Legendary Port of The Maritime Silk Routes: Zayton (Quanzhou)

ADVANCE PRAISE FOR
Legendary Port of the Maritime Silk Routes:

Zayton (Quanzhou)
“[This book] presents a panorama of maritime Quanzhou of coastal China between the tenth and
fourteenth centuries and its trans-cultural character of this legendary port. The author applies a
maritime paradigm and a diachronic approach to relating the maritime past of Quanzhou with
its modern revival in the globalization context.”
—Dr. Doudou Diene, Chair of the Board of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience,
Former Director of the UNESCO Division of Intercultural and Inter-Religious Dialogue
and Coordinator of the UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialogue
“Instead of addressing Chinese history through the usual land-based perspective, the city of
Quanzhou is envisioned as a space where trade and cultures have created a specific blend that can
showcase Quanzhou as a city open to diversities. In this construction, the link between geography,
anthropology, economics and history is carefully chartered, allowing us to grasp how this specific
blend of Chinese culture, influenced by sea trade and cultural exchanges through oceanic
commerce, has been able to develop through centuries. A work one cannot miss when exploring
Chinese history and the past and present silk routes narrative.”
—Dr. Khal Torabully, Franco-Mauritian semiologist, poet, founder of the House of Wisdom
(Fez-Granada) and co-author of academic bestseller Coolitude
“The author’s insightful exploration of the Maritime Silk Route is much more than just an
account of the ancient world’s greatest global trade network. Much more importantly, it sheds
light on the values and priorities that, from time immemorial, have led Chinese to emphasize
peaceful coexistence and mutually beneficial trade—values that are more important than ever in
today’s every shrinking global community.”
—Dr. Bill Brown, Academic Director, OneMBA, School of Management, Xiamen University
Legendary Port
of the Maritime Silk Routes
This book is part of the Peter Lang Regional Studies list.
Every volume is peer reviewed and meets
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PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Qiang Wang
Legendary Port
of the Maritime Silk Routes
Zayton (Quanzhou)
PETER LANG
New York  Bern  Berlin
Brussels  Vienna  Oxford  Warsaw
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Wang, Qiang (College teacher), author.
Title: Legendary port of the maritime silk routes: Zayton (Quanzhou) / Qiang Wang.
Other titles: Zayton (Quanzhou), legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Description: New York: Peter Lang, 2020.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019018531 | ISBN 978-1-4331-7037-9 (hardback: alk. paper)
ISBN 978-1-4331-7039-3 (ebook pdf)
ISBN 978-1-4331-7040-9 (epub) | ISBN 978-1-4331-7041-6 (mobi)
Subjects: LCSH: Quanzhou Harbor (Quanzhou Shi, China)—History. | Quanzhou
Shi (China)—Commerce—History. | Trade routes—China--History. |
Quanzhou Shi (China)—History.
Classification: LCC DS797.26.Q34 W36 | DDC 387.1095124/5—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019018531
DOI 10.3726/b15743
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CONTENTS
List of Figures vii

Acknowledgments ix
List of Abbreviations xiii
Foreword: Zayton/Quanzhou—Ground Zero of the
Maritime Silk Roads by Dr. Doudou Diene xv
Preface xxi
Chapter 1. Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and World Emporium

in Maritime Trade 1
Chapter 2. Historic Relics Witnessed the Prosperity of Maritime Trade
(1000–1400) 27
Chapter 3. The Diversity of Maritime Culture in Quanzhou 87
Chapter 4. Historical Records About Quanzhou and Maritime Exchange 113
Chapter 5. Trade and Immigration Along Maritime Trade Routes 149
Chapter 6. The Prosperity of Ancient Maritime Quanzhou and Its
Enlightenment 171
vi legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Chapter 7. Quanzhou and Ibn Battuta—The Living Testimony of the

Silk Routes 217
Khal Torabully
Appendix: A Brief Introduction to Quanzhou:

Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China 235
FIGURES
Figure 1.1. The East and West Sea Chart of the Ming Dynasty (Partial) 2
Source: © Quanzhou Maritime Museum
Figure 2.1. Shipwreck Discovered in Quanzhou Bay in 1973 28
Figure 3.1. Old Town of Quanzhou 88
Source: © Photo by Pan Deng, Quanzhou Evening Post
Figure 4.1. Wind Payer Inscription on Mount Jiurishan 114
Source: © Quanzhou Maritime Museum & Heritage Center
Figure 5.1. Luoyang Bridge: A Symbol of Home for Overseas Chinese
Diaspora150
Source: © Wu Yunxuan
Figure 6.1. An Aerial View of the Old Town of Quanzhou 172
Figure 7.1. The Site of the Qingjing Mosque 218
Source: © Photo by the Author, Qiang Wang
Figure A.1. Sites of Quanzhou Harbor—Gusao Tower, Shihu Habor
and Luoyang Bridge 236
Source: © Quanzhou Maritime Museum & Heritage Center,
Pan Deng and Wu Yunxuan
viii legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Figure A.2. Old Town of Quanzhou—Flying Apsaras, Clock-tower,

West Street 245
Source: © Quanzhou Maritime Museum, Pan Deng,
Zheng Xinchuan
Figure A.3. Vertical View of the Site of Deji Gate 247
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Without purpose and vision, you go nowhere. However, nothing could be

achieved without the support of the people around you.
A great many people, whom I met recently or had already known for
years, have contributed directly or indirectly to the formation of this book.
It represents a culmination of my relationship with these wonderful people,
including scholars and friends both at home and abroad. First, I would like
to thank Dr. Doudou Diene, whom I regard as a mentor as well as a fellow
scholar. Dr. Doudou Diene was the international team leader of the UNESCO
Maritime Route Expedition, who visited Quanzhou in 1991. I did not have an
opportunity to thank him in person until we met at UNESCO in 2014. His
dedication to promoting the legacies of Quanzhou and the historical Maritime
Silk Routes inspires me to rediscover the universal value of historical monu-
ments and sites of Quanzhou.
Moreover, the conceptual metaphor of “the Ground Zero of Maritime Silk
Roads,” which Dr. Doudou Diene coined, inspired the people of Quanzhou
to revive the ancient glory of the city. Since then, researches on the mari-
time history of medieval Zayton (Quanzhou, 1000–1400) attract many schol-
ars both at home and abroad. The symbolic power of Maritime Silk Roads is
far reaching, which led to other new terms such as “New Silk Road Initiative”
x legendary port of the maritime silk routes
or “Maritime Silk Routes.” The vision for the common development in inter-
cultural exchange fosters cultural cohesion and encourages more people to
devote their time to the effort of reviving the historical links between China,
Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa and beyond.
I want to express my gratitude to Professor Wu Hao, Professor Anthony
Wong, Dr. Gavin Chau, Dr. Irini Tang, Dr. Sufya Lin, Professor Julia R. Lupton,
Professor Kevin Hannam, Professor Li Rong Bao, and Professor Liu Ya Meng,
Professor Mao Hao Ran, who had a significant impact on my research over
the last ten years.
Also, I appreciate the kindness of Dr. Mehrdad Shabahang, Dr. Khal
Torabully, Dr. Shirin Akiner, Dr. Bruce Liu, Mrs. May Hsu, Mrs. Diane
Lamperts, and Mr. Kurt Annasen, who shared with me their insights on the
legacies of Maritime Silk Routes. Moreover, I would extend my special grati-
tude to Dr. Zhou Zhenping, the Vice Mayor of Quanzhou municipality, Mr. Li
Jiping, Vice-Chair of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference
Quanzhou Municipal, Rochelle Gunaratne, a Journalist from Sri Lanka and
Mutinta Mundundu from Zambia for their kind comments and assistance in
writing the initial draft of the manuscript. In addition, my special thanks go to
Mary-Kate Moroney, one of the alumni of the University of Oregon.
I am also indebted to Mr. Zhou Kunmin, Dr. Ding Yuling, Professor
Gao Yulin, Professor Weng Xiaoyun, Mr. Alexander C. Hoho, Ms. Diane
Frymire, Ms. Shuying Lin, Mr. Wu Qikui, Mr. Wu Yunxuan, Mr Chen Yingjie,
Miss Chen Wen, Mr. Meng Peng, Mr. Shi Bingzhao, and Wang Jun, who
helped me with the preparation of the manuscript and the design of artworks.
Throughout the writing process, my friends, including scholars and local
citizens and volunteers in coastal China, read my first drafts. Their questions,
comments, and criticism enabled me to improve my manuscript immensely.
These individuals include Danilo Henriques, Guo Caishun, Huang Xiaohua,
Li Guohong, Lin Chengfeng, Song Lingting, Wu Zehua, Wang Yuping, Xu
Zhangyuan, Zheng Meicong.
The book would not have been possible without the support of the various
institutions; I would like to thank the support from the Quanzhou Municipal
Federation of Social Science Circles (QZSLK, 2016D01) and my colleagues
at Liming University for their encouragement and constructive comments
throughout the research and writing process. I also thank UNESCO Silk
Road Online Platform, Quanzhou Maritime Museum, Quanzhou Heritage
Management center, the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis, the House of
Wisdom of Fez-Granada, Jinjiang Heritage Management Center, Shishi
Acknowledgments xi
Museum, University of California, Irvine and the City University of Macau

in particular, for their allowing me access to the information I need and gen-
erously support the academic pursuit of my research.
I wish to extend a special note of gratitude to Professor Bill Brown, Mr.
Zeng Xudun, Mr. Zhuang Liang, Ms. Pan Yanhong, Ms. Chen Xiaoru, and Ms.
Liu Xuejun, Ms. Zhang Xiaodie, all of whom worked with me as volunteers
for the nomination work of Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan
China. I am grateful for their valuable time and advice in the writing process
of the first draft.
Sincere thanks also go to Production Manager Jackie Pavlovic, Editorial
Assistant Gaelyn Foster and Commissioning Editor Na Li at Peter Lang, for
their considerable support making this book ultimately came to fruition.
Finally, I dedicate this book to my family. Even though I wrote the text,
the work could not be completed without their support.
ABBREVIATIONS
UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and

