camels, and cloth, yarn, and woolen felts. The soil favored panic millet and wheat; rice did not grow there. Commerce was conducted with coin. In the sixth year of the Xuande reign Tollis sent tribute. The following year the court sent the eunuch Li Gui with an imperial letter of commendation and consolation, granting figured silks and colored silks. Because Tollis was too small to sustain regular missions, tribute could not be sent often.
73
阿速，近天方、撒馬兒罕，幅員甚廣。 城倚山面川。 川南流入海，有魚鹽之利。 土宜耕牧。 敬佛畏神，好施惡鬥。 物產富，寒暄適節，人無饑寒，夜鮮寇盜，雅稱樂土。 永樂十七年，其酋牙忽沙遣使貢馬及方物，宴賚如制。 以地遠不能常貢。 天順七年命都指揮白全等使其國，竟不復再貢。
Asud lay near Mecca and Samarkand and covered a very broad territory. Its capital stood against the mountains and opened onto a river valley. A river to the south ran to the sea, yielding fish and salt. The land was fit for both farming and grazing. The people revered the Buddha, feared the divine, loved charity, and shunned strife. Goods were plentiful, the seasons mild, and the people free of hunger and cold; bandits were rare by night, and the country was famed as a land of ease. In the seventeenth year of Yongle its chieftain Yahshah sent envoys with horses and local products; banquets and rewards followed the usual regulations. Its distance made regular tribute impossible. In the seventh year of Tianshun the court sent Regional Commander Bai Quan and others as envoys to their state, but thereafter they never sent tribute again.
74
沙哈魯
Sharhrud
75
沙哈魯，在阿速西海島中。 永樂中遣七十七人來貢，日給酒饌、果餌，異於他國。 其地，山川環抱，饒畜產，人性樸直，恥鬥好佛。 王及臣僚處城中，庶人悉處城處。 海產奇物，西域賈人以輕直市之，其國人不能識。
Sharhrud lay on an island in the western sea off Asud. During the Yongle reign seventy-seven tribute bearers came; each day they were given wine, meals, and fruit confections—a treatment unlike that for other states. Mountains and rivers enclosed the land, livestock was plentiful, and the people were plain and upright, ashamed of fighting and devoted to Buddhism. The king and his officials lived inside the city; commoners all lived outside the walls. Strange things came from the sea; Western merchants bought them cheaply, while the islanders themselves could not name them.
76
天方，古筠沖地，一名天堂，又曰默伽。 不道自忽魯謨斯四十日始至，自古裏西南行，三月始至。 其貢使多從陸道入嘉峪關。
Mecca was anciently the land of Junchong, also called Paradise and known as Mecca. By sea from Hormuz the voyage takes forty days; from Calicut, traveling southwest, three months. Most of its tribute envoys came overland through Jiayu Pass.
77
宣德五年，鄭和使西洋，分遣其儕詣古裏。 聞古裏遣人往天方，因使人齎貨物附其舟偕行。 往返經歲，市奇珍異寶及麒麟、獅子、駝雞以歸。 其國王亦遣陪臣隨朝使來貢。 宣宗喜，賜賚有加。 正統元年始命附爪哇貢舟還，賜幣及敕獎其王。 六年，王遣子賽亦得阿力與使臣賽亦得哈三以珍寶來貢。 陸行至哈剌，遇賊，殺使臣，傷其子右手，盡劫貢物以去，命守臣察治之。
In the fifth year of Xuande, Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean and sent some of his companions on to Calicut. Learning that Calicut was dispatching a party to Mecca, he sent men with goods to join their ship. The round trip took a year; they bought rare treasures, giraffes, lions, and ostriches and brought them back. The king also sent attendant ministers to follow the imperial envoys and present tribute. The Xuande Emperor was pleased and increased their rewards. From the first year of Zhengtong they were sent home on Java's tribute fleet, and the court granted silks and an edict commending their king. In year six the king sent his son Sayyid Ali and the envoy Sayyid Hasan with precious goods as tribute. On the overland route they reached Khara, where bandits killed the envoys, wounded the prince's right hand, and seized all the tribute before fleeing; the court ordered local officials to investigate.
