Filipino Invasion of China? A Forgotten History of the South China Sea 🇵ðŸ‡ðŸ‡¨ðŸ‡³
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violently attacking in great numbers, from the first raids back in the year 1174.
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Indeed, the Chinese chronicles accuse them of engaging not just in slave raiding and the kidnapping of people,
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but even in cannibalism and mass murder.
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And today in this video, we will embark on a journey through history, where the past surges to life,
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and the tales of the ancient Visayans come alive.
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So, who exactly were these people? And what exactly were they doing terrorizing southern China?
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Let's dig deeper!
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Mabuhay! Or in Kapampangan, Luwid kayo! And in Binisaya, Mabuhi!
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Welcome back to my channel! It's me, Kirby Arroyo, your friendly Pinoy historian.
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And in this channel, I make videos about our people's history, culture, and everything in between.
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So, if you like learning about the Philippines, Southeast Asia, and beyond,
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don't forget to like, share this video, comment down below, and please, please, subscribe!
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But before we sail back in time, before we sail back to the 1100s, here's an important reminder.
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The Philippines as a unified archipelago or nation-state that we are familiar with today,
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and you know, technically, this Filipino identity that we know today did not yet exist back in the 1100s.
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In short, the Filipino identity is a modern-day concept.
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And so, while I may have used the words Pinoy or Filipino in the title or thumbnail of this video,
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this is merely done as a point of reference,
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especially for those who may not be familiar with the diversity of ethnicities and cultures in the Philippines.
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Because people often forget that pre-colonial Philippines was a collection of diverse indigenous peoples
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with a wide range of societies, from coastal city-states to mountain villages,
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from animist and Hindu-Buddhist cultures to flourishing sultanates.
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In fact, even within the Visayan identity itself, it's actually pretty diverse.
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And today's video is just a brief introduction to the captivating yet almost forgotten history of the pre-colonial Visayan people,
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their maritime mysteries, their tattooed tails, and the waves that carried them on daring journeys across the seas.
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So if you want to learn more about today's topic, check out the links below for a list of resources and recommended readings.
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And check out my books about the pre-colonial history and oral traditions of the Philippines and Southeast Asia.
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Now back to our topic, let's dig deeper into the fierce pre-colonial history of the Visayans.
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So who exactly were the Visayans?
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More than just names in ancient chronicles, the Visayans are indigenous island dwellers from what is now Central Philippines,
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or what we aptly call the Visayas in the present day,
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a set of smaller islands lying in the middle of the Philippine archipelago,
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to the south of the largest island of Luzon, and to the north of Mindanao,
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the other major island that dominates the southern stretches of the archipelago.
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The ancient Visayans rode on the waves that embraced our islands.
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Known as the Peshoye to the ancient Chinese chroniclers, their very essence was intertwined with the rhythms of island life.
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Yet beneath the surface, a rich diversity thrived.
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Each island a thread in the tapestry of the archipelago, united by their seafaring spirit and an insatiable thirst for adventure.
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As mentioned earlier, they were referred to as the Peshoye by contemporary Chinese writers,
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and this has led to some doubts about their place of origin.
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But scholars today are fairly unanimous that the other cultural traits that define these people mark them out as natives of the Visayas.
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These were seafaring people who traversed not only the dozens of islands which made up the Visayas,
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but far and wide to the rest of the Philippines, neighboring Borneo, parts of mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, and other nearby regions.
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Many of them wore their hair in top knots.
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Many were heavily tattooed with traditional body art called patiks,
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while they carried weapons such as balaraos, calis, talibongs, and campilans on board the indigenous dragon ships known as the caracoas.
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However, it is worth noting that the degree to which the Visayans actually had full-on warships,
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or if they were using what were effectively sophisticated trading boats called balangays, remains open to debate.
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If they primarily used the latter, then their voyages to distant lands were primarily possible owing to a sophisticated knowledge of the ocean.
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The tides along the South China Sea and the Western Pacific.
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And while Chinese observers considered them as one cohesive group,
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there were actually geographical variations to the Visayans, with slight ethnic differences between them.