Cultural Organization
QZSLK Quanzhou Municipal Federation of Social Science
Circles
The B&R Initiative The Belt and Road Initiative
FOREWORD:
ZAYTON/QUANZHOU—GROUND ZERO
OF THE MARITIME SILK ROADS
Dr. Doudou Diene
The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

(UNESCO) Constitution strongly advocates, as a critical foundation for
lasting and profound peace, the value of ethical and intellectual solidarity
between people, and promoting peace. The moral dimension highlights that
intangible but most fertile force of sympathy: conscience, expressed in ethics
and human values. The intellectual aspect indicates the instrument of the
construction of solidarity: an intellectual tool for knowledge and understand-
ing. The history of humanity is the scene of the permanent identity at an indi-
vidual and group level. The tension stems from poor human relations and the
contradiction between the quest for self-recognition, and the perception of
otherness, namely, diversity. This undeniable tension can lead to fear, hostil-
ity, war or attraction, the desire for knowledge and peace. In the long history
of the construction of human societies, these two pulls are not contradictory
but concomitant and consecutive. The depth of social values and the instru-
ment of intellectual knowledge are the two forces that make the difference in
all societies. Human values and knowledge constitute the two fundamental
legs of intercultural dialog.
The UNESCO Project of Integral Study of Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog is
based on and structured according to the above two factors: the value of moral
xvi legendary port of the maritime silk routes
and intellectual solidarity between people and promoting peace through the
knowledge of other cultures. The scientific relevance, program, and itinerary
of the Silk Roads expeditions (Land Route in China, Steppe Route in Central
Asia, Nomads Route in Mongolia, Maritime Route and Buddhist Route in
Nepal) were formulated by the International Scientific Committee of the
Project in close consultation with the Silk Roads National Coordinating
Committees. The Maritime Expedition (from Venice to Osaka) was made
possible due to the generosity of the Sultan of Oman who permitted the use
of their ship, the “Fulk Al Salamah,” the Ship of Peace. Besides, the program
received funding from Japanese and Korean media and the material support
of participating countries in China. My connection with Quanzhou was
forged in 1991 when I visited Quanzhou as a Coordinator of the International
Team of the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition. We traveled from Venice
(Italy) to Osaka (Japan) on board the “Fulk Al Salamah,” lent for the occasion
by the Sultan of Oman. The UNESCO international expedition team visited
Quanzhou not only to highlight its age-old heritage to the Maritime Silk Roads
but also to carry the message of peace between peoples, which is the ultimate
aim of the UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog.
Before the Fulk Al Salamah, sailed into the historical harbor of Quanzhou,
we encountered a fishing boat from Quanzhou, which had lost its power and
was drifting on the sea for eight days. We rescued the eight fishermen who
were in dire straits. When the Fulk Al Salamah arrived at the Houzhu Port
Terminal of Quanzhou on February 14, 1991, it coincided with the eve of
Chinese New Year. The eight fishermen had an emotional reunion with their
villagers, and the whole city warmly welcomed us.
I first met John Qiang Wang and other members of the Quanzhou delega-
tion at the headquarters of UNESCO in 2014. I felt a profound link connect-
ing us. It is the ten-year project entitled “Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads
of Dialog” launched by UNESCO in 1988 to “highlight the complex cultural
interactions arising from the encounters between East and West and help-
ing to shape the rich common heritage of the Eurasian peoples.” In medieval
times, Quanzhou had forged profound cultural, spiritual, and trade connec-
tions with Arabs, Persians and Europeans.
When I revisited Quanzhou in 2017, I met John again when he worked
as an interpreter and event organizer at the UNESCO Youth Forum on the
Silk Roads.
The UNESCO Youth Forum in Quanzhou was a tremendous success.
Eighty-six young people from sixty countries participated in the forum for
Foreword xvii
creativity and heritage protection in the historical city of Quanzhou. Dialog,

cooperation and common development is the theme and aim of UNESCO.
Heritage provides a cultural identity and a sense of belonging for the younger
generation. The legacies of yesterday bring insight and knowledge to young
people, the future decision-makers, and this enlightenment provides a com-
mon ground for the development of the world. The emerging international
visibility of the Silk Roads and its controversial interpretation requires draw-
ing attention to the cultural legacy of the Silk Roads for the renewal of a new
global, intercultural dialog beyond political and economic dimensions.
I encouraged John to write down the story of Quanzhou to inspire young
people and raise awareness among duty-bearers of the importance of full youth
engagement in promoting peaceful coexistence and sustainable development.
In the past five years, John has been active in the protection and promotion
of the historical heritage of Quanzhou and its maritime trade.
It is my pleasure to recommend Mr. John Qiang Wang and his remarkable
book: Legendary Port of the Maritime Silk Routes: Zayton (Quanzhou). The book
is about the legendary stories of Zayton and its legacies of maritime trade.
He reminded me that the visit of the International Team of the UNESCO
Maritime Route Expedition legitimated the age-old vision of historical links
and interactions of the people of Quanzhou when they were working hard
to revive this historic port city. I was warmly welcomed by the people and
authorities of Quanzhou and was met by great emotion with some fishermen
we rescued and scholars who became friends. I was very proud to revisit the
Maritime Museum, which we inaugurated in February 1991 during my ini-
tial visit. The Islamic heritage of the Museum is one of the richest outside
the Muslim World. Quanzhou is now my second home. When I revisited
Quanzhou, I was proud to find that the legacies of the Integral Study of the Silk
Roads: Roads of Dialog launched by UNESCO in 1988 had given the people a
vision and enlightenment, which inspired the people in Quanzhou to revive
the historical links with the outside world. Moreover, it was done within a
duration of merely 13 years.
xviii legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Quanzhou in the UNESCO Project of the

Integral Study of the Silk Roads, Roads of
Dialog (1988–1997)
The International Scientific Committee of the Project integrated the Province
of Fujian and the city of Quanzhou in the program of the Silk Roads Maritime
Expedition based on critical factors illustrating the fundamental objective of
the Project: “Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog.”
The geographic factor: Fujian Province, in general, and Quanzhou in
particular, is the geographic and symbolic ground zero of the Maritime Silk
Roads: point of departure and destination of trade routes by the sea on the
Eurasian continent.
The abundant heritage factor: the concentration of physical and intangible
signs and symbols and expressions of human, cultural, and spiritual interac-
tions are the factors UNESCO Silk Roads Project aimed at documenting.
The living multicultural identity factor: the culture and ethics of living
together are permeating the Fujian and Quanzhou society by the recognition
of a plural identity and the construction throughout the history of a common
heritage. This rich heritage of Chinese, Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Manichean
and Christian religions and spiritual traditions, is unique in its depth and
scope along the Maritime Silk Roads.
Quanzhou’s Cultural Legacy to the

Revitalization of the Modern Silk Roads
The cultural legacy of Quanzhou/Zayton, as illustrated by UNESCO Silk
Roads Project, is the need to structure and deepen intercultural dialog around
the three fundamental levels of culture: esthetic, ethic, and spiritual.
The esthetic dimension of culture: Artistic expressions, creation of forms and
structures, is the first degree and perception of the diversity of the culture of
other peoples. The starting degree of dialog and interaction;
The ethical dimension of culture: It reaches out to the human values of peo-
ple at heart and the source of its artistic expressions and creations. It is a
deeper level of dialog, perception, knowledge and understanding of the cul-
ture of other people. It is the level of recognizing the humanity of another.
The spiritual dimension of culture: It highlights the beliefs of a people which
transcends and nourishes its esthetic and ethical expressions. These three
Foreword xix
dimensions are the necessary and fundamental steps of intercultural dialog