78
成化二十三年，其國中回回阿力以兄納的游中土四十餘載，欲往雲南訪求。 乃攜寶物钜萬，至滿剌加，附行人左輔舟，將入京進貢。 抵廣東，為市舶中官韋眷侵克。 阿力怨，赴京自訴。 禮官請估其貢物，酬其直，許訪兄于雲南。 時眷懼罪，先已夤緣於內。 帝乃責阿力為間諜，假貢行奸，令廣東守臣逐還，阿力乃號泣而去。 弘治三年，其王速檀阿黑麻遣使偕撒馬兒罕、土魯番貢馬、駝、玉石。
In the twenty-third year of Chenghua a Muslim of that country named Ali, whose elder brother Nadi had lived in China for more than forty years, wished to go to Yunnan to find him. He took goods worth a fortune to Melaka, joined the traveler Zuo Fu's ship, and planned to enter the capital and offer tribute. At Guangdong the maritime-trade eunuch Wei Juan cheated and squeezed him. Ali, furious, went to the capital to plead his case in person. The Ministry of Rites proposed appraising his goods, paying their value, and allowing him to search for his brother in Yunnan. By then Juan, fearing punishment, had already secured patrons inside the palace. The emperor declared Ali a spy who had used tribute as cover for intrigue, ordered Guangdong officials to send him back, and Ali left in tears. In the third year of Hongzhi its king Sultan Ahmad sent envoys with Samarkand and Turfan bearing horses, camels, and jade.
79
正德初，帝從禦馬太監谷大用言，令甘肅守臣訪求諸番騍馬、騸馬，番使雲善馬出天方。 守臣因請諭諸番貢使，傳達其王，俾以入貢。 兵部尚書劉宇希中官指，議令守臣善擇使者與通事，親詣諸番曉諭，從之。 十三年，王寫亦把剌克遣使貢馬、駝、梭幅、珊瑚、寶石、魚牙刀諸物，詔賜蟒龍金織衣及麝香、金銀器。
Early in Zhengde, at the urging of the imperial stud eunuch Gu Dayong, the emperor told Gansu officials to seek fine stallions and geldings from the western states; envoys said the best horses came from Mecca. Border officials therefore asked that tribute envoys be told to urge their kings to send horses. Minister of War Liu Yu sided with the eunuch and proposed that border officials choose reliable envoys and interpreters to go in person and instruct the western states; the court agreed. In year thirteen King Shah Bakr sent horses, camels, saffron cloth, coral, gems, and fish-tooth knives; the court granted python-dragon brocade robes, musk, and gold and silver vessels.
80
嘉靖四年，其王亦麻都兒等遣使貢馬、駝、方物。 禮官言：「西人來貢，陝西行都司稽留半年以上始為具奏。 所進玉石悉粗惡，而使臣所私貨皆良。 乞下按臣廉問，自今毋得多攜玉石，煩擾道途。 其貢物不堪者，治都司官罪。」 從之。 明年，其國額麻都抗等八王各遣使貢玉石，主客郎中陳九川簡退其粗惡者，使臣怨。 通事胡士紳亦憾九川因詐為使臣奏，詞誣九川，盜玉，坐下詔獄拷訊。 尚書席書、給事中解一貫等論救，不聽，竟戍邊。
In the fourth year of Jiajing its king Imad al-Din and others sent horses, camels, and local products. The Ministry of Rites said: "When westerners arrive on tribute, the Shaanxi regional command holds them for more than half a year before reporting. The jade presented as tribute is coarse, while what the envoys trade privately is fine. We ask that censors investigate, and that hereafter they be forbidden to carry excessive jade and burden the roads. When tribute goods are unworthy, the regional command officials should be punished. The emperor approved. The next year eight kings including Imad al-Ghan each sent jade; Chen Jiuchuan of the Receptions Office rejected the poor pieces, and the envoys were angry. Interpreter Hu Shishen, who also hated Jiuchuan, forged a petition in the envoys' name accusing him of stealing jade; Jiuchuan was thrown into prison and interrogated. Minister Xi Shu and supervising secretary Xie Yiguan pleaded for him, but the emperor refused and banished Jiuchuan to the frontier.
