Chapter 11: The Srivijaya Empire

With the flourishing of cultures in Rome, India and China at the turn of the millennium into the common era my traders in Southeast Asia became rich. This was epitomized by the Khmer kingdom of Funan. However with the fragmentation of Rome combined with civil wars in China demand dropped precipitously and the Funan kingdom languished. In the 6th and 7th century trade began to flourish again. This was after the disastrous Chinese civil wars of the Three Kingdoms era and at beginning of the Sui dynasty followed immediately by the powerful and long lasting Tang dynasty.

The Straights of Malacca

Although trade with China was beginning to grow again after their civil wars, it did not return to the Gulf of Thailand. Instead exchange of goods between East and West channeled through my islands.

Author: “Why was that? What was wrong with the Khmer kingdoms of your mainland?”

Just one big problem. They didn’t control the Straights of Malacca.

Author: “The Straights of Malacca?”

Perhaps it's time to introduce a few more of my geographical characters.

The westward side of my Gulf of Thailand is called the Malay Peninsula. Just south of this peninsula is a long and narrow island called Sumatra. The island begins midway up the peninsula and extends an equivalent distance past the end of the peninsula. Between Sumatra and the peninsula are the Straits of Malacca. The Straits of Malacca are the only way from India and the West to the Gulf of Thailand, which connects up with China and the East of Asia. It is a narrow corridor whose trade winds correspond to the alternation of the monsoons. Beyond Sumatra is another long skinny island called Java, which we shall also visit. These islands are part of the Indonesian archipelago.

Palembang

We mentioned how Hinduism and Buddhism was spread throughout my land of Southeast Asia due to the influence of Indian traders. The Buddhism that was being spread from India was mixed up heavily with Hinduism, as it preceded the Theravada purifications that were coming. Because of this Indian influence and inspiration a Indianized kingdom with maharajahs began to emerge at a trading port in southern Sumatra on the way from the Bay of Bengal to the Gulf of Thailand.

The name of the port was Palembang. As well as being an important port it was also an important religious center as well. It was an entrepôt for the spread of religious ideas between India and China. As early as the 7th century it was visited by Chinese and Indian devotees to study doctrines and copy manuscripts in institutions that rivaled those in India. Due to the importance of Palembang as a cultural and trade center wealth began to accumulate.

Capturing the China trade

Palembang supplanted Vyadhapura of Funan as the new entrepôt. There were multiple reasons behind this transformation. So as not to lose perspective in the discussion that follows India was the dominant influence in Palembang, just as it was in Funan. Chinese Buddhists were traveling to Palembang to get Indian information, not vice versa. The Indian influence on the kingdom based at Palembang on the island of Sumatra was considerable.

However in terms of trade, the Western market was still weak due to wars in and around the Mediterranean. Rome was collapsing and had yet to be replaced by anything comparable. On the other hand the China market was expanding due to an expanding economy resulting from peace and internal consolidation that occurred during the Tang dynasty. Sensitive to possibilities the traders from the East Indies were interested in capturing the growing Chinese market. That was where the money was to be made.

As mentioned earlier as a warrior culture the ruling class in China were not supposed to engage in trade. Further the Chinese considered themselves the center of the civilized world. As evidence there is no word for China in Chinese. Instead they call themselves the Middle Kingdom. What this meant was that traders from other kingdoms and cultures were meant to visit China - not the other way around.

In the Chinese imperial mind the rest of the world consisted of vassal states that were meant to pay tribute. As matter of interest this condition persisted into the modern era up until the 20th century. The Chinese were not meant to explore and trade. They were so superior that they were brought tribute and gave out presents. Hence at this point in history the Chinese were not traders although they supplied manufactured goods to traders. Shanghai and Taiwan then as now were trading ports where huge volumes of merchandise changed hands. The main difference was that all the traders were foreign barbarians because the Chinese were not allowed by custom to leave China.

The Austronesian sailors from my islands, who had spent centuries on the sea, were glad to provide this function to China. They sailed into Chinese ports with foreign goods to supply the Chinese appetite and purchased Chinese goods for resale in their ports to Indian merchants. To accommodate this big customer and capture her exclusive trade rights, the entrepôt of Palembang in Sumatra pledged obeisance to China as a vassal state. This meant that her foreign trade was treated as tribute, and the goods they received in exchange were merely considered imperial presents. By stroking the Chinese imperial ego the Palembang traders, like the Funanese before them, were able to dominate that enormous market. To further sweeten the pot and attract the Chinese pilgrims, Palembang began to stress China’s Mahayana Buddhism over Hinduism.

