Since Portugal rounded the Cape of Good Hope to reach India, its maritime activities have rapidly expanded to the coast of South China. In the decades that followed, they continued to visit the coast of China and conduct commercial activities, expanding from the original coastal areas of Guangdong to Fujian, Zhejiang, Guangxi and other places. While doing business with China, they are also beginning to understand Chinese society. It is against this background that the chronicle of Guangxi in Bolaila's "Records of Chinese Observations" was formed.
Pereira, born in what was then the province of Beira, Portugal, was the child of a large lord and family of Castro. With the rise of Portugal's overseas expansion power, it gradually participated in the ** activities to the East. Before being captured by the Ming court, he traveled to the coast of China several times. In 1549, he and some of his companions were captured by the Ming Dynasty's coastal defense personnel in Zoumaxi, Zhao'an County, the southernmost part of Fujian, and taken to Quanzhou.
Later, he was spared for various reasons, but was exiled to Guangxi. He lived there for a while, and after he left, he wrote down his memories of his time as a prisoner in southern China. The original article consists of 81 paragraphs and is about 30 pages long. Among them, based on what he saw and heard, he gave a multifaceted introduction to the social situation in Guangxi at that time, which was also the earliest understanding of Guangxi by Western Europeans.
In 1561, the Jesuits copied this manuscript to the Holy See, where it is still preserved in the Jesuit archives in Rome. In 1563 and 1577, it was translated from Portuguese into Italian and English, and published and published, which had a certain repercussion in European society.
In 1985, Mr. He Gaoji translated it into Chinese on the basis of the English translation of Burke, and co-edited it with other books for publication as "Nanming Xingji".
1. Introduction to Guangxi and the Liangguang River.
During the Ming Dynasty, Portugal had a small territory, although it had vast colonies and markets overseas. So, when Burela first traveled to China, he was drawn to the vast expanse of the empire, far from the West. As far as he understood at the time, China was a country with a fairly wide geographical scope:
In total, there are thirteen provinces. Guangxi (guansi) was the eighth province, and there were fifteen cities at the time. ”
In his report, Burela also gave a rough account of how the route into Guangxi along the way was: "Guangxi Province is located in the south [of China], and it is the end of the empire, because from the time we enter, most of the time it is headed south, not far from the high mountains we see there." It's close to the river, it's close to the mountains, so I chose this route when entering Guangxi Province.... …Because the area is far from the mainland, its nearest harbour is Canton, where the river flows into the sea.... …Heading west from the river, you can reach the city of Uchheo, which has long been home to the provincial and Guangdong provincial capitals. ”
From the description of the above route, we can know that the direction of the Bolaila and his entourage into Guangxi at that time was first south, then west, and then north, which was in line with the characteristics of waterway shipping at that time. In this regard, Mr. He Gaoji deduced in his translation of the Travels of the Southern Ming Dynasty: "It is possible that the Bolaila group traveled from Fujian to Ganzhou in Jiangxi via Ningtu, and from there traced Zhangshui over Meiling into Guangdong Province and reached the Qu River (ch u chiang). From here, I thought they went down the Beijiang River to Sanshui, where the Beijiang and Xijiang rivers meet, and then traced the Guijiang River through Zhaoqing and Wuzhou to Guilin, the capital of Guangxi. ”
It can be seen from this that the route before they reached Qujiang was an important passage from Fujian to northern Guangdong at that time. Why, then, did they choose to go south along the North River instead of continuing westward?There are two important reasons for this. One is that in the past, waterways were often important navigation routes due to inconvenient transportationSecond, Guangdong and Guangxi are separated by high mountains, and either there are no roads, or they are difficult to pass, or the roads are extremely unsafe.
On his journey south, Brelah asked the same question: "When asked who lived on the other side of the mountain, he replied that they were robbers, people who spoke a strange language. ”
Therefore, more for safety reasons, everyone has to choose to take the waterway ——— down the road along the Bac River. There is also a reason why he later turned west and walked to the Xijiang waterway. In this 20 years ago another Portuguese Cristofer Vieira wrote in the Canton Prison:
The senior ** of Guangdong Province usually lives in a city called Wuzhou, which is located on the border of the two provinces. This city belongs to Guangxi. The city is about 30 leagues west of Canton by water, because there is no land route, and the entire river in the area crosses. They had to travel there for five days, and many of them were pulling fiber, and they were returning for three days, day and night. From there, the river flows to Guangzhou. ”
From his words, we can understand that at that time, it was necessary to enter Guangxi from Guangdong, as Christopher Vieira said, "because there was no land route", so the only way to go was to go along the Xijiang River.