81
十一年遣使偕土魯番、撒馬兒罕、惟密諸國來貢，稱王者至三十七人。 禮官言：「舊制，恰哈密與朵顏三衛比歲一貢，貢不過三百人。 三衛地近，盡許入都。 哈密則十遣其二，余留待于邊。 若西域則越在萬里，素非屬國，難視三衛貢期，而所遣使人倍逾恒數。 番文至二百餘通，皆以索取叛人牙木蘭為詞。 竊恐托詞窺伺，以覘朝廷處分。 邊臣不遵明例，概行起送，有乖法體。 乞下督撫諸臣，遇諸番人入貢，分別存留起送，不得概遣入京。 且嚴飭邊吏，毋避禍目前，貽患異日，貪納款之虛名，忘禦邊之實策。」 帝可其奏。
In year eleven envoys came with Turfan, Samarkand, Weimi, and other states; thirty-seven men styled themselves kings. The Ministry of Rites said: "By old rule Hami and the Ordos Three Guards each sent tribute once a year, with no more than three hundred men. Because the Three Guards were near, all might enter the capital. For Hami only two in ten were sent on; the rest waited at the border. The Western Regions lie ten thousand li away and were never subject states; their schedule cannot be treated like the Three Guards', yet they now send more than twice the usual number. More than two hundred western memorials arrived, all demanding the rebel Yaliban. We fear this is a pretext to spy on how the court will respond. Border officials ignore precedent and forward everyone, contrary to law. We ask that governors and pacifiers be ordered, when western peoples come on tribute, to decide who stays and who goes on, and not send all to the capital. And warn border officials not to court present peace and future disaster, grasping at empty credit for submission while forgetting real frontier defense. The emperor approved.
82
故事，諸番貢物至，邊臣驗上其籍，禮官為按籍給賜。 籍所不載，許自行貿易。 貢使既竣，即有餘貨，責令攜歸。 願入官者，禮官奏聞，給鈔。 正德末，黠番猾胥交關罔利，始有貿易余貨令市儈評直、官給絹鈔之例。 至是，天方及土魯番使臣，其籍余玉石、銼刀諸貨，固求准貢物給賞。 禮官不得已，以正德間例為請，許之。
By precedent, when tribute goods arrived, border officials checked the register and the Ministry of Rites gave rewards according to it. Goods not on the register might be traded privately. After the tribute mission ended, any surplus had to be taken home. If they wished to sell to the state, the Ministry of Rites memorialized and paid in paper money. Late in Zhengde, crafty westerners and corrupt clerks colluded for profit, and a precedent arose for surplus goods to be appraised by brokers and paid for in silk and notes. Now Mecca and Turfan envoys had jade, knives, and other goods left on the register and insisted on receiving tribute rewards for them. The Ministry of Rites, having no choice, cited the Zhengde precedent and the court allowed it.