With this mass infusion of funds being funneled into Sumatra a great Empire began to grow. Based in Palembang it was called the Srivijaya Empire. It began in the 7th century and lasted into the 13th century. It laid many foundations for the politics and religion in Southeast Asia, which we shall explore.

One of the other causes of their growth as an Empire was that the traders of Palembang began to control the Straits of Malacca. They were the first empire to do so, but not the last. With the control of the Straits of Malacca all trade between the East and West was channeled through their hands. The Srivijaya Empire became the entrepôt between East and West.

This Palembang/Srivijaya Empire as it is sometimes called eventually grew to have a loose control over the islands of Java and Sumatra, as well as the Malay peninsula. However they ruled by prestige rather than by military power.

Western Politics determined by Force

Author: “This is very difficult to understand coming from a European/American historical background, where all political boundaries are decided on the field of battle. For our countries the state or kingdom with the greatest military prowess makes the decisions. Further the nation who wins the battle assumes that their God is most powerful, maybe even the only God. To assuage the innate guilt that emerges from exploiting other human beings the Winning Nation, the Winner, develops a religious philosophy which claims that their culture is most advanced culturally because God has allowed them to win. This, of course, is predicated on the assumption that God is good and would only allow the best things to happen.

Conquering and enslaving agricultural populations and cultures has been the modus operandi in the northern part of our Hemisphere since the Bronze Age. Indeed the Bronze Age begins for any culture when one culture dominates another through the advanced military technology based on Bronze. The Bronze military technology was based upon better weaponry and the wheeled chariot drawn by a domesticated horse. Any culture who could create this type of army was able to subjugate farmer armies everywhere.

The Bronze Age civilization is also related to the stratification of society and the subjugation of women. As such it is also related to a class society with kings and slaves. The Aryan cultures of Persia, India, and Scandinavia, which were to have a huge effect culturally on the development of politics on the Eurasian continent, were all based on this Bronze Age political model. Similarly in battles across the Central Asian steppes, the Bronze Age military technology with its Sky god institutions spread to China, Korea and Japan.

Egalitarian cultures based upon trade, art and cooperation stand in opposition to these highly stratified military cultures based upon the large concentration of people into cities. Indeed this is why these Bronze Age cultures are called civilizations - cultures based upon a collection of cities. While the egalitarian cultures have rulers, there is no separation into classes. In the egalitarian cultures the sexes, while having different roles based upon biology, are considered equal. Many farming and hunting cultures are egalitarian. These were the cultures of the Neolithic and Paleolithic Ages which preceded the Bronze Age. The proto-Bronze Age began when one military culture was able to conquer and enslave another culture, becoming their rulers. This has happened countless times throughout the millennia that humans have been around.

Southeast Asia: “You’re rambling again.”

Author: “No, I’m just attempting to set up a contrast between our way of ruling and yours.”

Southeast Asia: “But I think you’re drifting a bit far afield with your Bronze Age references which don’t apply to my cultures.”

Author: “They don’t apply to Palembang, but they start applying when the Portuguese arrive. I’m merely trying to establish the difference between the military politics of the North and the mandala politics of your part of the world.”

Southeast Asia: “Just don’t lose your focus. Remember its my story.”

Author: “Don’t worry.”

Southeast Asia: “Just trying to keep you on track.”

Bronze Age Mythology Vilifies Goddess Mythology

Author: “As mentioned the ruling Bronze Age cultures regularly developed a mythology supporting their divine right to rule. This has always included a vilification of the gods and/or goddesses of the indigenous populations which have been dominated. The most famous example of this is the story of Adam and Eve, where Eve and the Serpent are turned into Adam’s corrupters and the cause of his banishment from Paradise - the First Victim. They vilified the serpent because in many of the indigenous fertility cultures across the Eurasian land-mass, the serpent was worshipped as the symbol of knowledge and representative of the earth.

While the military cultures worship a male sky god, the fertility cultures tend to worship a female earth goddess. Frequently the Sky god culture attempts to eradicate or at least vilify the Earth Goddess culture of the subjugated. The story of Adam and Eve is typical Sky god Propaganda - “Worship me and forget her - If you know what’s good for you.” (For greater explication of this theme see my book The Fairy Tale is Over - The Bliss Can Begin).

Indra battles for reversal of wind

Similarly, the Hindu story of Indra and the Dragon is in the same genre.