as a permanent construction, progressively linking the singular and specific
identity of a people with the universal and shared values of humanity.
The concept of Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog expresses
its permanent dialectics: Movement-encounter-transformation. Modern
Quanzhou is thus regaining the name and fame of the mythical aura of
ancient Zayton. By its vibrant multicultural identity and heritage, Quanzhou
is a powerful illustration of the urgent need to nourish the present globalized
economic world, with the revival of the most lasting contribution of the lega-
cies derived from historic maritime trade to human history, as expressed by the
UNESCO Constitution: ethical and intellectual solidarity of peoples.
Doudou Diene
Chair of the Board of the International Coalition of Sites of Conscience.
Former Director of the UNESCO Division of Intercultural and Inter-religious
Dialog and Coordinator of the UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads
of Dialog.
October 30, 2018
PREFACE
The premodern maritime trade routes connecting China, Southeast Asia, the
Indian Ocean region, Arab World and Africa were barely mentioned by the
Western mainstream not because they were insignificant, but because the his-
torical sites and monuments about these commercial practices are not as rich
as the overland silk trade routes across Asia. East Asian maritime history and
cultures before the Great Discoveries were therefore slighted, and the time
periods were given less attention than they deserve.
A long-standing negative stereotype of the Western mainstream has
argued that China was an insular and xenophobic land (Clark, 1995). Not
until recent years have some scholars (Clark, 1995; Schottenhammer, 2006)
at last began to temper this stereotype with a more realistic appraisal of the
relationship between traditional Chinese and the non-Chinese world.
British scholar Arther Cristopher Moule,1 French scholars Denys
Lombard,2 and Paul Pelliot,3 American scholars Rockhill,4 Lincoln Paine,5
Chan Hok-lam,6 Hugh R. Clark,7 Tansen Sen,8 Thomas Allsen,9 Morris
Rossabi,10 German scholar Angela Schottenhammer,11 and many others have
participated in a reassessment of the relationship between China and its
Asian neighbors, as well as people in other parts of the world, demonstrating
xxii legendary port of the maritime silk routes
a higher level of equality and cultural exchange than that stereotype could
ever acknowledge.
Angela Schottenhammer (2001) questions historic views undervaluing
the role of maritime trade in Chinese economic development, cultural and
societal patterns in the book World Emporium: Maritime Quanzhou 1000–1400.
The literature, both modern and premodern, often gives the impression that the
Chinese were not interested in trade as a commercial undertaking, that all they
would tolerate was a form of official tribute trade and except that tribute trade which
tended to pursue the aim of representing China as the great ‘Middle Kingdom’ in
Asia which was being pragmatically designed for commercial purposes… trade and
merchants generally were held in fairly low esteem in ancient Chinese society. This
picture is not the whole story.12
Upon closer examination of historical records, one will find that much
more trade went on than many official documents reveal, and to use the words
of Abu-Lughod—that documented trade “was only the tip of an iceberg” of
unrecorded “private trade.”13
In addition, as early as the nineteenth century, Japanese scholars Fujita
Toyohachi14 (1869–1929), Shiratori Kurakich15 (1865–1942), Kuwabara
Jistuzo16 (1871–1931) and Peter Yoshiro Saeki17 (1871–1965) and other
scholars conducted extensive researches on the historical role of Zayton in the
maritime trade and cultural exchange between the East and the West during
the Song and Yuan dynasties.
Beyond a doubt, the name Zayton is derived from Citong-Cheng, the
Chinese Nickname of Quanzhou. Chinese scholars, Zhang Xingliang,18 Chen
Wanli and Wu Wenliang, a student inspired by Zhang’s lecture at Amoy
University, were among the first Chinese scholars who linked Quanzhou to
Zayton, the famous medieval port city by field researches. Gustav Ecke (1896–
1971) and Paul Demiéville (1894–1979) joined them in the fieldwork carried
out in Quanzhou during their stay at Amoy University from 1925 to 1927.
One of the results of their field research in Quanzhou was The Twin Pagodas of
Zayton: A Study of Later Buddhist Sculpture in China published in 1935.19
In 1957, Goodrich published Recent Discoveries at Zayton. He declared
that Zayton was a famous historic port city in the academic circles of Asian
history.
Every student of Asiatic history has heard of Zayton, or Chuan-chou, the famous port
on the southeast coast of China, especially active during the years ca.900 to 1474. At
Preface xxiii
the height of its prosperity, the city and its suburbs may have had a population close
to half a million souls.20
Sporadic Maritime trade contacts along the Southeast China coast had
already existed during the Han Dynasty, but a remarkable development in
maritime trade relations with the outside world took place under the Song
and Yuan dynasties, roughly from the tenth to fourteenth centuries. This was
a period in which China also experienced a massive upswing in its private
economic sector.
Some Western scholars including Angela Schottenhammer (2001) and
Tansen Sen (2006) argued that the impact of surging maritime trade on coastal
China and the local authorities’ interest in administrating and promoting it
was tremendous. Manufacturing industries, marketing structures, and mone-
tary investment all developed rapidly in coastal China. These developments
were replicated in new ports such as Quanzhou.
Mark Elvin (1973) has even proposed that the eighth century was the
beginning of an urban and commercial revolution in China, leading to a tran-
sition of Chinese history from the premodern to the modern era.
Overseas trade was first encouraged by local authorities in Quanzhou in
the tenth century. The establishment of contacts and markets created oppor-
tunities, and the seafarers and maritime merchants in Quanzhou successfully
exploited them. Therefore, its successful practices laid a solid foundation and
provided a reference for subsequent development. In the eleventh century,
the imperial court began to promote maritime trade actively, a political mea-
sure which had consequences in an extension of maritime trade relations with
the ports in Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and the Arabic world.
According to Billy K. L. So (2000) in Prosperity, Region and Institutions
in Maritime China: The South Fukien Pattern, 946–1368, he considers South
Fukien from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries to be “representative of the
prosperity of maritime China… largely because of the seaport-city of Chuan-
chou (Quanzhou)”.
As prosperity emerges from economic performance and can be depicted
as a process, as financial performance always takes place in a local macro-
and micro-economic context, and as institutions are critical to economic
development.
Billy So (2000) achieves his goal of constructing a framework for under-
standing the causes behind the prosperity of South Fukien. He analyzed all
significant developments from the commercialization of the local agricultural
xxiv legendary port of the maritime silk routes
sector to the emergence of local industries—above all, the ceramic industry—

and the impact of the imperial clan and the local elite. He examines monetary
issues, government administration of the maritime trade, the legal framework,
including property rights, and the informal institutional constraints on the
merchants (rationality, ethics, the social fabric).
The other major study on the subject is Hugh R. Clark’s comprehensive
monograph on South Fukien (Community, Trade, and Networks: Southern
Fujian Province from the Third to the Thirteenth Century, 1991). In contrast
to Clark, Billy So (2000) distinguishes between economic development in
the northern and southern regions of South Fukien during the Song Dynasty,
and he extends the time frame to the Yuan Dynasty. He is less concerned
than Clark with commercialization but is more interested in the integration of
South Fukien’s economic development within a broader temporal and spatial
context and in how it fits into formal and informal institutional structures.
Though the application of the Song and Yuan trade pattern to China’s
contemporary economic development is debatable, the premodern prosperity
of South Fukien shed light on the values of peaceful dialog, cultural diversity
and common development UNESCO pursuits.
As Janet Abu-Lughod (1987) has already shown that “by the middle of
the thirteenth century the Occident (Western Europe) and the Orient (as far
as China) were linked together through a system of trade and, to a much lesser
extent, the production that had begun to form into what might be termed a
‘world system’ ”. The trading system during the Song and Yuan dynasties was
unlike today as the nodes linked together were central places and port cities,
rather than whole countries, but “it was substantially more complex in an
organization, greater in volume, and more sophisticated in execution than
anything the world had previously known.”
Schottenhammer (2001) argued, “In this context, we should be careful
not to underestimate the volume of trade and the extension of trade relations
during this period.” “The claim that the ‘age of commerce’ began only around
1400, a time when ‘the growth in demand for Southeast Asian produce appears
to have risen relatively suddenly’ in Chinese as in Mediterranean markets, in
my eyes, is problematic.”
According to the above research and an analysis of historical records, we
could infer that maritime trade relations had already experienced a boom at
the latest in the Song and Yuan dynasties (thirteenth-fourteenth centuries).
The historic monument and sites of ancient Quanzhou and both Chinese
and Arabic historical records revealed a panorama of the commercial and
Preface xxv
cultural exchange between the East and the West; apart from Marco Polo
and Ibn Battuta. At the same time, we should know drawing a clear distinc-
tion between official tribute trade and “illegal” private trade will mostly be
unattainable.
The imperial court and members of the ruling elite in China were engaged
in maritime trade, even promoted it, and their integration into business and
commerce was far from being negligible for the development of maritime
trade during the Song and Yuan dynasties.
This volume, therefore, seeks to provide more evidence for these state-
ments and, consequently, examines the history of a world emporium and port
city under the “medieval international world trade system.” It discusses some
particularly meaningful, fascinating, and often neglected aspects of Quanzhou
maritime trade history, but it does not aim to present a “total history” cover-
ing the complete history of this trade between the tenth and the fourteenth
centuries.
The book will only focus on the heritage of ancient Quanzhou (Zayton)
and its enlightenment to the future. My initial idea was inspired by the field-
work of the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition team led by Dr. Doudou
Diene in Quanzhou in 1991. In recognition of its crucial role along the his-
toric Maritime Silk Trade Routes, Quanzhou was selected as one of the focal
points of the UNESCO “The Integral Study of the Silk Roads, Roads of Dialog
(1988–1997).” On the 14th of February 1991, the 700th anniversary of Polo’s
farewell to China from Zayton, the International Team of the UNESCO
Maritime Route Expedition, who traveled from Africa, the Americas, Asia
and Europe on board the Fulk Al Salamah, the “Ship of Peace,” lent for the
occasion by the Sultan of Oman, arrived at Quanzhou for a six-day on-site
inspection.
Around 100 scientists and 45 journalists from 34 countries participated in
this 154-day study trip and exchanged ideas about the cultural interactions,
common heritage and plural identities that emerged and developed along
these maritime routes over the centuries. The UNESCO Maritime Route
Expedition traveled over 27,000 kilometers from Venice (Italy) to Osaka
(Japan), visiting 27 historical ports in sixteen countries along the Maritime
Silk Roads.
Dr. Doudou Diene, the Coordinator of the Maritime Expedition of
UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog commented in his
speech that the on-site inspection of the heritage sites and monuments at
Quanzhou was one of the highlights of these collaborations.
xxvi legendary port of the maritime silk routes
In recognition of the peaceful coexistence and inclusive Maritime