83
番使多賈人，來輒挾重貲與中國市。 邊吏嗜賄，侵克多端，類取償於公家。 或不當其直，則咆哮不止。 是歲，貢使皆黠悍，既習知中國情，且憾邊吏之侵克也，屢訴之，禮官卻不問。 鎮守甘肅中官陳浩者，當番使入貢時，令家奴王洪多索名馬、玉石諸物，使臣憾之。 一日，遇洪於衢，即執詣官以證實其事。 禮官言事關國體，須大有處分，以服遠人之心。 乃命三法司、錦衣衛及給事中各遣官一員赴甘肅按治，洪迄獲罪。
Western envoys were mostly merchants who arrived laden with goods to trade in China. Border officials took bribes and extorted in many ways, often making the state pay. If the price did not suit them, they would storm and rage without end. That year the envoys were sharp and fierce; knowing China's ways and angry at border extortion, they complained again and again, but the Ministry of Rites ignored them. Chen Hao, the eunuch commanding Gansu, had his servant Wang Hong demand famous horses, jade, and other goods when envoys came; they resented it. One day they seized Hong in the street and dragged him before officials to prove the case. The Ministry of Rites said the matter touched national dignity and required stern punishment to satisfy distant peoples. The Three Judicial Offices, the Embroidered Uniform Guard, and the supervising secretaries each sent an official to Gansu to investigate; Hong was punished in the end.
84
十七年復貢，其使臣請遊覽中土。 禮官疑有狡心，以非故事格之。 二十二年偕撒馬兒罕、土魯番、哈密、魯迷諸國貢馬及方物。 後五六年一貢，迄萬曆中不絕。
In year seventeen they sent tribute again; their envoys asked to tour the interior. The Ministry of Rites suspected intrigue and refused, saying it was not precedent. In year twenty-two they came with Samarkand, Turfan, Hami, Rum, and other states bearing horses and local products. Thereafter tribute came every five or six years without fail through the Wanli reign.
85
天方於西域為大國，四時常似夏，無雨雹霜雪，惟露最濃，草木皆資之長養。 土沃，饒栗、麥、黑黍。 人皆頎碩。 男子削髮，以布纏之。 婦女則編發蓋頭，不露其面。 相傳回回設教之祖曰馬哈麻者，首於此地行教，死即葬焉。 墓頂常有光，日夜不熄。 後人遵其教，久而不衰，故人皆向善。 國無苛擾，亦無刑罰，上下安和，寇賊不作，西土稱為樂國。 俗禁酒。 有禮拜寺，月初生，其王及臣民鹹拜天，號呼稱揚以為禮。 寺分四方，每方九十間，共三百六十間，皆白玉為柱，黃甘玉為地。 其堂以五色石砌成，四方平頂。 內用沉香大木為梁凡五，又以黃金為閣。 堂中垣墉，悉以薔薇露、龍涎香和土為之。 守門以二黑獅。 堂左有司馬儀墓，其國稱為聖人塚。 土悉寶石，圍牆則黃甘玉。 兩旁有諸祖師傳法之堂，亦以石築成，俱極其壯麗。 其崇奉回回教如此。
Mecca was the greatest state of the Western Regions; all four seasons felt like summer, without rain, hail, frost, or snow—only heavy dew on which plants depended. The soil was rich in millet, wheat, and black millet. The people were tall and sturdy. Men shaved their heads and bound them with cloth. Women braided their hair and veiled their faces. Tradition held that Muhammad, founder of the Muslim faith, first preached here and was buried here when he died. A light shone over the tomb day and night without ceasing. His followers kept the faith unbroken, and the people were inclined to goodness. There were no harsh levies and little punishment; high and low lived in peace, bandits were unknown, and the west called it a land of joy. Wine was forbidden by custom. There were mosques; at the new moon king and people worshipped heaven with cries and proclamations. The mosque had four wings of ninety bays each, three hundred sixty in all, with white jade pillars and yellow jade floors. The main hall was built of five-colored stone with a flat roof. Inside were five great beams of eaglewood and a golden pavilion. The walls were of earth mixed with rosewater and ambergris. Two black lions guarded the gate. To the left of the hall stood a tomb the country called the Sage's Mound. The ground was paved with precious stone, the enclosing walls with yellow jade. On either side stood halls where patriarchs had transmitted the faith, likewise built of stone and magnificently grand. Such was their devotion to the Muslim faith.
