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『東洋文庫所蔵』貴重書デジタルアーカイブ

were called ' P'u-sa Man ', and then I understood the [term]. » As these ' Barbarians ' probably
were Mohammedans, HIRTH jumped to the conclusion that « P'u-sa Man » was nothing else than a
transcription of 'Mussulman'; as parallel forms, he adduced the « Busurman » of the old Russian
chronicles, and the « Bisermin » of Plan Carpine. As a matter of fact, Plan Carpine had Russian
interpreters, so that he very naturally employed the Russian form, but even the Russian « Bussur-
man » leaves us very far from Canton. On the other hand, there can be no doubt the « P'u-sa Man »
of the Bureau of Music, which goes back to the 8th cent., simply meant « Man wearing ornaments
like those of the bodhisattva ». Even at Canton, in the 12th cent., and in case 'Mussulman' were
intended, one does not see why this designation should be used only for the wives of Mohammedans,
who, moreover, probably came to China without any wives, and found women locally. It may
be that these women, perhaps belonging in part to the native tribes of southern China and Indo-
China, were called ' P'u-sa Man ' on account of the song itself and as an allusion to the jewels which
their Mohammedan husbands bestowed upon them. As a conclusion, I may say that the paragraph
of the Tu-yang tsa-pien cannot be trusted as to the two events it pretends to narrate, and does not
even provide a precise location for its two Kingdoms ' of the women Man ' and ' of the woman
King '. The ' dragon ' would point to the tradition of a sea-side kingdom, and this is clearly the
reason why the Pa-hung huang-shih (Lung-wei pi-shu ed., 1, 5 a), quoting without acknowledge-
ment the paragraph of the Tu-yang tsa-pien in an abbreviated form (and writing ' P'u-sa man '
with the erroneous form advocated by MAYERS), begins with the statement that the « Kingdom of
the women Man » was in the Southern Sea. But, because of the use of the word ' Man ', and even
in case of a sea-side tribe, the terms ' Kingdom of the women Man ' and ' P'u-sa Man ' can have
referred only to people of southern China, including Hai-nan, or of northern Indo-China. In fact,
beyond the names of the country, or the two countries, no serious inference can be drawn from
the Tu-yang tsa-pien, since both embassies, and consequently the tribute they brought, are most
probably fictitious.

In Indo-China herself, there are still traditions about one or several ' Kingdoms of Women ',
but my information about them is fragmentary. Siamese folklore knows a Müang Mē-māi, « Country
of Widows », or Müang Lab-lē Mē-māi, « Evasive [lit. ' appearing and disappearing '] Country of
Widows », inhabited only by women, but the very fact that Hanumān is supposed to reside there
points to an island country to the south or south-east, and consequently falls under the next section
of the present note (cf. GERINI, Researches on Ptolemy's Geography, 384, 752-753). The Chams
speak of the ' Kingdom of Women ' under the name of Palĕi Timur; palĕi means « country », and
timur (or tamur) may represent both Malay timur, « east », or Timor Island (cf. CABATON, Diction-
naire Čam-Français, 191); both interpretations point to Indonesia. In Cambodia, the Kingdom
of Women is known as Srŏk Lovo, « Lovo Kingdom », and the women inhabiting it as Srĕi Lovo,
« Lovo Women » (cf. GERINI, loc. cit., 753; CABATON, loc. cit., 191). I do not know the meaning
and origin of Lovo in this place. But, in a Cambodian legend narrated in AYMONIER's Textes
khmers (p. 3-8; tale of Ālĕv), we read that in that country only inhabited by women, nothing can
float on the water. Whatever may be the traditional location of the Srŏk Lovo in Cambodia, it
cannot be doubted that this double characteristic echoes the Chinese fables which associate the
' Kingdom of Women ' and the ' Weak Water '.