Ban Zu

Ban Zu (Chinese: 班卒; pinyin: Bānzú; Wade–Giles: Pan-tsu) was a port settlement believed to have thrived in Singapore during the 14th century. It is thought to be located on Fort Canning Hill and the area on the north bank of the Singapore River basin between the hill and the sea. It was mentioned by the Chinese traveller Wang Dayuan in his work Daoyi Zhilüe together with Long Ya Men as the two settlements that made up Temasek. It may have been abandoned before 1400 after an attack by either the Siamese or the Majapahit.

Ban Zu is likely a Chinese transcription of the Malay word pancur meaning "spring of water". Pancur is a common placename in the region. A spring used to exist on the west side of Fort Canning Hill, called pancur larangan or "forbidden spring", where the women of the royal household in old Singapura were said to bathe in.

Historical information on Ban Zu comes from the Yuan dynasty work Daoyi Zhilüe written by Wang Dayuan. Ban Zu was described as being located behind on a hill behind Long Ya Men of Temasek. Its relationship with Long Ya Men is uncertain, and the descriptions of the people in Banzu and Long Ya Men are different, including their clothing. While the people of Long Ya Men were said to be prone to acts of piracy, the people of Ban Zu were described as honest.

This locality is the hill behind Long-ya-men. It resembles a truncated coil. It rises to a hollow summit, [surrounded] by interconnected terraces, so that the people's dwellings encircle it. The soil is poor and grain scarce. The climate is irregular, for there is heavy rain in summer, when it is rather cool. By custom and disposition [the people] are honest. They wear their hair short, with turbans of gold-brocaded satin, and red-oiled cloths [covering] their bodies. They boil sea-water to obtain salt and ferment rice to make spirits called ming chia. They are under a chieftain.

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