The Research Of The "Chinese Princesses" Legends In Southeast Asia

In Southeast Asia today,there are many stories about local kings marrying"Chinese princess".These stories may have appeared in local historical documents or circulated widely in the local area.Now,they have become the historical memory of many locals,and have even been incorporated into the local "historical narrative".Since there is no record in Chinese historical documents that any princesses were married to Southeast Asians,most scholars believe that these "Chinese princesses" are not real princesses.As a result,such stories rarely receive special attention from Chinese and foreign academic circles.Some scholars even question the authenticity of local historical documents,believing that these kind of Royal Intermarriage stories are purely fictional.However,denial or completely overturning local stories by using"Chinese historical documents have not recorded any princesses" as a reason does not seem to explain why there are so many "Chinese princesses" stories that coincidentally occur in many places in Southeast Asia,and why these stories are generally regarded as "history" by the locals.This thesis focuses on the study of local historical documents in Southeast Asia,taking these so-called "Chinese princesses" and.their stories as the main research object.This thesis will discuss the narrative motivations of storytellers and document authors from different eras and positions,analyze the emergence,spread and evolution of these stories,and find out their "historical prototypes".Then,sort out,summarize and classify the characteristics,commonalities and differences of these stories,so as to provide some reasonable explanations for this common but unique phenomenon in Southeast Asia.This thesis examines a total of 10 "myths","legends" and "histories" about"Chinese princesses",including the Sulu Island version in the Philippines,the Kedah Chronicles version and the Malacca version in Malaysia,the Thai version,the Brunei version,the Aceh version,the Bali version,the East Java(Majapahit)version and the Cirebon version in Indonesia,and the Myanmar version.It can be seen that most of the above stories originated in the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago.The emergence and narrative time of the stories were mostly between the Southern Song and Ming dynasties.Among them,5 "legends" were originally derived from the real events of local kings marrying the daughters of Chinese merchants or Chinese immigrants.Most of the above stories originated in the Malay Peninsula and the Indonesian archipelago where Malay is used as the common language.This is because the word"putri Cina" in the ancient Malay language can means "Chinese princess",and can also refer to "Chinese woman" or "Chinese daughter".Therefore,the "putri Cina"(Chinese woman)who married the local king could easily be mistaken for "putri Cina"(Chinese princess)in the process of word of mouth and written records.Then,someone else fabricated a story line commensurate with the identity of the "princess"for certain positions or purposes.This is how the "Chinese Princess" story came into being.Due to the local historical background,social environment and other factors,the reasons for the emergence and spread of "Chinese Princess" stories in various regions are different.Even for the same story,storytellers from different eras,backgrounds,and standpoints have different focuses and motivations.Some are in order to trace the origin of the Chinese royal family of their nation or their royal family;Some are to improve the prestige or historical status of the regime,the royal family or its ancestors;Some are to explain the introduction of a certain religion,culture or custom;Some are to explain the origin of a certain country or a certain building;Some are to emphasize the friendly relations between the certain country and China.Not only are these "Chinese princesses" not real princesses,the so-called "Royal Intermarriage" stories are also fictitious.However,the occurrence and spread of these stories is closely related to the true background of the government of the Song and Ming dynasties actively interacting with the South China Sea countries.It also shows the historical details of early intermarriages between some Chinese businessmen,immigrants and the Southeast Asian locals.In addition,it also reflects the good image of ancient "China" and "Chinese" in the minds of the local people and their preference and yearning for the "Chinese princess"(Chinese woman).On the other hand,in the process of spreading and evolving,these stories have been given different meanings by local people of different eras,different backgrounds and positions.Especially in modern times,most of them still live in the minds of local people as"Chinese princesses".Their stories have been integrated into the local society and culture,and some have even been incorporated into the local "historical narrative".The local people tell the stories of these "Chinese princesses",either to explain why there are Chinese elements in the local culture,or to trace the local historical origins of Chinese immigrants,or to be endowed with practical significance such as racial harmony and ethnic integration,or used to emphasize the friendly relationship between the certain country and China in the past.Not only that,these fictitious royal intermarriage stories now play a positive role in the diplomatic relations between the country and China.In short,the existing value of these "Chinese princesses" and their actual influence on local societies are far greater than their historical authenticity.In history,did the local king married a "Chinese Princess" or a "Chinese "Woman"?And the discussions about the authenticity of these so-called "Chinese Princess".It is not important anymore.