13.A Foreign King's Tomb（164）

A Foreign King's Tomb

In 1417, the king of Sulu, a kingdom in the Philippine islands, came to China with 340 people. Emperor Yongle of the Ming Dynasty warmly welcomed him.

They traveled from Beijing to Hangzhou by boat.

On their way back along the Great Canal, the king became sick and passed away in Dezhou.

The Ming government held a big funeral for the king in Dezhou and built a large tomb for him.

His concubine and two sons stayed with his tomb, while the eldest son returned to their kingdom.

Over time, the descendants of his two sons formed two large Islamic villages with their own mosques. One village had the family name An, and the other had the name Wen.

Nowadays, people who visit Dezhou always go to see the tombs of the king, his wife, and his two sons.

This might be the only tomb of a foreign king in the country, symbolizing the friendship between the Chinese and Filipinos.