anso_, ch. lxxxvii.]

[Sidenote: A.D. 1410.]

It was during this period that an event occurred, which is obscurely
alluded to in some of the Singhalese chronicles, but is recorded with
such minute details in several of the Chinese historical works, as to
afford a reliable illustration of the condition of the island and its
monarchy in the fifteenth century. Prior to that time the community of
religion between Ceylon and China, and the eagerness of the latter
country to extend its commerce, led to the establishment of an
intercourse which has been elsewhere described[1]; missions were
constantly despatched charged with an interchange of courtesies between
their sovereigns; theologians and officers of state arrived in Ceylon
empowered to collect information regarding the doctrines of Buddha; and
envoys were sent in return bearing royal donations of relics and sacred
books. The Singhalese monarchs, overawed by the magnitude of the
imperial power, were induced to avow towards China a sense of dependency
approaching to homage; and the gifts which they offered are all recorded
in the Chinese annals as so many "payments of tribute." At length, in
the year 1405 A.D,[2], during the reign of the emperor Yung-lo[3] of the
Ming dynasty, a celebrated Chinese commander, Ching-Ho, having visited
Ceylon as the bearer of incense and offerings, to be deposited at the
shrine of Buddha, was waylaid, together with his followers, by the
Singhalese king, Wijayo Bahu VI., and with difficulty effected an escape
to his ships. To revenge this treacherous affront Ching-Ho was
despatched a few years afterwards with a considerable fleet and a
formidable military force, which the king (whom the Chinese historian
calls A-lee-ko-nae-wih) prepared to resist; but by a vigorous effort Ho
and his followers succeeded in seizing the capital, and bore off the
sovereign, together with his family, as prisoners to China. He presented
them to the emperor, who, out of compassion, ordered them to be sent
back to their country on the condition that "the wisest of the family
should be chosen king." "_Seay-pa-nea-na_"[4] was accordingly elected,
and this choice being confirmed, he was sent to his native country, duly
provided with a seal of investiture, as a vassal of the empire under the
style of Sri Prakrama Bahu VI.,--and from that period till the reign of
Teen-shun, A.D. 1434-1448, Ceylon continued to pay an annual tribute to
China.

[Footnote 1: See Part v. ch