The aforementioned trade winds created by the alternation of monsoons were essential to farming in India. They blew the rain in one half of the year and blew the rain out in the second half, creating an alternation of wet and dry. This annual cycle was manifested in Hindu mythology through their trio of primary Vedic gods: Indra, Agni, and Soma. They turned this natural event into a cosmic battle. Annually Indra, the Zeus-like God of War, would defeat Urta, the cosmic Serpent or Dragon, at which time the winds would turn to bring moisture to their crops. Indra needed the Fire Sacrifice symbolized by Agni and the hallucinogen represented by Soma to defeat the Serpent and turn the winds around. The Vedic sacrifice came to have paramount importance as it provided Indra with the extra energy he needed to defeat the cosmic serpent. This is akin to the idea in the story of Peter Pan where the children’s belief in fairies is necessary to keep Tinker Bell alive.

Indra like Zeus was also the god of thunder and lightening associated with rain. Because the rains came after his battle to turn the winds around Indra is also essential to the ordering of the Universe. The Serpent represents the Chaos, the chthonic forces which are defeated by the forces of Order. Hence the Sacrifices to Indra establish the Order of the Universe.

The Dragon Serpent of Chaos is vanquished by Indra the bringer of Order. This is the classic Left Brain/Right Brain battle that is still being waged. The Order that is brought is stratified and rigid, compared with the flexible Chaotic wave of Life that regularly washes over us all. Indra is in control, while the Dragon rides the currents of the wind and waves. (For more on this topic see my book Deconstructing the Verbal Reality.)”

Cooperation and Mandala Politics in Eastern Asia

Southeast Asia: “Enough advertising. Back to my story. You’re set up enough of a contrast. In your part of the world military domination combined with cultural propaganda is the rule. But not in mine.

In order to understand the political organization of the Srivijaya Empire we need to explore the mandala kingdom or empire. All the modern nation states are based upon clearly defined property boundaries. Real estate is of primary importance in terms of tax collection as well as property rights. Each modern country has clearly defined borders with a clearly defined citizenry. Alternately the mandala state of Eastern Asia has no specific territory, as its influence emanates from the center. Rather than defending the perimeter, the idea is to strengthen the center.

With this type of political organization strict boundaries don’t exist. Instead power emanates from the center. This power is based upon military and cultural prestige. The country is defined by the capital. The spheres of influence are determined by the vassal states on the perimeter who pay tribute to the king or emperor in the center. In return for tribute the supreme ruler provides military protection and certain privileges.

In the case of the Srivijaya Empire, they were provided with exclusive trading rights with the Chinese Empire in exchange by becoming one of her vassal states. In such a way the Srivijaya Empire was part of the Chinese Empire in terms of the organization. Similarly the kingdom of Funan was provided trade privileges when they pledged obeisance and tribute to China.

China: “Cooperate and acknowledge our superiority and you will be rewarded.”

Cooperating with China created the entrepôt port of Palembang and the Srivijaya Empire. This was another kingdom with vassal states, who were also rewarded for cooperating. Hence although the Srivijaya Empire had an Indianized political structure, it had the Chinese mandala system for its Empire.

“Cooperate and you will be rewarded,” seemed to be the mantra that Srivijaya used with its vassal islands. The Arab historians don’t ever mention piracy in their trading ventures in the East Indies during these times. It seems that then as now that cultures that depend on trade realize that safety is good for all. The positive side of trade is that it thrives on peace.

This maritime empire seems to have had only a limited army. They based their empire on positive reinforcement - through cultivation of business contacts, rather than the negative reinforcement of domination by military prowess.

Because power emanates in concentric circles from the center, there is a fluid, rather than fixed, field of power. This means that if the center is weak the boundaries of influence collapse. Vice versa when the center is strong the boundaries expand. This organization applies to the religious sphere as well as the political. Under the political system the theoretical boundaries are continually shifting depending on who gives the best deal and has the most prestige rather than on who has the biggest army.”

Author: “Why this huge difference? Why was military might needed to solve conflicts on the Eurasian land-mass? Or why wasn’t it necessary in the island cultures of Southeast Asia?”

Southeast Asia: “Who knows? I’ll offer the theory that military domination of the sea was extremely difficult at this time. There was no equivalent to the military technology of bronze combined with the chariot and horse - which allowed the complete domination of one culture by another in the land based cultures. Because military domination was impossible in these island kingdoms the cultures instead relied upon cooperation and bribery.

Stability of Chaos

Despite the fact that these borders and spheres of influence were incredibly fluid, or perhaps because of, these empires and kingdoms were incredibly stable. The Srivijaya Empire wasn’t urbanized, didn’t have many cities, didn’t have a big army, didn’t occupy a capital continuously, and didn’t have clearly defined territories and yet it lasted nearly 700 years. Further its influence continues to modern times. Its impact has extended itself through time as well as through geography. Indra’s Order was not able to keep our Dragon’s Chaos down.