86
瓜果、諸畜，鹹如中國。 西瓜、甘瓜有一人不能舉者，桃有重四五斤者，雞、鴨有重十餘斤者，皆諸番所無也。 馬哈麻墓後有一井，水清而甘。 泛海者必汲以行，遇颶風，取水灑之即息。 當鄭和使西洋時，傳其風物如此。 其後稱王者至二三十人，其俗亦漸不如初矣。
Fruits, melons, and livestock were much like those of China. Some watermelons and sweet melons were too heavy for one man to lift; peaches weighed four or five pounds, chickens and ducks more than ten—produce unknown among other foreign lands. Behind Muhammad's tomb was a well of clear, sweet water. Seafarers always drew from it before sailing; if a hurricane struck, sprinkling the water was said to calm the storm. When Zheng He sailed to the Western Ocean, such were the reports of its sights and products. Later as many as twenty or thirty men styled themselves kings, and local customs slowly declined from what they had been.
87
默德那
Medina
88
默德那，回回祖國也，地近天方。 宣德時，其酋長遣使偕天方使臣來貢，後不復至。 相傳，其初國王謨罕驀德生而神靈，盡臣服西域諸國，諸國尊為別諳拔爾，猶言天使也。 國中有經三十本，凡三千六百余段。 其書旁行，兼篆、草、楷三體，西洋諸國皆用之。 其教以事天為主，而無像設。 每日西向虔拜。 每歲齋戒一月，沐浴更衣，居必易常處。 隋開皇中，其國撒哈八撒阿的幹葛思始傳其教入中國。 迄元世，其人遍于四方，皆守教不替。
Medina was the ancestral homeland of the Muslims, near Mecca. During Xuande its chief sent envoys with those from Mecca to court, but they did not return thereafter. Tradition held that the first king Muhammad was born with miraculous power, brought the Western Regions to submission, and was honored as Bi'anba'er—meaning an angel. The country possessed thirty scriptures in more than three thousand six hundred sections. Their script ran horizontally and combined seal, cursive, and regular forms; states of the Western Ocean all used it. The faith centered on worship of Heaven and used no images. Each day they prayed devoutly facing west. Each year they fasted for a month, bathing and changing clothes and moving to a different dwelling. In the Kaihuang era of Sui, Sa'ad ibn Abi Waqqas of that land first brought the faith to China. By Yuan times their people were scattered everywhere, yet all kept the faith unbroken.
89
國中城池、宮室、市肆、田園，大類中土。 有陰陽、星曆、醫藥、音樂諸技。 其織文、制器尤巧。 寒暑應候，民殷物繁，五穀六畜鹹備。 俗重殺，不食豬肉。 嘗以白布蒙頭，雖適他邦，亦不易其俗。
Its walled towns, palaces, markets, and farmland resembled those of the central provinces. They practiced yin-yang lore, astronomy, medicine, and music. Their weaving and metalwork were especially fine. Seasons turned in their course; the people were prosperous and goods plentiful, with grain and livestock in full supply. They valued ritual slaughter and did not eat pork. They wrapped their heads in white cloth and kept the custom even abroad.
90
坤城，西域回回種。 宣德五年，其使臣者馬力丁等來朝，貢駝馬。 時有開中之令，使者即輸米一萬六千七百石於京倉中鹽。 及辭還，願以所納米獻官。 帝曰：「回人善營利，雖名朝貢，實圖貿易，可酬以直。」 於是予帛四十匹、布倍之。 其後亦嘗貢。
Kuncheng was a Muslim community of the Western Regions. In the fifth year of Xuande its envoy Mali Ding and others came to court with camels and horses. Under the open-exchange policy then in force, the envoys at once delivered sixteen thousand seven hundred shi of grain to the capital granaries in exchange for salt. On departing they offered to present the grain they had paid to the government. The emperor said, "Muslims are skilled at profit; though this is called tribute, they truly seek trade—pay them fair value. They were therefore given forty bolts of silk and twice as much cloth. They sent tribute on later occasions as well.