Quanzhou represents in the historic maritime exchange, a new inscription
was erected in Mount Jiurishan to commemorate the dialog and friendship.
We, the International Team of the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition… are here
as pilgrims not only to renew the age-old prayer but also to carry the message of
peace between peoples, the ultimate aim of the UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk
Roads: Roads of Dialog.21
In late October 2014, I visited UNESCO headquarters in Paris as a mem-

ber of the Quanzhou Cultural Exchange Delegation. It was an honor and gave
me immense pleasure to meet Dr. Doudou Diene, who visited Quanzhou as
the leader of the International Team of UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition
in 1991. Moreover, he referred me to Dr. Mehrdad Shabahang, who is working
for the UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform. Mehrdad Shabahang and I had
a meeting before I left Paris. Mehrdad showed great interest in the maritime
history of Quanzhou and requested that I provide more information about
Quanzhou so that he could write an article on the city of Quanzhou and its
role in the Maritime Silk Routes to be posted online through the UNESCO Silk
Road Online Platform.
I find only a handful of books in the international language which serve
the purpose; I think it is an obligation of mine as a local scholar to write a book
about the heritage of Zayton and its enlightenment to promote Quanzhou in
the international forum. I decided to write a book about Quanzhou for young
students so that it could be used as a reference book in rediscovering legendary
Zayton and its legacies of Maritime Quanzhou.
An introduction of Quanzhou on the UNESCO website reads,
Sailors, merchants and explorers came together in Quanzhou from across many differ-
ent regions of the world, and their continual presence in the city contributed to the
development of peaceful coexistence between the many different ethnic and religious
groups in the city, including Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists, Nestorians, Manichaeans,
Jews, Catholics and Muslims. This is illustrated by the diversity of historic religious
sites and monuments in the city of Quanzhou. 22
The serial monuments and sites of ancient Quanzhou (Zayton) provides a full
picture and typical representation of various sites types of the cultural heritage asso-
ciated with the priming period for the city of Quanzhou (the tenth to fourteenth cen-
turies) when its function as a prosperous international hub of maritime trade between
East Asia, Europe and the Arab region.23
Preface xxvii
I have tried to capture a non-Europe-centered view of the maritime his-

tory about Zayton with a global perspective, though it poses a significant prob-
lem. Every social scholar is caught in the discourse of his own and his own
time. Even with a conscious effort to rise above our natural ethnocentrism,
heritage history must be expressed in a Western language, using the social
science concepts familiar to the West in this period. Inevitably, it is limited by
the extent of the information now available. After four years of information
gathering and seemingly endless discussions with scholars in the related field,
the idea of writing this book first began to take shape.
It takes the significant time and commitment to write a book. When I was
working on it, I felt like I was sailing a boat in the high sea to find the way to
Zayton. Initially, I had to immerse myself in reading and information gath-
ering. Reading is like talking with the authors of books, which can give us
positive minds and clues to the way ahead. However, one must fight the inner
critic when it starts whispering to you in the middle of the night.
My voluntary work in the World Heritage Nomination Office of Quanzhou
from December 2016 to early September 2017 gave me access to a wealth
of information and inspiration, which kept me on the right track, primar-
ily when I work with scholars at home and abroad. In the past four years,
I am honored to have had the opportunity to participate in the first meeting
of the UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform in Xi’an in 2015 and the second
meeting in Valencia in 2016 and the Consultative Meeting on the UNESCO
Interactive Atlas of Silk Roads Project in 2017. In February 2018, I was invited
by Dr. Khal Torabully and the House of Wisdom Association to visit Fez,
Morocco, where I had the privilege to read the original manuscript of Ibn
Battuta, who recorded his visit to Zayton in 1392. The original script has been
kept at the Al-Qwarawiyine Library in the Madina of Fez, the oldest existing
library and higher education institution in the world, which is the part of the
World Heritage Medina of Fez in Morocco recognized by UNESCO in 1981.
My work experience with UNESCO and in-depth research into related
historical documents depict a panorama of historic maritime trade connec-
tions with Zayton. In ancient civilization, there was a vast network of mar-
itime transportation and trade routes, using monsoons to guide navigation,
which connected not only many nations and regions of the vast Western
Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean but also promoted cultural and commer-
cial exchanges between the East and the West. The maritime trade network
connecting coastal China, Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and other parts
xxviii legendary port of the maritime silk routes
of the world is today known as Maritime Silk Trade Routes or Maritime Silk
Routes.
However, I have also noticed the gap between Western discourse and
Eastern discourse in this period of history. In the reviews on the Nomination
of Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou (Zayton) in 2018, the
International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) argued that
“Much of the global history of maritime connectivity has focused on the ‘age
of discovery’ or on periods when maritime trading routes were entangled with
the globalizing effects of colonization”. The Age of Exploration or Age of
Discovery as is mentioned by ICOMOS, officially began in the early fifteenth
century and lasted until the seventeenth century. The Western academic
community narrates the period as a time when Europeans began exploring the
world by sea in search of trading partners, new goods and new trade routes.
The assertion of the Great Discoveries as the beginning of a global history
of maritime connectivity could be easily challenged and refuted. The truth
is that before the Age of Exploration and colonization initiated by Western
explorers; there were already frequent and prosperous interregional maritime
trade and cultural exchanges between East Asia and the Middle East, Africa
and Europe from the tenth to the fourteenth centuries, especially between
China and the Arab world. These premodern trade and cultural exchanges
made significant contributions to the progress of civilizations.
Known as Zayton to the greater world, Quanzhou established itself as one
of the critical port cities at the east end of Maritime Silk Trade Routes, which
played a significant role in facilitating the connection and fusion between
China and the outside world as early as the ninth century.
Marco Polo (1254–1324) was one of those European travelers who traveled
extensively throughout Asia and witnessed the prosperity of maritime trade.
His account, The Travels of Marco Polo, was one of the first vivid descriptions
of China and the prosperous maritime trade between China and the outside
world in a European language. It surprised and shocked its European readers.
For one shipload of pepper that goes to Alexandria, or elsewhere, destined for
Christendom, there comes a hundred such, aye and more, too, to this haven of
Zayton, for it is one of the two greatest havens in the world for commerce.24
Except for a few travelogs from medieval travelers, the West knew little
about the ocean route that extended coastwise through the China Sea and
Southeast Asia to India, and Africa.
Preface xxix
Zayton, the ancient term for present-day Quanzhou, enjoyed a reputa-

tion in maritime trade due to its unique position in the maritime navigation
and trade network between the Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean
at that time, Zayton witnessed a historically unprecedented concentration
of population growth and urban prosperity. Inspired by Marco Polo’s vivid
description of Zayton and other prosperous Chinese port cities, Columbus
was seeking a shortcut to China’s Zayton when Toscanelli, who provided
Columbus with his map, wrote to him in 1474 that Zayton had more “naviga-
tors with merchandise” than the rest of the world combined.
When Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) was approaching the
unknown continent on October 11th of 1492, he recorded in his navigation
accounts that there were only 100 légua from Zayton (Quanzhou) and Kinsai
(Hangzhou). At the time Christopher Columbus failed to find the correct
direction to Zayton, there were long-existing specific accounts by Arabian
and Chinese sailors that utilized celestial navigation to allow for repeat pas-
sages in both directions.
Half a century before Christopher Columbus (1451–1506) “discovered”
the new world in 1492, the Chinese admiral Zheng-He (1371–1433) had
made his seven great voyages with a huge fleet of treasure ships—the largest
sailing ships of that time that carried the finest porcelains, lacquerware and
silk. Zheng-He and his fleet made seven great trading voyages and established
a historical milestone when China ruled the seas as both an economic and
naval power.
The unparalleled prosperity made possible by the great maritime route
peaked between the tenth and fourteenth centuries. Thanks to this period’s
booming maritime transportation and trade, Quanzhou was the most critical
strategic port city in the East along the great maritime routes of the Yuan
Dynasty (1271–1368). Quanzhou was nicknamed Zayton for the widespread
planting of Paulownia trees (known as Zayton in Arabic because of the similar
pronunciation in both languages). During the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960–
1368), the port became very popular throughout Asia, Africa and Europe and
it was even mentioned in the legends of Sinbad. It is believed that the English
word, “satin” was derived from “Zayton,” its place of origin. Dubbed “the Largest
Port in the East” by such great medieval travelers as Ibn Battuta, Marco Polo
called Quanzhou “the great and noble city of Zayton.”
This prosperity of Zayton collapsed after the chaos at the end of the
Yuan Dynasty and the follow-up conservative politics diminished the local
ship-building support. Though private trade between the China coast and
xxx legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Southeast Asia still went on in a relatively small scale, European seafarers