Next, Bolaila also has a sporadic description of the section of the Guijiang River in the Xijiang River basin: "From the city (referring to Wuzhou) upwards, the river becomes narrower and narrower.
There are always 40 to 50 armed balau ("ships") escorting other ships carrying merchant goods. "Historians have examined the main voyage of Bolaila from Guangdong to Guangxi:
Qujiang River (via Beijiang) - Sanshui (via the lower reaches of the Xijiang River) – Zhaoqing (via the river) – Wuzhou (via the Guijiang section of the Xijiang River) – Guilin.
At that time, this was the main operating channel of Yuegui.
2. Descriptions of the city of Guilin and the nobility of the royal palace.
When Bollara and his party arrived in Guilin, they were scattered everywhere, and he himself stayed there for a while. Therefore, he used more pen and ink to describe the situation of Guilin City in his memoirs. The first thing that struck him was the grandeur of the city of Guilin: "The walls of this city are very strong, tall and very wide. One day I saw the lord there sitting in the palanquin I mentioned earlier, accompanied by pairs of sergeants, climbing up to the top of the wall and observing there. I've heard that the sergeants may be in threes or threes. These walls are tall and wide, and the extent is so large that we walk along them when we have time and there is no end in sight. ”
He then made a detailed record of the lives of the nobles in the city: "We also found that in this city, the emperor had more than a thousand relatives living in the large palace chambers, scattered in different parts of the city. Their doors were red, and the palace aisles were recognizable, as they were the emperor's colors. The city is so big, and these thousands of large mansions do not make it appear brightly colored. These nobles, according to their proximity to the emperor, accepted their noble mansions when they were married. As long as the emperor is alive, this place will not increase or decrease in any way. The emperor gave them wives and concubines, slaves, and a monthly supply of abundant supplies, but they received these only from the governors of the cities and provinces. Either way, none of these people were born with any position or power. They ate and drank as much as they could, and most of them were fat, and we could tell that he was a royal prince even if we had never seen them before. ”
From this text, we can understand the social life of the nobles in the city at that time, due to the needs of the Ming Dynasty's feudal system, the emperor gave them status, money, goods and land, and at the same time limited their authority, which is the specific embodiment of the Ming Dynasty's vassal system.
There are other aspects of the situation of the nobles. He believed that even the most powerful men were extremely respectful and kind to outsiders, and that the noble prince showed great concern for the exiled Portuguese. Burela was impressed by this: "They were courteous and pampered, and when we were in the city, we found ourselves receiving more respect and hospitality from them than anywhere else." They invited us to their palace to eat and drink, but when they could not find us, or we did not want to be invited, they called our servants or slaves and maidservants, and gave them priority to their seats. ”
Through personal contact with the aristocracy, Berela gained a better understanding of their social life. On the surface, these powerful people seem to be very happy eating, drinking, and merrymaking all day long, but there is something very unsatisfactory about them in their hearts, as Breela wrote:
Even though the beautiful rooms of these nobles were so spacious and lacked nothing, they were still in a kind of bondage, and they were not allowed to go out for the rest of their lives. ”
Burella explained
As far as I know, the emperor did this to his relatives because he did not give them any chance to rebel, so he confined them in the city. Most of them played the harp, and for their own pastime they forbade the other people in their city to use the instrument, except for the prostitutes and the blind, who were musicians and could play and sing. ”
In addition, another feature of Chinese social life that impressed Burela was the large hereditary estates of the imperial family, especially the Chin Chiang royal palace in Guilin. Therefore, Burela made a detailed description of the Jingjiang palace at that time
These estates enjoyed a wide range of tax exemptions, possessed a large amount of fertile land, and their revenues were not handed over to the local or *** but were spent by squandering (and often away) owners. ”
Here, Bolaila compares the Jingjiang palace to a European manor, because in medieval and modern Europe, the manor enjoyed high authority in terms of social status and economy. Jingjiang Wangfu is the place where Zhu Yuanzhang, the Taizu of the Ming Dynasty, gave his nephew a feud, and it has been followed for several generations by the time Bolai came to Guilin. The prince enjoyed a high reputation and prestige in the area to which he belonged, but he did not participate in politics, which was the result of the feudal system.
Brera learned about the royal palace:
The emperor had a grandson who remained in a fortified palace built like a fortress within the city walls, and even stayed in the house like other royal relatives, served by eunuchs, and never asked about politics. Whenever they celebrate festivals, new moons, and full moons, they go to his house to pay their respects to him, and his relatives also go, and his house is called Vaofolli.
