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Ong Sum Ping and the Early History of Borneo in Chinese Sources
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Abstract:
Many years ago, I went to Nanjing regularly to do fieldwork on Muslim communities and mosques
in Nanjing. I had the opportunity to visit the tombs of Zheng He and the King of Borneo. At that
time, I believed that the person lying in the tomb was the King of Borneo. It was recorded on
Chinese sources that two kings died in China following the voyages of Zheng He to China. One
was the King of Sulu, buried in Shandong province. The other one was the King of Borneo, buried
in Nanjing. When I came to work in Brunei, I noticed that there was a street named Jalan Ong Sum
Ping. I asked my students who was Ong Sum Ping. They all said that they had no idea, and he was
probably a legendary figure. As a historian, it aroused my curiosity and interest. There are few
local sources on the person. However, there are many Chinese sources on the person, especially
on the Chinese websites, even though many are problematic and unreliable. As a result, I was
motivated to write this paper and to rectify the Chinese sources. In the course of investigation, I
discovered that Ong Sum Ping and the King of Borneo buried in Nanjing are related, and that the
Ming government had made a mistake.
Description:
Date:
2025
Authors:
Lee Cheuk Yin
Publisher:
Institute of Asian Studies, Universiti Brunei Darussalam