began to explore these waters as a precursor to what would become Western
dominance of far-eastern trade.
Modern nautical archeologists have begun to clarify and extend this his-
tory through the discovery of even earlier ships and nautical charts. The latter
is indicative of a much more complex Chinese maritime history than that
which has been previously understood.
The German traveler, geographer and scientist, Ferdinand Freiherr von
Richthofen (better known as Baron von Richthofen in English) is renowned
for coining the terms “Seidenstraße” and “Seidenstraßen” meaning Silk Road
(s) on land or Silk Route (s) of the sea respectively in 1877.
Richthofen’s focus was not just on physical geography but also on geogra-
phy as a whole.
Richthofen (1877) is quite explicit about what he considers the correct
approach to the study of geography. A geographer must start by studying geol-
ogy and the physical landscape, but then he should move on to the second
stage of analysis, focusing on interaction with a changing environment. He
justifies his assertion that when the Tang Dynasty reconquered Central Asia,
the nature of the silk trade had changed. “By this time, silk was not just a form
of luxury textile; it was a form of currency.”
In that sense, Richthofen (1877) coins the term “Seidenstraßen” (Silk
Roads or Silk Routes).
The history of both Continental and Maritime Silk Routes is a history of
activity across Eurasia, a history of travel, exploration and the exchange of
cultural information.
With the rise of Islam, the interaction across Eurasia that had taken place
centuries earlier was shifted from the overland Silk Road to the maritime
trade routes after Tang (618–907) withdrew from Central Asia in the mid-
dle of the eighth century. However, Richthofen was merely wrong about the
absence of evidence for cultural and commercial exchange between Persia
and China in the pre-Mongol period. The Persian glass and ceramic wares, as
well as related stone inscriptions discovered in the recent archeological dis-
covery in a southeast coastal region of China, bear testimony to the frequent
exchange between China’s coastal area and the Persian Gulf. At the same
time, Richthofen (1877) made it clear that the maritime trade flourished, and
evidence in the Chinese annals and accounts indicates in the twelfth-century
Chinese vessels made it all the way to Siraf in the Persian Gulf and visited
Aden. Richthofen (1877) argued that for the most part, this trade was in the
Preface xxxi
hand of Arabs and Persians. He was lacking information and the necessary
archeological evidence to discover that Chinese sailing ships were taking the
place of Arabs and Persians in Asia and the Indian Ocean during the ruling of
the Mongol Yuan between the thirteenth and the fourteenth century.
With the methodology and terminology coined by Richthofen, many
scholars and researchers contributed to extending the literature of maritime
silk trade existing along the acclaimed route of interregional maritime trade
and cultural interchange between East and West during the tenth to four-
teenth centuries, or the period in ancient China governed by the Song and
Yuan dynasties. Since the Maritime Expedition of the UNESCO Integral Study
of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog led by Dr. Doudou Diene visited Quanzhou
in 1991, the researches on Zayton and other parts of coastal China with the
West in the medieval maritime trade. The terms, including “Maritime Silk
Road (s)” and “Maritime Silk (Trade) Routes,” are used to refer to the medieval
maritime trade and cultural interchange between East and West in the tenth
and fourteenth centuries.
One may agree with Richthofen that during the post-Han period, the
West forgot what it had known about China. Indeed, the establishment of
an Eastern presence in China under the Tang seems to have left no trace in
Western geographical knowledge. While Islamic geographical works include
much new information about Central and East Asia, little of this became
known in medieval Europe.
Hence, due to the lack of a holistic perspective, Western scholars like
Warwick Ball dismissed the concept of the Silk Road as a meaningless neol-
ogism. He argued that the Silk Road bears little relationship to the reality on
the ground in Eurasia.25
He asserted that the Silk Roads lack analytical value, especially if Silk
Roads is a term which includes almost any form of human exchange across all
of Eurasia in the past two or more millennia.
Hugh R. Clark (1995) and other researchers considered Quanzhou, the
port of call on the maritime silk trade route and a window to probe into the
historic maritime trade between coastal China, Southeast Asia, the Indian
Ocean and another part of the world during the medieval time.
Ironically, it was Quanzhou’s failure to perpetuate its position through later centuries
that made the present study possible, while comparable studies of other ports are less
feasible if not impossible. The port sank back into the finalized obscurity after its
last burst of prominence under the Mongols in the early fourteenth century, and the
resulting somnolence left untouched the remains that allow my analysis. In contrast,
xxxii legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Guangzhou’s success at reclaiming its central position makes it all but impossible to
compare its role as a locus of exchange in the Song Dynasty to that of Quanzhou. In
the pursuit of building materials and the ensuing reconstruction of the city itself, later
generations obliterated the archeological monuments that are central to my analysis
of Quanzhou.—Hugh R. Clark
To promote the historical heritage of Zayton and its enlightening leg-

acies to the development of the global economy, I think it is necessary to
make a systemic introduction of the premodern maritime history of Quanzhou
and rediscover the shared values cultivated in the historic maritime trade,
including inclusiveness and win-win cooperation. It is in everyone’s interest
to revive the historical network of partnerships formed in the light of land-
mark legacies as it will provide tremendous opportunities by connecting Asia
with Europe and Africa and will promote common development among all
the countries involved.
Notes
1. Gadrat, C. (2014). Avignon, porte pour l’Orient (première moitié du XIVe siècle).
2. Chen, D., & Lombard, D. (2000). Foreign Merchants in Maritime Trade in Quanzhou
(Zaitun): Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. Lombard and Aubin, Asian Merchants and
Businessmen in the Indian Ocean and the China Sea, 19–23.
3. Moule, A. C., Pelliot, P., & Polo, M. (1938). Marco Polo: the description of the world.
Routledge & Sons Limited.
4. Goodrich, L. C. (1957). Recent Discoveries at Zayton. Journal of the American Oriental
Society, 77 (3), 161–165.
5. Paine, L. (2005). Martin Stuart-Fox, A Short History of China and Southeast Asia: Tribute,
Trade and Influence. Short History of Asia Series. Crow’s Nest, NSW: Allen and Unwin,
2003. x+ 278 pp. ISBN: 1-86448-954-5 (pbk.). Itinerario, 29 (2), 124–126.
6. Chan Hok-Lam (1966). Chinese Refugees in Annam and Champa at the End of the Sung
Dynasty, JSEAS 7, 2 (1966): 1–10.
7. Clark, H. R. (1995). Muslims and Hindus in the Culture and Morphology of Quanzhou
from the Tenth to the Thirteenth Century. Journal of World History, 49–74.
8. Sen, T. (2006). The formation of Chinese maritime networks in Southern Asia, 1200–
1450. Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 49 (4), 421–453.
9. Allsen, T. T. (2004). Culture and Conquest in Mongol Eurasia. Cambridge University  Press.
10. Rossabi, M. (Ed.). (1983). China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and its Neighbors,
10th–14th Centuries. University of California Press.
11. Schottenhammer, A. (2006). The East Asian Maritime World, 1400–1800. Its Fabrics of
Power and Dynamics of Exchanges (Vol. 4). Otto Harrassowitz.
12. Schottenhammer, A. (Ed.). (2001). The Emporium of the world: Maritime Quanzhou,
1000–1400 (Vol. 49). Brill.
Preface xxxiii
13. Abu-Lughod, J. L. (1992). Creating a world economy: merchant capital, colonialism, and
world trade, 1400–1825. by Alan K. Smith. Contemporary Sociology, 21(3), 350–352.
14. Clark, H. R. (1994). Three Studies on the Local history of Southern Fujian. Journal of
Song-Yuan Studies (24), 255–267.
15. Yingsheng, L., & Kauz, R. (2008). Armenia in Chinese Sources. Iran and the Caucasus, 12
(2), 175–190.
16. So, B. K. L. (1982). Economic Developments in South Fukien, 946–1276.
17. Saeki, Y. (1951). The Nestorian documents and relics in China. Toho Bunkwa
Gakuin: Academy of Oriental Culture, Tokyo Institute.
18. Zhang Xinglang. (2007). Quanzhou Fang Gu Ji (A Field Research at the Historical Sites of
Quanzhou), Xiamen University Press.
19. Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of Later Buddhist
Sculpture in China (Vol. 2). Harvard University Press.
20. Goodrich, L. C. (1957). Recent Discoveries at Zayton. Journal of the American Oriental
Society, 77 (3), 161–165.
21. The Sultanate of Oman Supports the UNESCO Silk Road Online... (n.d.). Retrieved
from https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/sultanate-oman-supports-unesco-silk-road.
22. Shabahang, M. (2016). Quanzhou | Silk Roads—UNESCO. Retrieved from https html://
en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/quanzhou.
23. Wang,Q.(2017) A brief Introduction of Quanzhou Retrieved from http://www.zaytun.org/
24. The Song Dynasty in China. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/

songdynasty-module/outside-trade.
25. Rezakhani, K. (2010). The road that never was: The Silk Road and trans-Eurasian
exchange. Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East, 30 (3), 420–433.
References
Abu-Lughod, J. (1987). The Shape of The World System in the Thirteenth Century. Studies in
Comparative International Development, 22 (4), 3–25.
Clark, H. R. (1995). Muslims and Hindus in the Culture and Morphology of Quanzhou from
the Tenth to the Thirteenth Century. Journal of World History, 49–74.
Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of Later Buddhist
Elvin, M. (1973). The pattern of the Chinese past: A social and economic interpretation.
Stanford University Press.
Goodrich, L. C. (1957). Recent Discoveries at Zayton. Journal of the American Oriental Society,
77 (3), 161–165.
Sen, T. (2006). The formation of Chinese maritime networks in Southern Asia, 1200–1450.
Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 49 (4), 421–453.
Schottenhammer, A. (Ed.). (2001). The Emporium of the world: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–
1400 (Vol. 49). Brill.
Schottenhammer, A., & Ptak, R. (Eds.). (2006). The Perception of Maritime Space in
Traditional Chinese Sources (Vol. 2). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag.
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So, B. K. & Su, J. (2000). Prosperity, region and institutions in maritime China: The South
Fukien pattern, 946–1368 (Vol. 195). Harvard University Asia Center.
Von Richthofen, F. (1877). China. Bde. I, II und IV (von 5) in 3 Bdn. Berlin, Reimer.
Waugh, D. C. (2007). Richthofen’s “Silk Roads”: toward the archeology of a concept. The Silk
Road, 5 (1), 1–10.
·1·
zayton as a crucial harbor
and world emporium in
maritime   trade
Section 1: Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and

