singaporebefore1819part3


 * Some historians claim that the description of Singapura in //Serjarah Melayu// was merely a legend. This was due to the fact that when Raffles came to Singapura in the later part, he found that there was only settlers that consists of a small gorup of farmers and fishermen, no trading centre of any sort. **


 * //Has this get you thinking? Well, you are about to find out a strong evidence that supports the Serjarah Melayu. It is Wang Dayuan's account.// **


 * __Wang Dayuan's Account__ **

& **
 * "The list of products exported by Temasek comprised hornbill casque of very fine quality, as well as lakawood and cotton of moderate quality. While the range is rather limited when compared to the products available at the Malay Peninsula, the quality and type of products were certainly unique. What was significant was the outstanding quality of hornbill casques, which were not available eslewhere in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra." **
 * "Temasek has become a great a famous place visited by large numbers of foreigners. There were some Chinese settlers in Temasek. Traders feared to come to this place. Pirates were lurking to raid the Chinese junks." **


 * Above were extracts of Wang Dayuan's account in a book entitled "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" and what he wrote about Singapore. He was a well-known Chinese merchant who travelled extensively in the Southeast Asia in the 14th Century. According to the extracts, Singapura was a prosperous trading centre where Chinese traders brought valuable goods to sell between 1330s and 1340s. This Chinese written source //supports// the description of a burstling trading centre in the //Sejarah Melayu.// **


 * If you want to find out more about Wand Dayuan's record about Temasek, click [|here] for more information. **
 * // Then again, how can we prove that Wang Dayuan was writing the truth? Can the achaeologists help? // **

**Move on with this intriguing journey you struck upon..**