91
自成祖以武定天下，欲威制萬方，遣使四出招徠。 由是西域大小諸國莫不稽顙稱臣，獻琛恐後。 又北窮沙漠，南極溟海，東西抵日出沒之處，凡舟車可至者，無所不屆。 自是，殊方異域鳥言侏亻離之使，輻輳闕廷。 歲時頒賜，庫藏為虛。 而四方奇珍異寶、名禽殊獸進獻上方者，亦日增月益。 蓋兼漢、唐之盛而有之，百王所莫並也。 餘威及於後嗣，宣德、正統朝猶多重譯而至。 然仁宗不務遠略，踐阼之初，即撤西洋取寶之船，停松花江造舟之役，召西域使臣還京，敕之歸國，不欲疲中土以奉遠人。 宣德繼之，雖間一遣使，尋亦停止，以故邊隅獲休息焉。
After the Yongle emperor conquered the realm by force, he sought to awe every quarter and sent envoys abroad to win allegiance. Thereupon great and small states of the Western Regions bowed in submission and rushed to offer tribute. Envoys ranged north to the desert's edge, south to the open sea, and east and west to the limits of sunrise and sunset; wherever ship or cart could go, they arrived. From then on envoys from distant lands with strange speech crowded the palace. Seasonal gifts drained the treasuries bare. Yet rare treasures, exotic birds, and strange beasts presented to the throne grew ever more numerous. The court combined the glory of Han and Tang in one age—unmatched by any earlier reign. Its prestige lingered into later reigns; during Xuande and Zhengtong many envoys still arrived through layers of interpreters. Yet Emperor Renzong sought no distant ambitions; at the start of his reign he recalled the Western Ocean treasure fleet, halted shipbuilding on the Songhua, summoned Western envoys to the capital and sent them home, unwilling to exhaust the empire for distant guests. Xuande followed his example; though he occasionally sent envoys, he soon stopped as well, and the frontier thus found respite.
92
哈三等二十九部
Hasan and Twenty-nine Other Districts
93
今采故牘嘗奉貢通名天朝者，曰哈三，曰哈烈兒，曰沙的蠻，曰哈的蘭，曰掃蘭，曰乜克力，曰把力黑，曰俺力麻，曰脫忽麻，曰察力失，曰幹失，曰卜哈剌，曰怕剌，曰你沙兀兒，曰克失迷兒，曰帖必力思，曰火壇，曰火占，曰苦先，曰牙昔，曰牙兒幹，曰戎，曰白，曰兀倫，曰阿端，曰邪思城，曰舍黑，曰擺音，曰克，計二十九部。 以疆域褊小，止稱地面。 與哈烈、哈實哈兒、賽藍、亦力把力、失剌思、沙鹿海牙、阿速、把丹皆由哈密入嘉峪關，或三年、五年一貢，入京者不得過三十五人。 其不由哈密者，更有乞兒、麻米兒、哈蘭可脫、蠟燭、也的幹、剌竹、亦不剌、因格失、迷乞兒、吉思羽奴、思哈辛十一地面，亦嘗通貢。
From old records we list those that once sent tribute and registered names with the court: Hasan, Harar, Shadianman, Hadilan, Saolan, Yikeli, Balihei, Anlima, Tuohuma, Chalishi, Ganshi, Buhala, Pala, Nishawuer, Kashmir, Tiebili, Huotan, Huozhan, Kuxian, Yaxi, Yargan, Rong, Bai, Wulun, Aduan, Yesicheng, Shehei, Baiyin, and Kefu—twenty-nine districts in all. Their domains were small and they styled themselves only local districts. Herat, Kashgar, Sayram, Yarkand, Shiraz, Sarai, Asud, and Badan all entered through Hami at Jiayu Pass, sending tribute every three or five years with no more than thirty-five men allowed into the capital. Those not routed through Hami included eleven further districts—Qier, Mamier, Halan Ketuo, Fula Zhula, Yedigan, Lazhu, Yibula, Yingeshi, Miqier, Jisiyunu, and Sihaxin—which had also sent tribute.
