Chi Tu Raktamaritika
2nd century BC–7th century
Location of Chi Tu as indicated in the map of Transpeninsula route-ways.
Capital	Sing-ha/ Singgora/ Songkhla
Common languages	Old Malay, Kelantan Malay
Religion	Buddhism
Government	Monarchy
Li-fo-duo-se
History
• Coronation of the first king	2nd century BC
• Conquered by Srivijaya	7th century
Succeeded by Srivijaya Tambralinga Pan Pan (kingdom)
Today part of	Malaysia Thailand

Chi Tu (also spelled Chihtu, Chitu or Ch-ih-t'u; Sanskrit: Raktamaritika or Raktamrittika; Chinese: 赤土國; pinyin: Chì-tǔ-guó; lit. 'Red Earth Country'; Malay language: Tanah Merah) was an ancient kingdom mentioned in the history of China. The Sui dynasty annals describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu in 607, when Chang Chun was sent as an ambassador there. The location of Chi Tu is disputed; proposals for its location include areas in the states of Kelantan or Pahang in Malaysia, or in Songkhla and Pattani Province of southern Thailand. The best evidence to support the Kelantan theory is that, when the envoys left Chi Tu, they took 10 days to sail to Champa, this indicates the kingdom was located somewhere 'red earth' around the main river of Kelantan. The inscribed Buddhagupta Stone found in Kedah mentioned a Raktamrttika, meaning "red earth land".

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History of Malaysia
Prehistoric period Paleolithic  Lenggong Valley c. 2,000,0000 BCE  Mansuli Valley 235,000 BCE Mesolithic  Niah cultures 65,000–40,000 BCE Neolithic  Bewah man/woman 16,000 BCE  Perak man/woman 11,000–200 BCE  Neolithic Klang 500 – 200 BCE
Early kingdoms Ancient Kedah <100 BCE Chi Tu 100 BCE–642 CE Langkasuka 100 BCE–1474 CE Gangga Negara c. 100 CE–1025 Pan Pan 424–775 Old Kedah 170–1135 Old Pahang 449–1454 Srivijaya 700s–1025 Majapahit 1300s
Rise of Muslim states Kedah Sultanate 1136–present Samudera Pasai Sultanate 1267–1521 Brunei Sultanate 1368–present Malacca Sultanate 1402–1511 Sulu Sultanate 1450–1899 Pahang Sultanate 1470–1623 Aceh Sultanate 1496–1903 Pattani Sultanate 1516– 1902 Johor Sultanate 1528–present Sarawak Sultanate 1599–1641 Selangor Sultanate 1766–present Besut Kingdom 1780–1899 Setul Kingdom 1808–1916 Reman Kingdom 1810–1902 Kubang Pasu Kingdom 1839–1864
Colonial period Portuguese Malacca 1511–1641 Dutch–Portuguese War 1601–1661 Dutch Malacca 1641–1824 Pahang Kingdom 1770–1881 Straits Settlements 1786–1946 Siamese invasion of Kedah 1821–1826 Anglo-Dutch Treaty 1824 Burney Treaty 1826 Naning War 1831–1832 Kingdom of Sarawak 1841–1946 Separation of Perlis from Kedah 1843 Crown Colony of Labuan 1848–1946 Pahang Civil War 1857–1863 Larut Wars 1861–1874 Klang War 1867–1874 Pangkor Treaty 1874 Perak War 1875–1876 British Malaya / Borneo 1874–1946 Jementah Civil War 1879 North Borneo 1882–1946 Pahang Uprising 1891–1895 Mat Salleh Rebellion 1894–1905 Federated Malay States 1895–1946 Anglo-Siamese Treaty 1909 Unfederated Malay States 1909–1946 Battle of Penang 1914 Kelantan rebellion 1915
World War II Japanese occupation of Malaya / Borneo 1941–1945 Malayan campaign 1941–1942 Bornean Campaign 1941–1942 Battle of Muar 1942 Parit Sulong Massacre 1942 Battle of Singapore 1942 Sook Ching 1942 Syburi 1942 Sandakan Death Marches 1942–1945 Si Rat Malai 1943–1945 Jesselton revolt 1943–1944
Formative period BMA of Malaya/Borneo 1945–1946 Crown Colony of N. Borneo/Sarawak 1946–1963 Anti-cession movement 1946–1963 Malayan Union 1946–1948 Federation of Malaya 1948–1963 Malayan Emergency 1948–1960 Baling Talks 1955
Independence period Malayan Independence 1957 Singapore self-governance 1959 ISA 1960 1960–2012 Sarawak Insurgency 1962–1990 North Borneo self-governance 1963 Konfrontasi 1963–1966 Sarawak self-governance 1963 Formation of Malaysia 1963 Singapore in Malaysia 1963–1965 ASEAN Declaration 1967 Second communist insurgency 1968–1989
Modern period 13 May incident 1969 National Operations Council 1969–1971 Declaration of Rukun Negara 1970 New Economic Policy 1971–1990 Federal Territory of KL 1974 1977 Kelantan Emergency 1977 Pedra Branca dispute 1979–2008 South China Sea dispute (Spratly) 1980–present Dawn Raid 1981 Federal Territory of Labuan 1984 Memali incident 1985 Operation Lalang 1987 Constitutional crisis 1987–1988 Peace Agreement of Hat Yai 1989 Royal Immunity Amendments 1993 Asian financial crisis 1997–1998 Reformasi Movement 1998–2022 2008 Malaysian Opposition Wave 2008 H1N1 flu pandemic 2009–2010 Sedition Dragnet 2014 1MDB scandal 2015–present Pakatan Harapan takeover 2018 COVID-19 pandemic 2020–2022 Political crisis 2020–2022 Bornean Amendment 2021–2023 Green Wave 2022–present
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The Chi Tu kingdom is believed to have existed from as early as 100 BC to the 6th century AD.^[1] The royal family's name was Chu-dan (which means Gautama Buddha) and the king was Li-fo-duo-se.^[2] According to Chinese records, Chi Tu was built by kit mow (Mon-Khmer) peoples who sailed from the coast of Funan (southern Indochina) that eventually intermarried with the local population. "... Chi Tu is a derivation nation of Funan, located in within the southern sea, sailing hundred days to reach, the majority terrain was red, thus named Red Earth Kingdom (Chi means red, Tu means earth). East bordering Po-Lo-La, West bordering Po-Lo-So, South bordering Ho Lo Tan, thousands of square miles in land area.^[3] The king has three wives and the kingdom embraced Buddhism ...".

