Entry

The Messenger Dong Shao was sent with orders of instruction for A-da-a-zhe, the king of the country of Champa. The orders read: "You reside on an island in the ocean, command many yi and are lord of your country. If it were not for grace and loyalty and you did not soothe, nourish and care for those below you, how would it be possible for you to rule the region and pass it on to your sons and grandsons, while guarding against mishaps and evil? You recently sent your son to come to Court and I ordered an Imperial commissioner to escort him back to your country. When this official returned, he spoke of your actions as being deficient in terms of setting a good example. At first, I did not believe this, but after Ma Lin-ji spoke of events in your country and I compared accounts, I had to believe that the accounts were not false. In the fourth month of this year (May/Jun 1388), I again received a memorial from Annam, saying that when the Messenger Liu Min was leaving Champa with 52 elephants which Cambodia had offered in tribute, Champa had ordered people to pretend to be bandits and they seized one in four of the elephants and took 15 of the attendants. I am aware that you are a yi residing in the South, but I was not aware that, while you respect China, you engage in plunder as an occupation. Although you rob daily without righteousness, you still recognize the relative status of senior and junior, know how to show respect and humility and know the appropriate actions of a subordinate. How then can you, the head of a country, still outrageously insult the great Lord of all under Heaven? Last year you sent elephants and two attendants, but since I sent your son back to you, you have concealed yourself and not sent anyone. These actions of yours on the one hand show that you do not have the heart of a subordinate willing to serve a superior, and on the other hand indicate that you have failed to get on well with neighbouring states. If you lack both trustworthiness and righteousness, how can you protect your country? You must wash away the mistakes of the past and make efforts to repent, so that you will not have cause for later regret."