World Emporium in Maritime Trades
From the tenth to fourteenth centuries, a vast network of maritime transpor-
tation and sea routes used monsoon winds to usher navigation not only to
connect countries and regions surrounding the vast Western Pacific and the
Indian Ocean but also promote cultural and commercial exchanges between
the East and the West. This network is known today as the ancient Maritime
Silk Trade Routes.
Located on the southeastern coast of China, Quanzhou was one of the
crucial Chinese harbors along the historic maritime trade routes. Known as
Zayton (or Zaitûn) to countless medieval seafarers and traders arriving from
the Persian Gulf or the Arab world, the legendary port of Quanzhou wel-
comed sailors and travelers from diverse cultures and religions when they tra-
versed these routes.
The modern port city of Quanzhou occupies an exceptionally important place in the
study of East-West maritime relations in the Middle Ages. (Samuel, 2005)
2 legendary port of the maritime silk routes
Figure 1.1. The East and West Sea Chart of the Ming Dynasty (Partial).
The commercial and cultural interaction between the city and other
regions—particularly those around the South China Sea—can date as far
back as the Southern and Northern Dynasties of the sixth century A.D.
Subsequently, the port became one of the four major Chinese ports in use
under the Tang Dynasty (618–907) and became the largest port in eastern
China during the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1271–1368).
Quanzhou grew to international predominance in the Song Dynasty and
functioned as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Routes into the Yuan, sur-
passing both the overland trade routes and other Chinese ports. According to
UNESCO (2016), Zayton was a crucial Chinese harbor linked with more than
one hundred other ports along the maritime trade routes, including Madras in
India, Siraf in Iran, Muscat in Oman and Zanzibar of Tanzania.
One may wonder about the name of this renowned port—a reference
for sailors, traders and travelers from diverse lands. Since the tenth century,
Erythrina variegata trees have been planted around the haven entrance to
welcome and impress maritime merchants and sailors with their eye-catching
red flowers. Citong (刺桐), the Chinese name for the flower, is reflected in the
city’s Arabic nickname-Zayton. This name has resounded in many narratives,
from Marco Polo, Odoric de Pordenone to Ibn Battuta, making it a legend in
the heydays of the Maritime Silk Routes. Some other possibilities of the name,
Zeitoun or Zaytûn in medieval times, may have been derived from Persian
or Arabic, Zaytûn meaning olive, a symbol of peace in Persian and Arabian
cultures. It is often speculated that the word Satin may have been derived from
Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and World Emporium 3
the old name of Quanzhou. As one may surmise, the city and its long maritime
history is the source of diverse cultures and memories, and this multicultural
richness is highly valued in the present Quanzhou.
Section 2: The City of Light in the Eyes

of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Other
Medieval Travelers
Famous medieval explorers, like Marco Polo, Friar Odoric of Pordenone, and
Ibn Battuta visited Quanzhou, and they described the port as one of the larg-
est world emporiums and harbors of that time, with junks and ships of all sizes
and provenances docking and setting sail, and a vibrant market in which mar-
itime merchants from different regions exchanged their goods.
For one shipload of pepper that goes to Alexandria, or elsewhere, destined for
Christendom, there comes a hundred such, aye and more, too, to this haven of Zayton,
for it is one of the two greatest havens in the world for commerce.1—Marco Polo
Zayton enjoyed a unique position in the maritime trade and navigation

network of the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean, which witnessed an
unprecedented concentration of population and urban prosperity. The city is
thought by So to have had a population of about 200,000 people in the Song
Dynasty times (1991, p. 100).
In 1474, Toscanelli wrote to Columbus and provided him with a map for
seeking a shortcut to Zayton. He stated in his letter that China’s Zayton had
more “navigators with merchandise” than the rest of the world combined.
The glorious past of Zayton is attested by several historical monuments
and sites in Quanzhou linked to medieval maritime trade. Shipwrecks exca-
vated in Quanzhou Bay and the South China Sea testify to the prosperity
and vibrancy of this port city in southeast coastal China. Among all the ship-
wrecks linked to Quanzhou, the wreck of an old sailing ship unearthed in
Houzhu Harbor of Quanzhou Bay is the most famous.
Evidence suggests that this three-masted ocean-going commercial ship was
initially built in Quanzhou in the thirteenth century. When it returned from
Southeast Asia loaded with spices, medicine and other merchandise, the ship
sank in the harbor. Additionally, being one of the major hubs of commerce
and exchange along the Maritime Silk Trade Routes, Quanzhou was a lead-
ing center for shipbuilding and the development of navigation technologies
during the Song Dynasty. The watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese

junks was a hugely significant invention in the history of navigation. It revo-
lutionized the safety of ocean navigation by using watertight-bulkhead tech-
nology to build an ocean-going ship with a dozen of watertight cabins in case
of internal flooding or water ingress after damage.
Due to Quanzhou’s importance as a node along the Maritime Silk Routes,
sailors, merchants and explorers came together in Quanzhou from different
regions of the world. Their continual presence in the urban center contributed
to the development of peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic and
religious groups in the downtown area, including Buddhists, Hindus, Taoists,
Nestorians, Manicheans, Jews, Catholics and Muslims. The inclusiveness and
peaceful existence of diverse religions are illustrated, for instance, by the diver-
sity of historical religious sites and monuments in the city of Quanzhou today.
Renowned for its Twin Pagoda Towers, the Kaiyuan Temple is one of the old-
est Buddhist temples in China, while the stone statue of Lao Tze, the largest
giant Chinese stone statue of its kind, illustrates the presence of Taoism. The
Qingjing Mosque is one of the four oldest mosques in China, which stands as a
witness to the long-lasting exchange between Quanzhou and the Arab world.
Additionally, the Cao’an (Thatched Hut) Manichean temple hosts the only
stone statue of the Manichean prophet, Mani. Furthermore, some local mon-
uments including and the beautiful long bridge, Anping, and the stone-beam
bridge, Luoyang, not only stand as witnesses to the prosperity of the ancient
Zayton harbor of Quanzhou but reflect a blend of Chinese culture with a mul-
titude of diverse cultures in their design and architectural style.
From 1988 to 1997, within the framework of “the Integral Study of the
Silk Roads, Roads of Dialog (1988–1997)”, UNESCO launched the inter-
national joint investigation of the maritime routes for the Integral Study of
Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog. An international maritime expedition team led
by Dr. Doudou Diene, Coordinator of the UNESCO Integral Study of the
Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog, visit Quanzhou in 1991. As a famous strategic
city along the maritime routes, Quanzhou impressed UNESCO experts and
scholars from all over the world with its rich, diverse and authentic monu-
ments, sites and relics reflecting the blending of various naval civilizations.
Also, they highly praised these relics for their significance and outstanding
universal value.
According to Angela Schottenhammer, the maritime trade made
Quanzhou a medieval “world emporium” (2001) with diversified cultures
thanks not only to its great commerce but also to “its uninhibited exchange,
integration and harmonious coexistence of cultures, philosophies and reli-

gions” (UNESCO 2014).
Historic monuments and sites of medieval Quanzhou (Zayton) relate to mar-
itime trade and culture that have survived to this day from the legendary
Zayton during the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) Dynasties.2 With
unparalleled diversity, integrity and excellence, they testify to the historical
significance of ancient Quanzhou (Zayton) and its commercial and cultural
exchanges in the golden age of the maritime trade.
It is therefore not surprising that the greatest travelers of their times
envisioned Zayton as a central port city along the maritime trade routes. Ibn
Battuta—the famed globetrotter from North Africa and a lawyer by train-
ing—was one of them. His travel narrative spots Zayton as a place of utmost
importance.
Ibn Battuta grew up in a Muslim family in Tangier, Morocco, in 1304. He
aspired to the rich cultures of China and India ever since his childhood. He
set off for his pilgrimage to the East at the age of 21.3
For about 40 days, Ibn Battuta sailed. He was intent on stopping in two
places—Chittagong and Samudra.
In Chittagong, he caught a Chinese commercial ship and went to Samudra
on the island of Sumatra. The island was the end of Dar al-Islam, for a Muslim
ruler ruled no territory east of this. As a guest of the sultan, Ibn Battuta stayed
on the island for about two weeks in a wooden-walled town. Ibn Battuta was
provided with supplies by the sultan and went on a junk to China.
When Ibn Battuta visited China, the rulers of all China were descen-
dants of Genghis Khan. At that time, Mongol-ruled China was one of the
Mongol khanates that dominated much of Asia during Ibn Battuta’s lifetime.
In China, the Mongol Dynasty was called the Yuan Dynasty (1260–1368).
Muslims were welcomed to work in Yuan China, and foreigners were
recruited by the Yuan Dynasty.4 Muslims and even Europeans like Marco
Polo held jobs in China as tax-collectors, architects and financial officers.
The Yuan Dynasty had an open policy that encouraged trade. Muslim mer-
chants settled in southern Chinese cities, especially Quanzhou (Zayton) and
Guangzhou on the southern coast. They lived in their neighborhoods where
they built mosques, hospitals, bazaars, and conducted trade by ships that went
back to the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean ports.
He described the tremendous Chinese junks that monopolized trade from
India to China.
The large junks of that time “had three masts and up to 12 sails, which
were never lowered, but turned according to the direction of the wind.”5 The
junk would be towed by three small vessels when it became becalmed. The
Chinese commercial ships at that time were the fourteenth-century equiva-
lent of the modern ocean liner. It even carried its fresh food: “The sailors,”
notes Ibn Battuta, “have their children living on board ships, and they culti-
vated green plants, vegetables and ginger in wooden tanks.”
In the seventh year of the ruling of Zhi Zheng (1347), Ibn Battuta finally
landed at Zayton (Quanzhou), the storied “Shanghai” of the thirteenth and
fourteenth centuries.
On February 26 of 2018, I visited the Qarawiyin library in Fez of Morocco,
one of the oldest libraries in the world. The curator showed me the original
manuscript of Ibn Battuta’s travelog. I read the manuscript as follows:
Ibn Battuta admired much that he saw. He recorded that “silk is used for clothing
even by poor monks and beggars” and that the porcelain was “the finest of all makes of
pottery.” Even the poultry amazed him: “The hens... in China are... bigger than geese
in our country.”6 He also described the manufacturing process of sizable ocean-going
sailing ships in the city of Quanzhou.
Ibn Battuta journeyed from Zayton to Hangzhou and Beijing and back
without any difficulty. “There are no people in the world,” noted Ibn Battuta,
“wealthier than the Chinese.” He called Hangzhou “the biggest city I have
ever seen on the surface of the earth.”7 Hangzhou was the same city described
by Marco Polo as “beyond dispute the finest and noblest in the world.”8
Ibn Battuta stayed in China for three years; In addition to Quanzhou, he
visited Guangzhou, Hangzhou and Beijing. In his travelog, the descriptions
of Quanzhou are the most exhaustive. He wrote about the warm welcome by
local people and government officials when he landed at Quanzhou port. He
described the Zayton harbor of Quanzhou in his Rihla, as “The biggest port
in the whole world...The first city we ever came across in the Chinese terri-
tory that is separated from our country by oceans is Zayton (Quanzhou). The
harbor of Zayton is large enough to make room for hundreds of big boats and
numerous small ones.”9 His travel notes evoke all aspects of Chinese society,
including the economy, culture, religion and local conditions.
One of the first things Ibn Battuta noted upon his arrival is that the
local artists and their mastery made portraits of newly arriving foreigners. Ibn
Battuta praised the craftspeople for their silk and porcelain, fruits like plums
and watermelons, and the advantages of paper money.10
The application of coal as the fuel in China at that time amazed him; in
his Rihla (literally “Journey”).
Ibn Battuta also detailed how Chinese artisans made chinaware. He
referred to the porcelain wares made in Zayton (Quanzhou) and Guangzhou
as “amazing and splendid,” “the nicest porcelain in the world, sold as far as
India and Morocco,” in his prose, he lauds the prosperous Chinese commerce,
exquisite porcelains, fine arts, and well-guarded security.
During his stay in Quanzhou, he ascended the “Mount of the Hermit”
and paid a short visit to a well-known Taoist monk in a cave. From there, Ibn
Battuta left Quanzhou and headed north to Hangzhou, which Ibn Battuta
described as the largest metropolises he had ever seen, and he noted its charm,
explaining that the town was situated by a beautiful lake and surrounded
by green hills. During Ibn Battuta’s stay at Hangzhou, he was particularly
impressed by many well-crafted and ornately painted Chinese wooden ships,
with colored sails and silk awnings assembled in the canals. Later Ibn Battuta
attended a banquet of the Mongol administrator of the city named Qurtai.
Ibn Battuta once described a trip on the Grand Canal to Beijing, the
capital of Mongol China; He recorded meeting a wealthy Muslim trader who
lived in Hangzhou, which was the largest city in the world during the four-
teenth century. He mentioned his staying with the Egyptian Muslim for a
couple of weeks as he enjoyed banquets, canal rides and magic shows. In
Fuzhou, he met a merchant he had been acquainted with when he passed
through India.
Now this man was rich. He “owned about 50 white slaves and many slave-
girls, and presented me with two of each, along with many other gifts.”11
Finally, he summarized what he saw in Zayton, Hangzhou and other
Chinese cities, speaking of China as a vast and resourceful country, and
describing it as “cottages and villages along big rivers, interlaced fields, and
gardens.”12 He assured that China is even more populated than the Egyptian
river region.
When Ibn Battuta was in China, it was the last peaceful years before the
collapse of the Mongol (Yuan Dynasty) rule. He noted:
China is the safest and friendliest country in the world for travelers. You can travel
all alone across the land for nine months without fear, even if you are carrying much
wealth.13
At last, he was back to the busy seaport of Quanzhou on the coast of