94
附魯迷
Appendix: Rum
95
魯迷，去中國絕遠。 嘉靖三年遣使貢獅子、西牛。 給事中鄭一鵬言：「魯迷非嘗貢之邦，獅子非可育之獸，請卻之，以光聖德。」 禮官席書等言：「魯迷不列《王會》，其真偽不可知。 近土魯番數侵甘肅，而邊吏于魯迷冊內，察有土魯番之人。 其狡詐明甚，請遣之出關，治所獲間諜罪。」 帝竟納之，而令邊臣察治。
Rum lay at the farthest remove from China. In the third year of Jiajing it sent envoys with lions and western oxen. Supervising Secretary Zheng Yipeng said, "Rum is not a regular tributary state, and lions are not animals that can be kept in captivity—please refuse them to display sagely virtue. Rites officials Xi Shu and others said, "Rum does not appear in the Royal Assembly; its authenticity is unknown. Turfan had lately raided Gansu repeatedly, yet border officials found Turfan natives listed on Rum's register. Their fraud was plain—send them beyond the pass and punish the spies seized." The emperor nevertheless accepted the gifts and ordered frontier officials to investigate.
96
五年冬，復以二物來貢。 既頒賜，其使臣言，長途跋涉，費至二萬二千余金，請加賜。 御史張祿言：「華夷異方，人物異性，留人養畜，不惟違物，抑且拂人。 況養獅日用二羊，養西牛日用果餌。 獸相食與食人食，聖賢皆惡之。 又調禦人役，日需供億。 以光祿有限之財，充人獸無益之費，殊為拂經。 乞返其人，卻其物，薄其賞，明中國聖人不貴異物之意。」 不納。 乃從禮官言，如弘治撒馬兒罕例益之。 二十二年偕天方諸國貢馬及方物，明年還至甘州。 會迤北賊入寇，總兵官楊信令貢使九十餘人往禦，死者九人。 帝聞，褫信職，命有司棺斂歸其喪。 二十七年、三十三年併入貢。 其貢物有珊瑚、琥珀、金剛鑽、花瓷器、鎖服、撒哈剌帳、羚羊角、西狗皮、舍列猻皮、鐵角皮之屬。
In the winter of the fifth year they again presented the two animals as tribute. After rewards were issued, the envoys said the long journey had cost more than twenty-two thousand taels of gold and asked for added compensation. Censor Zhang Lu said, "China and foreign lands differ; men and beasts differ in nature—keeping men to feed animals offends both creatures and human decency. A lion required two sheep a day; a western ox required daily fruit feed. Beasts devouring one another and consuming food meant for people—sages condemned both. Palace attendants were conscripted and supplies demanded daily without end. To spend the Court of Imperial Entertainments' limited funds on useless costs for men and beasts was deeply contrary to principle. Return their men, refuse the animals, reduce their rewards, and show that China's sages do not prize exotic things. The court did not accept his advice. Instead the court followed the rites officials and increased gifts as under the Hongzhi precedent for Samarkand. In the twenty-second year they presented horses and regional goods together with Mecca and other states; the following year, on their return, they reached Ganzhou. When northern raiders invaded, Regional Commander Yang Xin sent more than ninety tribute envoys to fight; nine were killed. On hearing this, the emperor stripped Yang Xin of his post and ordered officials to coffin the dead and return their remains. In the twenty-seventh and thirty-third years they sent joint tribute missions. Their tribute included coral, amber, diamonds, decorated porcelain, mail armor, Saharan tents, antelope horn, western dog pelts, jackal pelts, rhinoceros horn, and the like.