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For instance, the Visayans from the islands of Panay were not necessarily the same as the Visayans from Cebu or Leyte and Samar.
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And thus, while there was broad ethnic and cultural cohesion to the Visayans,
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it is important for us to remember that they should not necessarily be viewed as one cohesive state or polity, which were all acting in accord.
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Instead, like the Vikings, the Norse, and the Danes of the early medieval Europe,
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they had some cultural unity, and they began following the lead of other bands when they first attacked southern China.
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Okay, so how violent were these bloody raids?
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And why exactly would the ancient Visayans sail all the way to China just to unleash terror and bloodshed?
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As we delve deeper into the maritime realm, we encounter warriors whose names have been lost to the whispers of the winds of history.
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But the top knots of their hair and the ink of their tattoos mark them as Visayans.
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Though the exonym Pishoye by the Chinese opens a gateway to intrigue,
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these fearless sailors traversed beyond the confines of the Visayas, exploring distant shores, leaving footprints in far-flung sands.
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Their dragon ships adorned with intricate carvings carried them on voyages of both conquest and commerce.
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And we actually have a fairly good account of the Visayan raids that occurred against southern China from the writings of a number of contemporary Chinese writers.
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These included the Zhu Fanji, aka a description of the barbarian nations by Zhao Rukuo.
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So Rukuo devoted a section of his work to these people from what is now the Philippines.
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Indeed, he was writing in the 13th century in living memory of the bloody Visayan raids.
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And so naturally, because of their own experiences, he described them as ferocious warriors, bloodthirsty and violent.
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By studying these contemporary Chinese accounts, we learn more about the primary goals of the Visayans in launching their raids.
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They were looking to capture large numbers of slaves and take them back to the Visayas.
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And there, the slaves would be sold and made to work as fishermen or otherwise engage in food production for their warrior society.
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So another reason, a major one, was to get better and stronger metals from China, which they couldn't easily find in their own homeland.
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Rukuo, for instance, tells us that they were fond of iron vessels.
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One could get rid of them by closing the entrance door, from which they could only wrench the iron knocker and go away.
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Okay, so even though we might want to be a bit skeptical about the Chinese descriptions and claims that the Visayans were extremely savages,
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it is still very evident that these were violent, aggressive raids focused mainly on getting metals, goods and capturing slaves.
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And with the eloquence of these early Chinese accounts, amidst the chaos of raiding, motives emerged.
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Captives stormed from their homelands, metals prized for their strength and the heartbeat of a society thriving on conquest.
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Yet amidst these highly sensationalized early Chinese accounts, early Chinese narratives about the Visayans, a quest for truth beckons.
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A call to see beyond the brushstrokes of bias and prejudice.
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In Zhao Rukuo's Zhu Fanji, it is clearly mentioned that there was a specific time when the Visayan raids were most intense.
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This period spanned around 16 years, from the year 1174 to the year 1190.
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However, it is also evident that the raids had already been taking place long before this time and that it continued to some extent afterwards.
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So what perhaps marked the raids which were occurring in the 1170s and 1180s as distinct was that the Visayans had established a naval base and presence on the island of Formosa, or what is now Taiwan.
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And this allowed them to swiftly and consistently launch attacks on the Chinese coast.
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Now, given the nature of the sources and the fact that these were happening with such regularity between 1174 and 1190, one can conclude that there were probably hundreds of raids of varying sizes and severity during this long period.
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Now, pinpointing an exact number is of course impossible given the incomplete nature of the historical records from this era.
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Using the winds of history to guide us through a turbulent era, a 16-year tempest of raids that engulfed the coastlines, from their strategic stronghold in what is now Taiwan, the Visayans launched a relentless barrage of violent raids against the Chinese.
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These raids, scattered across the pages of time, resemble fragments of a larger narrative, obscured by the fog of incomplete records and forgotten in recent memory.
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So what other tales remain untold beneath the waves?
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Now, as the 12th century or the 1100s closes curtains, a new chapter unfolds, a clash between the audacious Visayans and the steadfast Jin Dynasty.
