婆羅洲汶萊古國之變遷

Historical Developments of Ancient Burnei In Borneo

余煒(Yue Wai)

《中國學人》 2期 (1970/09) Pp. 103-123+ap7

https://doi.org/10.30187/CS.197009_(2).0013

並列摘要

The state of Burni, which developed eventually into today's Brunei, was founded in Borneo towards the end of the ninth century a.d., corresponding to the time of Tang in China. In 977 the King of Burni sent an envoy to Emperor T'ai-tsung of Sung to pay tributes and acknowledge the hegemony of China. The two nations began to have diplomatic relationships at this point, and Chinese merchants went more and more to Borneo for trade. Later, in 1408, during the reign of Emperior Yung-lo of Ming, the King of Burni came to China to pay tributes in person, thus becoming the first monarch from the South Seas to see the Ming emperors. During the 15th century Brunei was converted into a Moslem nation, and its sultans had Chinese blood in their veins. The legends and mythology about this time have much to do with the Chinese. In the first part of the 16th century Brunei was quite strong, ruling all of Borneo, but the nation went into decline in the later part of the 17th century as a result of civil wars and economic difficulties. Europeans came to Borneo in the 18th century, and Brunei conceded the larger part of its land to England and Holland; its own territory shrunk to 2,226 sq mls. In the beginning of this century, rich oil fields were discovered in the country and the national fortune of Brunei has been on the ascent again.