His chamber was surrounded by walls, which were not high and square in shape, no worse than the walls of Goa. The exterior is painted red, with a gate on each side, and a gatehouse on each door, refined of wood. In front of the main gate of the four gates, facing the street, no matter how big the old man is, he is not allowed to ride a horse or ride a sedan chair through. The palace where this noble man lived was built in this phalanx. The gatehouse and roof were glazed with green, and the phalanx was planted with wild trees such as oaks, chestnuts, cypresses, pears, and other trees that we lacked, so that the green and fresh woods that could be seen were formed. Among them were deer, antelope, bulls, cows and other beasts, which were reserved for the pleasure of the nobles. ”
Clearly, there is a glaring error in what Bulla writes, as he mistakes the emperor's "nephew" for his "grandson." However, his description of the inner workings of the palace is very frequent.
After Bella, another Portuguese, Cruz, who had read his memoirs and had subsequently visited the city of Guilin, wrote in his book Chronicles of China: "A witness must have said that there was a palace called Vafolim, which belonged to the queen's relatives (probably the emperor's), and was as large as the great city." It is square, with four gates on the square street, luxurious and beautifully built, with tall buildings and beautiful corridors on the doors. In the palace there is a large beautiful garden, many fruit trees, and a large pond with a large number of fish, both for viewing and for domestic consumption. He planted all kinds of small flowers in his house, and arranged beautiful caryophyllus and flowerbeds with herbs, as well as wild forests with deer, wild boars, and other animals. ”
In addition to the city's architecture and the princes, the city's prosperity also left an excellent impression on Burella, especially the convenience of shopping, which attracted the attention of many outsiders. In his manuscript, he wrote: "This city is a little different from other cities we have visited, that is, in addition to the many bazaars selling all kinds of goods, there are also all kinds of fresh meat, fresh fish, vegetables, oil, vinegar, rice, rice, in short, everything. As a result, many families do not need servants, because the vendors deliver everything they need to the door. The merchants all lived in the suburbs, and as I said, the gates were closed every night. Merchants often lived in the suburbs in order to better run their business, and were reluctant to stay in the city. ”
3. Descriptions of outsiders coming to Guangxi and the Guangxi border.
At that time, Guilin City, as the capital of Guangxi, had a large population in addition to prosperity, and there were many foreigners living or conducting business activities in the city. In his memoirs, Brela also gives a detailed account of the outsiders in Guangxi, beginning with the situation of the Moors (i.e., Muslims): "In this city of Guangxi there were more than 60 such men and women, who, in 20 years, had converted five men and four women to their religion, and now more than 200 of their descendants. They built a mosque in the city, as in any other city, and they went there every Friday to worship. ”
The sight of these so-called Moors naturally aroused Pelala's curiosity, and he learned more about the local people's belief in Islam
I asked them if there were any Chinese who practiced their religion, and they replied: We have worked hard to get our Chinese wife to become religious'。The reason is nothing else, except that it is very difficult to keep them from eating pork and drinking alcohol. ”
Through these investigations, Bolaila gained a clearer understanding of the society of the time and associated it with Sino-Portuguese relations
It is said that when they worshipped idols, they themselves laughed at their superstitions. Therefore I believe that if this country were to form an alliance with us and not prohibit the eating of pork and the consumption of alcohol, it would be easy for them to free themselves from superstition and to believe in our religion (Catholicism). ”
Then, in paragraph 33 of the manuscript, he says: "It takes a little effort to convert this land to [Catholicism] in a short time." ”
Although Portugal has been on the coast of China for more than 30 years, it has always had difficulty dealing with China. Therefore, Breela believed that China and Portugal had something in common in terms of fasting in terms of faith, which could bring certain convenience to the introduction of Western religion.
Sure enough, history proves that Western ** religion has made great progress in China in the following hundreds of years.
In addition to his account of the Moors, Brela also describes the other foreign inhabitants of the city: "We also saw many Tatars, Mongols, Burmese, and Laotians, both men and women, in this city. The Tatars are white, the Mongols are white, and they believe in cults. As for the Burmese, we also saw some men and women in this Guangxi city, one of whom had just arrived, and her hair was tied together according to the style of Baigu. ”
For the Myanmar woman mentioned above, Buralla also learned a lot of information from her, especially a more accurate understanding of the countries and regions around Guangxi
This woman and the others had lived in Baigu, and one of our companions had spoken to them with a Black Moorish maiden. The woman who had just arrived thought that we were going to stay in the city and wished us good luck, because her country was not far away, just over five days away, and from there we could reach our own country (referring to India). When asked about the distance, she replied that she would have to pass through mountains and wilderness for the first three days before she could meet people. Just over two days to reach the country of Myanmar. From this I conclude that Guangxi is a frontier of this country, which is divided by these mountains that stretch from north to south, and on the other side of these border mountains, the mountains to the south belong to Cambodia, Champang, Cochinchina, Siam, and LaosTo the west is the State of Burma. ”
