Chi Tu (other alternative spellings include Chihtu, Chitu or Ch-ih-t'u;

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...

: Raktamaritika or Raktamrittika; ;

Malay language Malay (; ms, Bahasa Melayu, links=no, Jawi: , Rencong: ) is an Austronesian language that is an official language of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore, and that is also spoken in East Timor and parts of the Philippines an ...

: ''Tanah Merah'') was an ancient kingdom mentioned in the history of China. The

Sui Dynasty The Sui dynasty (, ) was a short-lived imperial dynasty of China that lasted from 581 to 618. The Sui unified the Northern and Southern dynasties, thus ending the long period of division following the fall of the Western Jin dynasty, and la ...

annals describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu in 607, when Chang Chun was sent as an ambassador there. The location of Chi Tu was disputed; proposals for its location include areas in the states of

Kelantan Kelantan (; Jawi: ; Kelantanese Malay: ''Klate'') is a state in Malaysia. The capital is Kota Bharu and royal seat is Kubang Kerian. The honorific name of the state is ''Darul Naim'' (Jawi: ; "The Blissful Abode"). Kelantan is located in t ...

Pahang Pahang (; Jawi: , Pahang Hulu Malay: ''Paha'', Pahang Hilir Malay: ''Pahaeng'', Ulu Tembeling Malay: ''Pahaq)'' officially Pahang Darul Makmur with the Arabic honorific ''Darul Makmur'' (Jawi: , "The Abode of Tranquility") is a sultanate and ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

, or in

Songkhla Songkhla ( th, สงขลา, ), also known as Singgora or Singora ( Pattani Malay: ซิงกอรอ), is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') in Songkhla Province of southern Thailand, near the border with Malaysia. Songkhla lies south of B ...

and Pattani Province of southern

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

. The best evidence to support the

theory was when the envoys left Chi Tu, the sail took 10 days to reach

Champa Champa ( Cham: ꨌꩌꨛꨩ; km, ចាម្ប៉ា; vi, Chiêm Thành or ) were a collection of independent Cham polities that extended across the coast of what is contemporary central and southern Vietnam from approximately the 2nd ...

, this indicates the kingdom was located somewhere 'red earth' around the main river of

. The inscribed Buddhagupta Stone found in

Kedah Kedah (), also known by its honorific Darul Aman and historically as Queda, is a state of Malaysia, located in the northwestern part of Peninsular Malaysia. The state covers a total area of over 9,000 km2, and it consists of the mainland ...

mentioned a Raktamrttika, meaning "red earth land".

History

The Chi Tu kingdom is believed to have existed as early as 100 BC to the 6th century AD. The royal family's name was Chu-dan (which means

Gautama Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

) and the king was Li-fo-duo-se. According to Chinese records, Chi Tu was built by ''kit mow'' (

Mon-Khmer The Austroasiatic languages , , are a large language family in Mainland Southeast Asia and South Asia. These languages are scattered throughout parts of Thailand, Laos, India, Myanmar, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Nepal, and southern China and are th ...

) peoples who sailed from the coast of

Funan Funan (; km, ហ៊្វូណន, ; vi, Phù Nam, Chữ Hán: ) was the name given by Chinese cartographers, geographers and writers to an ancient Indianized state—or, rather a loose network of states ''(Mandala)''—located in mainla ...

(southern

Indochina Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

) that eventually intermarried with the local population. "... Chi Tu is a derivation nation of

, located in within the southern sea, sailing hundred days to reach, the majority terrain was red, thus named Red Earth Kingdom (Chi means red, Tu means earth). East bordering Po-Lo-La, West bordering Po-Lo-So, South bordering '' Ho Lo Tan'', thousands of square miles in land area. The king has three wives and the kingdom embraced

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

...". Chi Tu kingdom along with

Langkasuka Langkasuka was an ancient Hindu-Buddhist kingdom located in the Malay Peninsula. The name is Sanskrit in origin; it is thought to be a combination of ''langkha'' for "resplendent land" -'' sukkha'' for "bliss". The kingdom, along with Old K ...

and others were early important trade centers (approximately 100 BC to 700 AD). During this period, ships coming from

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, slig ...

and Funan (from Indian Ocean as well) stop at the coast of

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

. They get the local porters to transport the goods, using rafts, elephants and manpower along the Early transpeninsular routeway and part of the ancient Spice Route (Sea Route). By the 800 AD, the Chi Tu kingdom went into decline.

Location

Scholars do not agree on the location of Raktamaritika. While some consider it in the area of

Phatthalung Phatthalung (, ) is a town (''thesaban mueang'') in southern Thailand, capital of Phatthalung Province. The town covers ''tambon ''Tambon'' ( th, ตำบล, ) is a local governmental unit in Thailand. Below district (''amphoe'') and provi ...

area, or

. The ruins around the Songkhla lake such as Bang Kaeo in Phatthalung or Sathing Phra in Songkhla then might be one of the cities of Raktamaritika.

Sources from Indian scholars

J.L. Meons (1937) believed that early

Srivijaya Srivijaya ( id, Sriwijaya) was a Buddhist thalassocratic empire based on the island of Sumatra (in modern-day Indonesia), which influenced much of Southeast Asia. Srivijaya was an important centre for the expansion of Buddhism from the 7th ...

was located in Kelantan and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (1949) supported the idea. The Kelantan theory may not be far-fetched, since Chinese Sui Dynasty annals of the 7th century describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu or Raktamrittika (as in Kelantanese history) as being in Kelantan, which the name was later changed to "Sri Wijaya Mala". The founding of Sri Wijaya Mala was 667 BC with its capital called "Valai", and it was situated along the upper Kelantan river of Pergau, known for its rich gold mines. It was until 570 BC that the kingdom changed its name to Sri Wijaya.

Songkhla vicinity theory

The inscription of the Buddhagupta Stone found in

mentioned a Raktamaritika, the meaning is red earth land, to be the home town of a seafarer named Buddhagupta. The old name of Songkhla is Singgora (City of Lions), which coincides with the fact that according to the Chinese chronicles the capital of Chitu was Sing-Ha (means lion) and also the nearby Singhanakhon district. This name may also be related to

Tambralinga Tambralinga ( sa, Tāmbraliṅga) was an Indianised kingdom located on the Malay Peninsula, existing at least from the 10th to 13th century. It was under the influence of Srivijaya for some time, but later became independent from it. The name ha ...

because there is "Tam" (means red) in this name as same as Raktamaritika and Tampapanni. And this state has appeared in 642, the same area of the central Malay peninsula after Chitu has already faded away from the history. The best evidence supporting this theory is the mention that when the envoys left Chitu, the sailing took 10 days to reach

, which indicates the kingdom was located at the 'red earth' areas such as Rattaphum because Rattaphum means red earth as well.

References

External links

{{wikisourcelang, zh, 隋書/卷82#赤土, ''Chi Tu'' from Book of Sui (in Chinese) * https://web.archive.org/web/20040810090708/http://mis-pattani.pn.psu.ac.th/registra/grade/temp/speech/panel16fullpaper/EvanescentKingdom1panel%2016.html
Chinese_Sui_Dynasty
_annals.html" ;"title="Sui Dynasty">Chinese Sui Dynasty
annals">Sui Dynasty">Chinese Sui Dynasty
annals
India's Cultural Relations with South-East Asia

赤土国

Indianized kingdoms Former countries in Malaysian history History of Malaysia Former countries in Thai history Ancient Thailand 7th-century disestablishments in Thailand Historical Chinese exonyms