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The audacious Visayan raiders were met by the unwavering New Dynasty, resolute in their determination to quell the tides of Visayan aggression.
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Now, with each confrontation, the cost of conquest grows, the flames of their audacious raids begin to dim, and thus the Visayans cast their gaze toward uncharted horizons, and the era of the raids fading, but not fading from memory.
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As mentioned, the raids did not end in 1190.
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What the contemporary and near-contemporary Chinese records make clear is that they continued afterwards, but they declined dramatically, owing to the concerted efforts by the Chinese Jin Dynasty to stomp out such attacks and protect the Chinese coastline more effectively.
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And so, the cost-benefit of continuing such attacks simply declined for the Visayans, and they moved on to sunnier pastures.
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However, as late as the 14th century, we find Wang Taiyuan, a Chinese explorer referring to a Visayan raid against southern China, that the legacy of their earlier raids lived on in the collective memory was clearly indicated by Taiyuan,
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who noted that men from that country make their living by this custom, aka slave raiding, from generation to generation, for which reason the people of the Eastern Sea, upon hearing the name Visaya, are all terrified and flee.
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And this illustrates the powerful psychological impact of the Visayan raids upon the Chinese, even 150 years after they were at their peak.
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And as the currents of time carry the echoes of their legacy, remember that the seas tell tales far beyond battles and conquests.
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The name Visayan remains etched in the collective memory, a testament to their audacity, courage, and the indomitable spirit that once surged throughout the Eastern Seas.
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Our ancestors' magnificent ships bearing exquisite carvings navigated uncharted waters, carrying not only people and commodities, but the spirit of exploration itself.
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The Visayan raids may have waned, but their legacy endures, a ghostly whisper that time cannot erase.
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The tale of the Visayan raids on southern China invites us all to reflect, not just on the distant past, but also on the shadows cast by the present day.
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The Visayans, once both warriors and explorers, remind us that history is a tapestry woven by the hands of countless generations.
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Their maritime prowess sailed them through seas of uncertainty, and their story a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity in the face of challenges.
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Yet, as the tides of history turn, we cannot ignore the current realities, where the South China Sea remains a stage for modern-day clashes.
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As nations stake their claims, vying for sovereignty over these same waters.
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The Visayan legacy lives on, not only in the tales of our ancestors, but in the contested waters that mirror their past exploits.
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Just as the Visayan raids had once painted the coastlines with turmoil in the 1100s, the present-day conflict mirrors a global narrative of power, security, and geopolitics.
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As nations grapple over islands and sea routes, our people's history echoes, a reminder that the oceans have always been a realm of where the past and the present collide.
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And in the midst of this tension, however, there's another facet, another factor to consider.
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A reminder that history's currents can also bring unity.
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The Visayans themselves, in their roles as explorers and traders, served as bridges between cultures and civilizations, and reaching our world through the exchange of commodities and ideas.
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Their legacy encourages us to seek common ground, to navigate the choppy waters with dialogue and cooperation, to navigate through challenges with open minds and collective efforts.
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So as the sun sets on our voyage, let us carry forward the lessons of history.
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Let us remember that beneath the waves of conquest and conflicts lies a shared human journey.
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A journey driven by exploration, ambition, and the unyielding spirit to chart new horizons.
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And that is it for me today, so let me know what you think about today's topic in the comments below.
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And if you learned something new, or you know, if you like this video or learned something new, don't forget to like, share this video, comment down below, and please, please subscribe.
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But of course, before we go, I just want to give a shout out to all my patrons.
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Because this video and this channel will not exist without the love and the support of patrons, subscribers, and viewers like you throughout these years.
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So if you want to help me make more videos like this, please be my patron on Patreon or be a member of my YouTube channel.
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Or you can also get copies of any of my books, coloring books, and ebooks, or any of the merch linked down below.
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Maraming maraming salamat po, or in Kapampangan, dakal pong salamat, and in Binisaya, daghang salamat sa inyong tanan.
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See you next time, or in Tagalog, kita kids, and in Kapampangan, mikitiks, and in Binisaya, kita ay ta!