4. Descriptions of civil social life.
Through a period of living in Guangxi, Bolaila gained a better understanding of the beliefs and social life of ordinary people. He mentioned this with great interest several times in the text. The first is the religious beliefs of the citizens, he believes:
Chinese people have freedom of belief in religion, and each person believes in a certain religion according to his preference. Therefore, no one pays attention to these matters of faith.... …But the men and women of this place, (no one is Moorish) (they) would rather not have parents than not eat pork. In addition to their love of eating, many of them also live by raising pigs. ”
Most of the inhabitants of China are extreme idolaters, generally believing in the gods;As we often say, God knows', their mantra is God knows'(tien jantee), which means that God knows'。Some worship the sun, others worship the moon, and each does what he pleases. In them they are called temples'In the temple of meaos, there is a large altar around which you can literally circle around. There is a statue of the old man on the altar, and it is said that this old man is considered to be a great (very respected) in the local area. On the right-hand side stands a statue of the devil, the ferocity of which is indescribable. The people who entered the temple reverently asked him for a lot. The populace believed that although he was vicious, he could often bless humanity. If someone asks if they are interested in soul'What is the opinion, they will tell you that the soul is immortal'。”
From this text is a description of the Baogong Temple by Bolaila, which is a form of expression of local folklore. In addition, he wrote about Buddhist temples in China: "They had another kind of temple in which there were many very commensurate idols on the altars and walls, but their heads were bare.
These men were called Amitabha Buddha (homi thofon) and were regarded as gods.... …It is believed that if a person does good deeds in the world, God will grant him many blessingsIf you do bad deeds, you will receive retribution for sickness, trouble, and poverty. In addition to religious beliefs, Burela believes that paying attention to etiquette is a major characteristic of Chinese. Not only are the nobles in the city very polite, but also the ordinary Chinese people are also very polite. Here, he depicts in detail the scene when people meet: "The general etiquette is to clasp the left hand, wrap it in the right hand, and constantly move it up and down the chest, indicating that they are all in each other's hearts. As their hands moved, they exchanged greetings, and the common greeting was "chifamesai" ("eat the rice without sun"), as if they had not eaten, perhaps they thought that all the good of this world depended on eating. The special etiquette used between people who are somewhat cultured and have not seen each other for some days is to bend their arms, clasp their fingers together, bend down and say something very earnest, and each of them stretches out his hand to get the other up, and the more dignitary, the longer it will be to perform this kind of salute. Decent people and noble people are also very polite at the table, and one invites the other to drink, and each tries to stretch out his hand to invite the other to drink. ”
In addition, Burela also describes the working methods of the locals. Among them, he was most attracted by the way people fished in the river, which he found both curious and interesting: "The royal family had a large number of fishing boats in the river, loaded with ospreys (cormorants) in cages. * Fishermen are given a certain amount of rice rations every month, and they raise ospreys on their boats. The emperor first gave these boats to his **, some of them two according to their rank, some of them three, and then the fishermen fished according to the following methods. During the prescribed fishing period, all the boats are concentrated in one place, and the shallow waters along the river form a large circle. The fisherman tied the osprey's sac and drove them into the water. After a while, some ospreys poked out of the water, and some burrowed underwater, and the scene was worth seeing. The fisherman takes out the fish stuck in the osprey's mouth, puts it in a bag, dumps it into his boat, and returns to fish. Once they have caught enough fish, the fishermen release the ospreys and let them catch and eat on their own. There are at least 20 of these Osprey boats in my city, and I go to ** almost every day.
Burela wrote this after leaving Chinese mainland, and his description of Guangxi contains both his own personal experience and the accounts he heard from other places, and his stay in the interior was not very long, so it is inevitable that there are errors or errors in some aspects of the narrative. However, from the perspective of historical research, we should treat it with a critical eye and a serious attitude, which is still a good historical document archive.
Reference]1] Wu Zhiliang. The Portuguese View of China in the Sixteenth Century [ J].Sinology of the World. 1998,(1).
2] Fukaisen. Letter of the Portuguese prisoners of Canton[ a].Edited by Burkese, translated by He Gaoji. Sixteenth-century travels in southern China[c].Chung Hwa Book Company, 1990