Page 5 - journal_2017_december_uploaded_2023_mar_20

Sri Lanka Navy Journal 5
first reference to an embassy from Sri Lanka to China can be dated to the time of Gajabahu I
(114-136). The next recorded visit as found in Chinese sources is a mission during the time
of Upatissa I arriving in China in 414 AD. From the 9th to the 12th centuries, there is one
solitary recorded mission from Mahinda V in 989 AD.

20. The missions picked up again thereafter. Between 1273 and 1294, there were five
missions. Parakramabahu VI (1412-1467) dispatched six missions between 1416 and 1459.
No other king had sent so many missions. More than one ambassador had been dispatched
during this period

21. There were close trade relations between Sri Lanka and China. There are records of
Sri Lankan ships in China in the 8th Century. Chinese coins belonging to every emperor
from 976 AD to 1265 AD have been found in Sri Lanka. Historian Dr Mahinda Werake
suggests that some of the ambassadors may have been merchants who were involved in
Sino-Sri Lanka trade. The goodwill of the Chinese emperor was necessary to conduct trade
smoothly. Chinese sources referred to missions from foreign countries as ‘tribute missions’
since the Chinese looked down on all other countries.

22. Southeast Asia started to develop stable kingdoms only in the medieval period.
Vijayabahu I (1055-1110) initiated diplomatic relations with King Anauratha (1044- 1077)
of Myanamar (Burma). The two countries also exchanged envoys. Vijayabahu sought
Anauratha’s help in the war against the Cholas. Anauratha responded with economic aid.
He sent a shipload of goods. Vijayabahu I sent relics to the Burmese king. He obtained
Buddhist ordination from Myanmar in order to re-establish the sangha after the Chola
occupation.

23. Parakramabahu (1153-1186) kept up the link. In 1167, Ven. Panthagu, the Sangharaja
of Myanmar sought refuge in Sri Lanka and stayed for six years He had left Burma in disgust
because king Narathu had poisoned his elder brother who was the legitimate heir to the
throne. Nissankamalla (1187-1196) sent relics to Myanmar.

24. Vijayabahu II (1186-1187) had friendly relations with the Burmese king. He
had written him a letter in Pali. King Narapati of Ava (1433-1469) sent offerings of gold
and precious stones to the Tooth relic and bought some land in Sri Lanka to provide
accommodation for Burmese monks visiting Sri Lanka. His successor King Thihathura
(1469-1481) and his queen made a broom using their hair, studded its handle with gems,
and sent it to sweep the floor of the tooth relic temple in Kotte. There were diplomatic
links with Thailand. Records indicate that King Indraditya of Sukhodaya (now a part
of Thailand) communicated with Parakrama bahu II (1236- 1270). Sri Lanka also had
diplomatic relations with Cambodia. A Sinhalese princess was sent to Cambodia during the
time of Parakramabahu I. An inscription of Nissanka malla shows that he was friendly with
Cambodia. The son of Cambodian king Jayavarman VII. (1181-1219.) studied Buddhism in
Sri Lanka. Diplomacy was linked to trade. During the 11th and 12th Centuries, Cambodia
played an important part in the regional trade of Southeast Asia. Burma and Cambodia
were rivals in trade.