Chi Tu along with Langkasuka, Kedah and others were early important trade centers (approximately 100 BC to 700 AD).^[4] During this period, ships coming from China, Funan and the Indian Ocean would stop at the coast of Malay Peninsula. They would get local porters to transport their goods, using rafts, elephants and manpower along the early transpeninsular routeway and part of the ancient spice route. By the 800 AD, the Chi Tu kingdom went into decline.^[5]

Scholars do not agree on the location of Chi Tu. While some consider it to have been in the area of Phatthalung / Songkhla area, or Kelantan.^{[6]: 51, 54, 79} The ruins around the Songkhla lake such as Bang Kaeo in Phatthalung or Sathing Phra in Songkhla might be one of the cities of Chi Tu.

J.L. Meons (1937) believed that early Srivijaya was located in Kelantan^[7] and K.A. Nilakanta Sastri (1949) supported the idea.^[8] The Kelantan theory may not be far-fetched, since the Chinese Sui dynasty annals of the 7th century describe an advanced kingdom called Chi Tu or Raktamrittika (as in Kelantanese history) as being in Kelantan, which the name was later changed to "Sri Wijaya Mala". The founding of Sri Wijaya Mala was 667 BC with its capital called "Valai", and it was situated along the upper Kelantan river of Pergau, known for its rich gold mines. It was in 570 BC that the kingdom changed its name to Sri Wijaya.^[9]

The inscription of the Buddhagupta Stone found in Kedah mentioned a Raktamaritika, the meaning is red earth land, to be the home town of a seafarer named Buddhagupta.

The old name of Songkhla is Singgora (City of Lions), which coincides with the Chinese chronicles that state the capital of Chi Tu was Sing-Ha (means lion) and also the nearby Singhanakhon district.

This name may also be related to Tambralinga because there is "Tam" (means red) in this name as same as Raktamaritika and Tampapanni. And this state has appeared in 642, the same area of the central Malay peninsula after Chi Tu has already faded away from the history. The best evidence supporting this theory is the mention that when the envoys left Chi Tu, they took 10 days to sail to Champa, which indicates the kingdom was located at the 'red earth' areas such as Rattaphum because Rattaphum means red earth as well.

• Pan Pan
• Nakhon Si Thammarat kingdom (Ligor)
• Mahanavika Buddhagupta
• History of Kedah
• Sultanate of Kedah

• Nik Hassan Shuhaimi Nik Abdul Rahman (1998), The ENCYCLOPEDIA of Malaysia: early history, Volume 4, Archipelago Press, ISBN 981-3018-42-9
• Stuart Munro-Hay (1998), Nakhon Sri Thammarat. The Archaeology, History and Legends of a Southern Thai Town, White Lotus, pp. 19–22, ISBN 974-7534-73-8