The Empire survived by trade and agriculture rather than military prowess. It was not a territorial unit, as much as capital based. In the case of Srivijaya Palembang was its center. However when Palembang was attacked and conquered by the Chola Empire about 1000, it was in no ways the end of Srivijaya, they simply moved their capital elsewhere and continued for another 300 years. Similarly when the barbarians from the Central Asian steppes attacked and defeated the Chou dynasty of China in their own capital, they didn’t capitulate or disintegrate, they simply moved their capital south across the Yangtze River to get away. They also continued for another 300 years.

These country/empires were not based upon territory, but upon imperial influence. Similarly when Nationalist China fell to the Communists in 1948 they simply moved across the ocean to Taiwan. They claimed and still claim to be the legitimate China because this is where the royal court is centered. It is easy to see that these style kingdoms are unstable but remarkably durable. This organization was the predominant political form in my territory through to the 19th century. The British influence finally undermined it. The Brits needed to order these unstable political units in order to do business. In Malaysia they delineated boundaries amongst the caliphates so that they knew who to deal with.

China and the Mandala organization

China: “The mandala organization is quite natural. However I, the Middle Kingdom, had very practical reasons for organizing in this fashion. From earliest times our imperial government was not able to protect our perimeter from the militaristic nomadic cultures of the Central Asian steppes. These barbaric tribes, who lived just to the north of our fertile valleys surrounding the Yellow River, would either raid or conquer our villages and cities after crossing our empire’s immense northern border. Then when we counter attacked they would easily disappear into the vast deserts of the high plateau.

Our Imperial Army attempted to pacify these annoying tribes on our perimeter, but these nomadic warriors tended to be better fighters than us. In that they lived on their horses, they were better horsemen and were also able to shoot arrows as they rode. Plus they could evaporate into terrain that they knew well and counter attack from new positions. Indeed one arrogant Emperor was even captured by these barbaric nomads as he rode with his army to teach them a lesson. These punitive campaigns proved so dangerous and unproductive that our Imperial government found that it more economical to include these northern tribes in the largesse of our Empire by giving them presents to protect our perimeter from other nomadic tribes. A type of protection money but it worked better than utilizing an army to protect an indefensible border. Even our Great Wall of China was more for show than any real protection. We found that these armies were bettered used to increase the military strength of the Imperial capitol to increase its prestige and protect it from internal attack.

We really had little choice. We could not really protect our extended perimeter from these attacks. The best we could do was protect and strengthen our center. It was more expedient to just withdraw to our capital to minimize our losses. It was easier to allow these barbarians to exhaust their energy pillaging our countryside, than to deplete our Imperial Army fighting them. Better to have our army to defend our power and dominate our peasantry. As soon as these tribes retreated we would reassert control over our peasant population, which provided all the food for the cities - with our well rested Imperial Army. In effect we were just protecting our property with its livestock after it had been raided. The peasantry and their land were only treasure that we had conquered in previous generations. My Imperial culture with its military aristocracy did not belong to the agri-culture of our peasants. We conquered the Chinese breadbasket first and were merely attempting to protect our booty from the next raider. (For more on this topic see the Author’s book, Tao of China or the Way of the Middle.)

In this way the mandala political organization emerged naturally in our Chinese geography with the arid Central Asian steppes, which would only support a nomadic lifestyle, just north of our fertile agricultural valleys. Our center was not bound by a particular spot but instead was located where the Imperial court was. When the Emperor established a new capital, that is where I, China, was. More than once in my history the Emperor retreated across the Yangtze River to establish a new capital city in the South to continue the Empire after the northern barbarians became too aggressive.

My Empire, based upon centralized military might and prestige, rewarded vassal states for siding with us. This was how we controlled those pesky barbarians to the north of us. These vassal states were not agri-cultures, but instead were frequently Bronze Age cultures, where a military aristocracy had dominated a peasant agri-culture some time in the past - perhaps distant, perhaps not so distant. We military aristocracies just pass down control of the agri-cultures of our peasants from generation to generation.

The mandala style organization emerged from our geography in China. Because of our prestige and military might we enforced this organization upon our surrounding cultures. This was not a bad or evil thing. We just told them - ‘Submit to our superior culture for all the advantages that will ensue. Provide us with tribute and we will provide you with trade advantages.’

The cultures that dealt with me, China, in this way, set up their own Empires on the same model. They established their own vassal states, which paid them tribute for trade and protection privileges. My vassal state the Srivijaya Empire was one of those. That just shows how great I am. I have an actual empire as one of my vassal states.”