The Philippine Islands, 1493-1898 — Volume 13 of 55 / 1604-1605 / Explorations by Early Navigators, Descriptions of the Islands and Their Peoples, Their History and Records of The Catholic Missions, As Related in Contemporaneous Books and Manuscripts, Showing the Political, Economic, Commercial and Religious Conditions of Those Islands from Their Earliest Relations with European Nations to the Close of the Nineteenth Century

by Unknown

LETTER FROM A CHINESE OFFICIAL TO ACUNA

(Translation of a letter from the inspector-general of Chincheo in the kingdom of China, which was received in this year 1605, addressed to Don Pedro de Acuña, governor and captain-general of the Filipinas Islands. The address is to the great captain-general of Luzon. The same letter was sent by the viceroy of Chincheo and the eunuch of the same province; and since they are all three identical, without any discrepancy except in the signatures, this copy stands for all of them.)

Learning that the Chinese who went for purposes of trade to the kingdom of Luzon have been put to death by the Spaniards, I have inquired into the cause of these deaths and have prayed the king that he will do justice upon the person who has been the cause of this great evil, that redress for it may be undertaken and that the merchants may enjoy peace and quietness. Some years before I came here as inspector, a Sangley, by name Tionez, [sic; sc. Tiognen] [37] went by permission of the king of China with three mandarins to Luzon, searching at Cabite for gold and silver. The whole thing was a lie, for they found neither gold nor silver; accordingly the king directed this deceiver Tionez to be punished, that the strict justice done in China might be known.

During the time of the preceding viceroy and eunuch, Tiognen and his companion, named Yanlion, told this lie; and I, after I came hither, begged the king to have a copy made of all the documents in the case of Tiognen, and to command the said Tiognen to be brought before him with the record in the case. I myself saw the aforesaid papers and caused him to see that the whole thing had been a deceit uttered by the said Tiognen. I wrote to the king declaring that on account of the deceits of the said Tiognen the Castilians had suspected us of intending to make war upon them; and that on this account they had put to death more than thirty thousand Chinese in Luzon! The king did as I asked him and therefore punished the said Yanglion by ordering him to be killed, and the said Tiognen, by commanding his head to be cut off and suspended in a cage. The Chinese who were put to death in Luzon were innocent, and I with others discussed this matter with the king, that we might learn what was his will in this grave affair. There was also another matter of importance to be considered, which was that two English ships had come to this coast of Chincheo, a very dangerous thing for China. This we did that the king might learn what was to be done in these two matters of such importance. We also wrote to the king that his Majesty should command the two Sangleys who pointed out this port to the English to be punished. After we had written the aforesaid letter to the king he answered us that since English vessels had come to China, they should be commanded to go away immediately to Luzon, for fear that they had come for piratical purposes; and that they should carry word to the inhabitants of Luzon not to give credit to a deceitful and lying set of Chinese, He also commanded the two Sangleys who had piloted the English to be immediately executed. As for the other things that we had written to him he declared that our will should be done. Immediately, after having received this document, we—the viceroy, the eunuch, and I—sent these documents to the governor of Luzon, that his Lordship might know the greatness of the king of China and of his realm (for they are so great that he governs everything upon which the moon and the sun shine), and likewise that the governor of Luzon may know the great justice with which this vast realm is governed. It is long since anyone has dared to give offense to this kingdom; and although the Japonese have endeavored to disturb Corea, which is under the government of China, they have been unable to succeed therewith, and have been driven from the said kingdom, and Corea has remained in great peace and quiet, as the peoale of Luzon know well from what has been told them. [At the beginning of this paragraph, and on the margin: "They knew that the English are our friends.">[

Last year, after we learned that, as a result of the deceit of Tiognen, so many Chinese had been put to death in Luzon, many mandarins assembled to agree upon urging the king to take vengeance for all these deaths. We said that the land of Luzon was a wretched land of little importance, of old inhabited only by devils and snakes; and that, as a result of the immigration there a few years ago of so many Sangleys to trade with the Castilians, the country has been enriched to the extent to which the said Sangleys have labored therein. They have built the walls, and made houses and gardens, and other things of great advantage to the Castilians. Nevertheless, the Castilians had no consideration for these things, and have felt no gratitude for these good works, but have 60 cruelly slain all those people. Although we wrote this statement two or three times to the king, he replied to us that, although he was grieved by what had happened, there were three reasons why we should not avenge ourselves or make war upon Luzon. The first was that the Castilians had long been friends of the Chinese in this region; the second is that it was uncertain who would be victorious, Chinese or Castilians; and the third and last reason, that the people slain by the Castilians were a base people, ungrateful to China, their native country, to their parents, and to their relatives, since so many years had passed during which they had not returned to China. The king said that he did not consider these people of any value, for the aforesaid reasons; and he merely commanded the viceroy, the eunuch, and me to write this letter sent by this ambassador, that the people of Luzon may know that the king of China has great kindness, great patience, and great pity, since he has not commanded them to make war against the people of Luzon. His justice is plainly to be seen, since he has punished the deceit of Tiognen. As the Spaniards are a wise and prudent race it must be that they would be grieved for having put so many people to death, and will repent thereof and will show justice to the Chinese who have survived. If the Castilians show justice to the Chinese, send back the Sangleys who have survived the war, and pay the money due for the goods taken from the Sangleys, there will be amity between this kingdom and that, and merchant vessels will sail there every year. If not, the king will not permit merchant vessels to make the voyage, but will command a thousand vessels of war to be built with a force of soldiers—relatives of the deceased, and inhabitants of the other nations and kingdoms that pay tribute to China; and, without having mercy upon anyone, they will make war, and afterward the kingdom of Luzon will be given to that people which will pay tribute to China. [On the margin: "Those who pay tribute are Siang, Cochinchina, and Corea.">[

(The letter of the inspector-general was written on the twelfth of the second month, which, according to our reckoning, is March of the [blank in MS.] year of the reign of Bandel. [38] The letter of the eunuch was written on the sixteenth of the same month and year; and that of the viceroy on the twenty-second of the same month and year.)