Fujian Province.
When Ibn Battuta returned to Quanzhou, he hopped on a junk belonging

to the Sultan of Samudra and set off from Zayton to Southeast Asia. He got on
board and set off for his return journey. In three years, he would be walking in
the streets of his hometown Tangier, Morocco and describing his adventures
throughout Dar al-Islam and beyond.
Section 3: Where Was Chincheo? Quanzhou

or Zhangzhou?
In the first half of the sixteenth century, the Portuguese pirates, merchants
and navigators had been engaged in secret trade in Chincheo for 30 years, a
significant step of Portuguese’s presence on the Asian coast. After comparing
Chinese and Portuguese historical documents, one may find that Chincheo is
the pronunciation of Quanzhou in the South Fujian dialect. When Portuguese
first arrived in the coastal area of Fujian, Chincheo was used to refer to
Quanzhou and its coastal region (the land under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou
Prefecture), including Tongan county and Xiamen Bay area.
The Portuguese settlement was in Wuyu, a deserted checkpoint of Tongan
county, rather than Wuzhouyu (Kimen Island). The possibility of establishing
a Portuguese settlement on the cape or estuary of the Zhang River is tiny.
Also, the story goes that Portuguese reservations that were built in Yue Harbor
should be excluded.
Also, Chinchew, Chinchu or Chwanchow is the name usually mentioned
in ancient English nautical charts to an old and famous port of China in the
province of Fujian.
The derivation of Zayton was from Quanzhou’s old nickname “City of the
Tung Trees.” Zayton’s identification with Quanzhou was controversial in the
nineteenth century, with some scholars preferring to associate Marco Polo
and Ibn Battuta’s great port with the much more attractive harbor at Xiamen
on a variety of pretexts. The historical records in Chinese and other languages
are however clear as to Quanzhou’s former status and the earlier excellence of
its harbor, which slowly silted up over the centuries.14
After the archeologically excavation of a sunken ship of the Song
Dynasty in the Port of Houzhu in Quanzhou in 1974, the conclusion was
beyond doubt. Historical records show the Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty
in the History of Yuan Dynasty mentioned, “In the seventeenth year of the
Zhiyuan Period (1280), the navy of Yuan set out from the port of Zayton and
made the eastward expedition to Japan, but the mission was compromised,
and it returned in 1281. In the nineteenth year of the Zhiyuan period (1282),
Burma was overtaken, and Champa was conquered in 1284. In 1292, all the
troops met in Quanzhou and set sail from Houzhu port.” Yuan’s invasions of
Japan and Java sailed primarily from its port. 15
In the seventeenth century, Martino Martini described Quanzhou as
“situated on a plain between two branches of the river which forms the har-
bor, and the river is so deep that the largest Chinese junks of that time could
come up to the city walls...16 The chief exports are tea and sugar, tobacco,
chinaware, nankeens, etc. There is still to be seen the remains of a beauti-
ful mosque, founded by the Arab traders who resorted thither. The English
Presbyterian Mission has had a chapel in the city since about 1862. Beyond
the northern branch of the river, there is a suburb called Luoyang, which is
approached by a most famous stone bridge in China.”
In the Middle Ages, Quanzhou was the port where Westerners traded
with China and was known to the Arabs and Europeans as Zaitûn or Zayton,
the name under which it appears in Arabic geographer Abulfeda’s (1273–
1331) Geography, and in the Mongol History of Rashîduddîn,17 as well as in Ibn
Battuta, Marco Polo and other medieval travelers. Marco Polo calls Zayton
“one of the two greatest commercial havens in the world”, while Ibn Battuta
refers to it as “the greatest seaport in the world.”
In the late nineteenth century, when Westerners gathered in the conces-
sion in Amoy, some argument was alleged against the identity of Zayton with
Quanzhou and supported in favor of Zhangzhou (the other city 100 kilometers
away from Quanzhou) and the neighboring area they were familiar with, or
a port on the river of Zhangzhou near Amoy.18 It is possible that the name
“Chincheo or Chinchew” covered a good deal, and Quanzhou embraced the
great basin called Amoy Bay, the chief part of which lies within the Foo or
Prefecture of Quanzhou, but there is hardly room for doubt that the Zayton
of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta was the ancient port city of Quanzhou. Ibn
Battuta informs us in his travel accounts that a rich, silky texture made here
was called Zaitûniya, and there can be little doubt that this is the exact origin
of the word Satin—Zettai in Medieval Italian, Aceytuni in Spanish.
As we can see, both Zayton and Chincheo were marked on some European
maps between the sixteenth and eighteenth centuries, Chincheo or Chinchew
of old English books.19 However, Chincheo of the Spaniards and Portuguese
is not Chwanchow’s Zayton exactly, but the Amoy Bay and its adjacent area
at the border between Chwanchou (Quanzhou) and Changchow (Zhang
Zhou), including Anhai and Weitou Bay, which are under the jurisdiction of
Quanzhou Prefecture.
The southern part of Fujian Province, which was administrated by
Quanzhou is often called Chincheo by the Jesuits of the sixteenth and seven-
teenth centuries.20 Changchow (Now Zhang Zhou), Ganhai (Now Anhai),
and their dependencies seem to have constituted the ports of Fuh-keen (Fujian)
with which Macao and Manilla chiefly communicated during that period. It
was where the Portuguese had a settlement at the river mouth of Changchow.
Hence, the Portuguese seem to have applied the same name to the ports and
the province they visited, even though Chuanchow or Changchow has never
been the official capital of Fujian Province.
As the local pronunciation of Chuanchow (local pronunciation of
Quanzhou) and Changchow is quite similar to each other and also, Amoy
Bay, Weitou Bay, Anhai and its adjacent area, which were governed by
Chuanchow (Quanzhou), were located at the borderline between Quanzhou
and Zhangzhou. Hence, the English mariners and their maps came to transfer
the name Chincheo to the coastal area between Chuanchow (Now Quanzhou)
and Changzhou (Now Zhangzhou).
During the late Ming period, Zhangzhou and its adjacent harbors like
Anhai were the primary Fujianese ports trading with Portuguese Macao and
Spanish Manila.21 For a time, the Portuguese maintained a settlement at the
river mouth of the Jiulongjiang River. Also, those civilians who engaged in
private trade with the Portuguese followed the Portuguese to Macao. Zheng
Zhilong (1604–1661), also known as Nicholas Iquan Gaspard and Koxinga’s
father, who was an incredibly successful individual—Zheng began as a
Portuguese interpreter at Macao and ended up with a Chinese pirate leader
and armed maritime merchant. The Fujianese maritime merchants repre-
sented by Zheng clan were China’s maritime frontier in the early seventeenth
century between global and regional aspirations. Nowadays there is still a siz-
able Han Chinese population whose ancestry is from Quanzhou.22 Also, the
names of the streets and hills named after their ancestry could always be found
in Macao, such as Tongan Street and Wangxia Mountain.
During the late Qing Dynasty, Zhangzhou remained a manufacturing cen-
ter of silk, brick and sugar production with about a million people and extensive
domestic and overseas trade. The city walls of Zhangzhou had a circumference
of about 4.5 miles (7.2 km). Its streets were paved with granite but poorly main-
tained.23 The 800-foot (240 m) bridge across the Jiulongjiang River consisted
of wooden planks laid between 25 piles of stones at roughly equal intervals.
The port of Xiamen in an island at the mouth of the Jiulongjiang principally

