ARI Working Paper Series

The account of Champa contained within the Chinese dynastic history Ming shi records events, as seen by the Chinese court, extending from 1369 until 1544. The text thus covers the period from that which Georges Maspero referred to as the “apogée” of the polity, to the sack and decimation of the Cham capital at Vijaya by Ðại Việt forces in 1471, and subsequently to the efforts by the vestigial Cham rulers to reassert some power.

The value of the Ming shi account, in addition to the fact that it was derived from texts generally contemporary with the events, lies in that the ideologies which infused the historians who created it varied greatly from those which informed the Vietnamese and Cham historians. Thus it provides a history which includes both events and interpretations different from those in Ðại Việt sư ̉ ký toàn thư and the Cham texts.

Further importance of the text derives from the fact that it includes details of the attempts by various members of the Cham royal family (or persons hoping to be considered as such), to gain recognition or support from the Ming following the sacking of Vijaya.  This work comprises an annotated English translation of the account of Champa contained in the Ming Shi.