(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.)