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Ts’ai Tiao; T’ieh-wei-shan ts’ung-t’an,

(Collected remarks of T'ieh-wei Mountain)(11th century)
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Taken from: Paul Wheatley; Geographical notes on some commodities involved in Sung maritime trade.

Emperor Hui Tsung (1100-25) unexpectedly came upon two bottles of ambergris in the treasury called Yeng-ch'en-k'ni, (=perfume worn on the body) and was informed they were tribute from the Middle East.

Note: All authors agree that the Chinese only got to know Ambergris through the Arabs and that they were unaware that the substance was also found on their own coast. The Arabs collected Ambergris on all Indian Ocean coasts (including East-Africa); but the importance of early texts pointing to Ambergris in China is also that we have mentions of  black people arriving in China at the same time as the Ambergris; the Arabs were also importing black slaves, (who might also have come from South East Asia and / or Africa)