Galle Trilingual Inscription

The Galle Trilingual Inscription was a stone tablet inscription in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian, that was erected in 1411 in Galle, Sri Lanka to commemorate the second visit to Sri Lanka by the Chinese admiral Zheng He by offerings made by him and others to the Buddhist Temple on the Mountain of Sri Lanka. It was discovered in Galle in 1911 and is now preserved in the Colombo National Museum.

On his third voyage, Zheng He sailed from China in 1409, and carried with it the trilingual tablet which Zheng He planned to erect in Sri Lanka. The date equates to 15 February 1409, indicating that it was inscribed in Nanjing before the fleet set out. The Chinese portion gives praise to Buddha and records lavish offerings in his honour:

The Inscription

The Tablet

Offerings

1,000 pieces of gold; 5,000 pieces of silver; 50 rolls of embroidered silk in many colours; 50 rolls of silk taffeta, in many colours; 4 pairs of jewelled banners, gold embroidered and of variegated silk, 2 pairs of the same picked in red, one pair of the same in yellow, one pair in black; 5 antique brass incense burners; 5 pairs of antique brass flower vases picked in gold on lacquer, with gold stands; 5 yellow brass lamps picked in gold on lacquer with gold stands; 5 incense vessels in vermilion red, gold picked on lacquer, with gold stands; 6 pairs of golden lotus flowers; 2,500 catties of scented oil; 10 pairs of wax candles; 10 sticks of fragrant incense.

Museum

Further reading

Xinhua News Agency (2005). "Zheng He: A Peaceful Mariner and Diplomat" [http://www.china.org.cn/english/features/zhenhe/134661.htm]

External links

* [http://cf.hum.uva.nl/galle/galle/trilingual.html The trilingual inscription of Admiral Zheng He]