The Cham of Vietnam: History, Society and Art

The Significance of Ceramic Evidence for Assessing Contacts between Vijaya and Other Southeast Asian Polities in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries CE

204 c฀h฀a฀p฀t฀e฀r฀ 8 The Significance of Ceramic Evidence for Assessing Contacts between Vijaya and Other Southeast Asian Polities in the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries CE Allison I. Diem Chinese ceramics became popular trade commodities in the South China Sea basin from the tenth century CE, while high-fired ceramics from mainland Southeast Asia cornered a significant share of the market approximately four centuries later. This influx of Vietnamese,1 Thai and Burmese tradewares coincides with significant social, political and economic changes in maritime trading relations from the mid-fourteenth century. Following the overthrow of Mongol rule, the first Ming emperor, Hongwu (1368–98), emphasized traditional Chinese values and reinstated the tributary system as the appropriate mechanism for facilitating China’s relations with other countries. John Guy states that in earlier periods “tribute” had become a euphemism for trade; however, Hongwu re-established the term’s formal and literal meaning so that foreign missions had to present tribute to the emperor before being permitted to trade their commodities in China. Not only did the emperor wish to enhance his prestige by receiving tribute, 08 ChamViet.indd 204 1/17/11 11:31:12 AM The Significance of Ceramic Evidence 205 Map 1 The South China Sea Basin Guy asserts that Hongwu’s 1371 decree prohibiting Chinese ships from trading overseas indicates imperial apprehensions about the wealth and influence of Chinese merchants.2 Successive Early Ming (1368–1464) emperors announced further trade regulations, and the ban on Chinese ships sailing abroad was not formally rescinded until 1567, but these restrictive measures did not prevent smuggling and corruption, or the presence of Chinese private traders on shipping routes.3 Nevertheless, Ming imperial restrictions affected free trade in Southeast Asia. Guy explains that Malay traders strengthened their relations with Muslim merchants in the Indian Ocean and many Chinese merchants left their homeland to settle in Southeast Asia, while archaeological evidence in Sumatra and Borneo suggests that some trading settlements declined when the supply of Chinese goods decreased.4 Since 08 ChamViet.indd 205 1/17/11 11:31:14 AM Allison I. Diem 206 Southeast Asians used Chinese trade ceramics for a variety of traditional social, ceremonial or ritual purposes, shortages of these commodities from the late fourteenth century appear to have stimulated ceramic centres in what is now northern and central Vietnam to expand production of export wares in addition to supplying local markets. This period of fluctuating trade conditions possibly encouraged the production of high-fired glazed ceramics at Vijaya, a Champa polity whose centre was once located north of present-day Quy Nhơn in Bình Định Province. Investigations by Vietnamese archaeologists since 1990 have identified five separate ceramic centres: the Gò Sành, Trường Cửu, Cây Me, Gò Hời and Gò Ké kiln complexes that are located along the Côn River to the west of Bình Định town (see Map 2).5 Ceramics are relatively indestructible and are typically the most prolific types of artefact found at pre-modern sites in Southeast Asia. However, prior to informal diggings by Gò Sành villagers in 1974, trade ceramics from Vijaya were generally misidentified and they are not well-known even today.6 Determining when these ceramics were produced is crucial to analyzing Champa’s exchange relations with other polities before Vijaya’s conquest by Đại Map 2 Ancient kiln sites of Bình Ðịnh Province, central Vietnam 08 ChamViet.indd 206 1/17/11 11:31:14 AM The Significance of Ceramic Evidence 207 Việt in 1471, yet the operating period of the kiln centres is the subject of much scholarly debate. Consequently, this paper firstly focuses on the kiln investigations because archaeological material from these sites confirms the Bình Định provenance of specific trade ceramics found at Southeast Asian sites, whilst the wares’ stylistic and technological features suggest a three-phase production scheme. Secondly, difficulties in determining when ceramics were exported from Vijaya will be discussed in relation to land excavations that indicate broad timeframes spanning two or more centuries, whilst archaeological and documentary evidence seems to imply that ceramic exports ceased in the late fifteenth century. Finally, the significance of Vijayan ceramics is considered in terms of assessing Champa’s exchange relations with other Southeast Asian polities. Here...