The Tomb of the King of Boni is the tomb of

Abdul Majid Hassan Abdul Majid Hassan (1380–1408 CE), also known as Maharaja Karna, allegedly was the second Sultan of Brunei. He may have ascended the Brunei throne in 1402. He was never mentioned in ''Salasilah Raja-Raja Brunei''. A ruler from Boni named M ...

(also known as Maharaja Karna, or Ma Na Re Jia Na in Chinese), the ruler of Boni, a medieval state on the island of

Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and e ...

sometimes considered to be the predecessor of modern

Brunei Brunei ( , ), formally Brunei Darussalam ( ms, Negara Brunei Darussalam, Jawi: , ), is a country located on the north coast of the island of Borneo in Southeast Asia. Apart from its South China Sea coast, it is completely surrounded by th ...

. It and its associated statuary are located in a park at the southern foothills of Tortoise Mountain (Guishan), about 3km south of the southern gate of the walled city of Nanjing. The tomb was completed in the early 15th century during the

Ming Dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, under the reign of the

Yongle Emperor The Yongle Emperor (; pronounced ; 2 May 1360 – 12 August 1424), personal name Zhu Di (), was the third Emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1402 to 1424. Zhu Di was the fourth son of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dyn ...

. It is one of the only two foreign rulers' tombs in China (the other one being the Tomb of the King of Sulu in

Dezhou Dezhou () is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Shandong province, People's Republic of China. It borders the provincial capital of Jinan to the southeast, Liaocheng to the southwest, Binzhou to the northeast, and the province of Hebei t ...

, Shandong). it is an important heritage site under state protection.

History

The country whose name is recorded in the early

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

records as "Boni" was a state in

Island. By the time of their king's arrival to Nanjing, "Boni" had had a long history of contact with China, having sent envoys during the

Northern Song dynasty Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ...

. In the third year of the

Hongwu Hongwu () (23 January 1368 – 5 February 1399) was the era name of the Hongwu Emperor, the founder of the Ming dynasty of China. Hongwu was also the Ming dynasty's first era name. Comparison table Other eras contemporaneous with Hongwu * C ...

reign, Ming dynasty (1370), the emperor

Zhu Yuanzhang The Hongwu Emperor (21 October 1328 – 24 June 1398), personal name Zhu Yuanzhang (), courtesy name Guorui (), was the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty of China, reigning from 1368 to 1398. As famine, plagues and peasant revolts i ...

dispatched imperial censor Zhang Jingzhi and Fujian official Shen Zhi to Boni on a diplomatic mission. On their return to China, the King of Boni sent his envoys along with the two Chinese officials. Maharaja Karna ascended to the throne in 1402, and sent his envoys to China to pay tribute to the

in 1405. In return, the Emperor granted an imperial mandate and seal to the King. The King was greatly pleased and decided to express his heartfelt thanks in person. Thus he arrived in Fujian province by sea, along with his wife, sons and several other relatives, and they received a warm welcome from the local officials sent by the central government.

Death of Karna

In August 1408, Maharaja Karna and his companions reached the Ming Empire's capital Nanjing, to attend the imperial court. He fell ill after staying in Nanjing for over a month. He was 28 years old when he died in his residence in the tenth lunar month of that year. In his testament, he showed a desire to "be buried in China". The Yongle Emperor suspended court for three days, dispatched officials to mourn for the King, and conferred the posthumous title of "Deferent" on him. After the Boni ruler's death, he was buried outside Andemen in Shizigang, which was in the southern part of Nanjing, according to the traditional burial customs of Chinese vassal. In addition, the Yongle Emperor ordered the king's son to succeed to his father's crown.

Abandonment and rediscovery

Later, the tomb was deserted and abandoned in the forest, thus gained a name of "Huihuifen" (literally the tomb of the Hui people) from the local residents. During an archaeological survey in 1958, two broken fallen steles were rediscovered. According to the remaining inscriptions, the Boni king was inferred to be buried in the tomb. Afterwards, the Nanjing government carried out a series of renovations to the tomb, the gravestone, the

spirit way A spirit way () is the ornate road leading to a Chinese tomb of a major dignitary. The term is also sometimes translated as spirit road, spirit path or sacred way. The spirit way is lined on both sides by a succession of statues, pillars, and ...

,The "

" is also sometimes translated as spirit path, spirit road or tomb path. Spirit ways are usually in Chinese mausolea, lined with successions of stone statues. and rebuilt the memorial archway, the spirit pavilion and the stone platform. In 1982, the Tomb of the King of Boni was listed as the important protection unit of cultural relic of Jiangsu province and it became a Key Cultural Relic Unit under State Protection in 2001. The sister of the Brunei Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, known as Princess Masnah, visited the tomb of the King and attended the opening ceremony of the newly built "China-Brunei Friendship Hall" in 2006. On 23 October 2008, the Brunei Style Park was finished. It cost ¥ 23 million and Princess Masnah again attended the opening ceremony.

Architecture

Tomb of the Sultan of Brunei - stele - P1060768

The Tomb of the King of Boni faces northwards, with Niushou Mountain in the distance. There is a pool in front of it, and the tomb is surrounded by trees. Stone sculptures of generals, tigers, goats, horses and grooms are on either side of the

, with very exotic touches in the carving. The tomb is at the end of the path, similar to that of Sulu King. It consists of a round, central mound and is surrounded with granite. The tombstone reads, "The Tombstone of the Deferent King of Boni". The inscription records the King's deeds, the treatment he received from the imperial court and the construction information of the tomb. It was written by Grand Secretary Hu Guang and engraved by Eunuch Zhang Qian with local selected stones. As the Boni people believed in Islam, the style of the King's tomb was quite different from that in the Central Plains.

Current status

At present, the tomb and its surroundings are classed as "The Tomb of the King of Boni scenic spot", covering an area of 17 hectares. It is an AA category national tourist site which consists of three parts, namely the tomb of the King of Boni area, the Brunei Style Park and a service area. The shrine, the stone portraits and the tombs are still fairly well preserved. The ruins of the gravestone have been put up again, but most of the inscription has eroded over a long period of time. The Brunei Style Park contains the China-Brunei Friendship Hall, a mosque, the Brunei Water Garden, pavilions, side streets, labyrinths and Songfeng Palace, etc. The China-Brunei Friendship Hall contains a permanent exhibit of images and text regarding the interaction history of the two countries.

History

Death of Karna

Abandonment and rediscovery

Architecture

Current status

See also

References

Further reading