functioned as a trading center for the products and wares of Zhangzhou and
its neighboring areas; both suffered economically when Indian tea plantations
cratered Fujianese tea in the late nineteenth century.
Section 4: The Silver Trade Between Fujian

and Manila
The Silver Trade
After the middle of the Ming Dynasty, with the rapid development of the
market economy in the southeast coastal area of China, western countries like
Spain traded large quantities of silver with China in exchange for silk, ceram-
ics, tea and other commodities via its colony in Southeast Asia. The particu-
lar silver from Spain and its territories, including Mexico, Peru, Bolivia, and
other affiliated countries were called “Fanyin.”
Manila was the Spanish base in the Philippines and a crucial vital point
to reach China in the competition with the Portuguese Macao. Overseas
Chinese communities from the south of Fujian played a significant role in the
trade network among Manila, Macau, and southeastern coastal China.
The Manila Galleons (also as Spanish Galleons) were Spanish trad-
ing ships which made round-trip voyages once or twice per year across the
Pacific Ocean from the port of Acapulco (present-day Mexico) to Manila
in the Philippines which were both colonies of the New Spain.24 The name
of the galleon changed to reflect the city that the ship set sail. The term
“Manila Galleons” is also used to refer to the trade route between Acapulco
and Manila, which lasted from 1565 to 181525.
The Manila Galleons were also known in New Spain as “La Nao de la
China” (The China Ship) because they carried mostly Chinese goods from
the South of Fujian but were shipped from Manila, where there was a large
Chinese population from Quanzhou and other parts of Fujian. They engaged
in the trade and participated in the building of Manila Galleons.
The Manila Galleon trade route was inaugurated in 1565 after Andrés
de Urdaneta, an Augustinian friar and navigator who discovered the return
route from the Philippines to Mexico. The first successful round trips from
Acapulco, Mexico to Manila, the Philippines were made by both Urdaneta
and Alonso de Arellano in the same year. The Manila Galleon trade lasted
until 1815 when the Mexican War of Independence ended Spanish control
of Mexican ports. Traversing between Acapulco and Manila, the Manila

Galleons sailed the Pacific for 250 years, bringing to Spain their cargoes of
luxury goods, economic benefits and cultural exchange.
Nowadays, a traditional festival for “La Nao de la China” (The China
Ship) is still celebrated in Acapulco, a Mexico harbor on the Pacific coast
to commemorate the commercial exchange and historical links between
Acapulco, Manila and China.
Section 5: Ancient Celestial Navigation-

Celestial Navigation Diagram
A trade route started in China’s southeast coastal area, passing through the
Indo-Chinese Peninsula, and then crossing the Indian Ocean and the Red
Sea until finally reaching East Africa and Europe, which was known to the
world as Maritime Silk Trade Routes.
The maritime routes linking East and West reflected the needs of the time
and the historical necessity of developing civilization, in which navigation
technology was to play its part. Moreover, navigation technology was key to
the development of maritime trade and the expansion of the global network.
Finally, the progress of navigation technology and the Maritime Silk Trade
Routes were the results of two interacting systems complementing and bene-
fiting one another.
Since ancient times, China has engaged in exchanges and trade with the
outside world. Thanks to the extensive knowledge of physiographical naviga-
tion and their skillful use of the monsoons, Chinese people from the Southern
Dynasties to the Tang Dynasty (approximately the fifth to tenth centuries)
were able to establish the maritime routes to the high seas. The improvement
in navigation skills made it possible for Chinese navigation to develop from
coastal sailing to ocean navigation.
In Golden Grasslands and Precious Stones written by Masudi, an ancient
Arab traveler who wrote, “Both Chinese and Indian ships sailed up to pay
tribute to the king of al-Hirah.” The al-Hirah kingdom was an ancient Arab
States, which existed from the third century to the beginning of the seventh
century. Its capital, the city of al-Hirah, was three kilometers away from the
ruins of ancient Babylon. The above record revealed that Chinese ships could
reach the entrance to the Persian Gulf (Diene, 2000),
During the Tang period, the sailing skills of Chinese sailors had further
improved thanks to increasing contacts and communication with Arab coun-
tries as well as progress made in Science and Technology.
From the tenth to the fourteenth century, Quanzhou rose to prominence
and became a crucial harbor and world emporium in the maritime trade.
Traders and travelers from other parts of the world gathered here in the old
Zayton harbor and regarded Quanzhou as a home away from home in China.
One may ask how ancient navigators knew their position in the open
ocean when they traverse along the maritime trade routes.
The answer is written in the stars. Celestial Navigation, or astronaviga-
tion, is an ancient navigational method that measures the altitude and the
bearing of heavenly bodies such as the sun, moon, stars and planets at dif-
ferent points in time to determine the position of a ship. It is the ancient
science of position-fixing that enables a navigator to know their location in
the open ocean.
Navigation Marker and Dead Reckoning
Before Celestial Navigation was created, sailors navigated by dead reckoning.

Dead reckoning, also known as a deduced reckoning, is the determination
without the aid of Celestial Navigation of the position of a ship from the
record of the courses sailed or flown, the distance made, the known starting
point, and the known or estimated drift. Sailors navigating the South China
Sea made good use of these techniques to determine their location, including
staying in sight of land and understanding of the winds and their tendencies.26
Navigation Marker—Liusheng Pagoda and Wanshou Pagoda
The pagoda was built atop of a hill in an area surrounded by the sea on three
sides, overlooking Daiyumen Main Channel between Dazhui and Xiaozhui
islands and guiding the direction for boats coming and going through
Quanzhou Bay.
In the late thirteenth century, Wu Zimu recorded in his book Mengliang
Records, that Chinese merchant ships set sails from the port of Quanzhou,
entering the Dai Yu Gateway, which was led to the open sea and foreign
countries.
The Wanshou Pagoda
The Wanshou Pagoda is situated on the top of Baogai Hill, the highest point
of the Quanzhou coastline. As its strategic location at the west bank of the
Taiwan Strait—near the shores of Quanzhou Bay in the north, and Shenhu bay
in the south—Wanshou Pagoda is visible from the large sea surface near the
entire entrance of Quanzhou Bay and navigation routes in the Taiwan Straits.
It has become a geographical reference point for commercial ships coming in
and out of Quanzhou harbor to the Taiwan Strait since it was built during the
Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty (from 1131 to 1162).
Quanxinshu (Fettering the Starts)–Ancient Celestial

Navigation
Chinese sailors utilized Celestial Navigation since ancient times by using

constellations, a method known in Chinese as quanxinshu. The position
and direction of ocean-going ships based on the constellations or the angle
between those constellations and the ocean’s surface. Chinese navigators
were using the Big Dipper to determine the direction as early as the Qin and
Han Dynasties.
The maritime trade routes of the Tang Dynasty, linking Asia and Africa,
showed China to be a pioneer of ocean navigation regarding both shipbuilding
skills applied, and the navigation technology developed. In his book Studies on
Pu Shou Geng, the Japanese scholar Kuwabara Jitsuzo wrote that “During the
Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties period that followed, most Arabs and
Persians preferred to take Chinese ships to sail to places in the east of southern
Asia.” J. Sauvaget translated the famous Arabian travelog Travels in China and
India (also known as Sulaiman’s Travel Notes) into French. He noted that “The
help given by the Chinese to the Arabs in the latter’s attempts to sail the seas of
the Near East should be duly acknowledged” and that “it was on Chinese ships
that those Persian merchants made their voyages to the South China Sea.”
By the North Song Dynasty, the magnetic needle had been invented, and
observations regarding constellations and altitude were being used as naviga-
tional tools. Every ocean-going vessel was equipped with a “Fire chief,” who
was responsible for the usage of the compass to ensure the safety of navigation.
Armed with astronavigation technology, Chinese sailors made overall
progress in opening up the maritime routes connecting to the Middle East
and Africa and operated 58 significant lines crossing different oceans—twen-

ty-one of which crossed the Indian Ocean.
From the tenth to fourteenth centuries, Muslim and Chinese merchant
ships frequently traversed from the southern China coasts to Southeast Asia,
Sri Lanka and the Persian Gulf. The Chinese Naval Commander Admiral
Zheng-He (Cheng Ho, 1371–1433) led seven expeditions along the above
maritime trade routes, sailing as far as the eastern coast of Africa in the early
fifteenth century.
A network of maritime trade routes thus emerged, extending the route
used in the heyday of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. From a technical and
qualitative point of view, the navigational techniques of Admiral Zheng-
He’s fleet reflected the development of navigation techniques in Ming China
and the navigation activities of Admiral Zheng-He’s fleet vastly expanded
Chinese naval capacities.
Historical records mention that Admiral Zheng-He and his fleets used a
navigation method called Qianxing Shu, which employed an instrument called
Qianxing Ban.
Chinese navigators used this instrument to measure the angle between
stars and the horizon to find a unit of Zhi (指). They used this technique to
understand the location of their ships while sailing in the open sea.
Time and direction were essential to this maritime technology, and this
technology united these two issues by observing stars. This technique relied
on the altitudes of stars and horizon to inform time.
In the early Ming Dynasty, a “Celestial Navigation Diagram” was used with
the navigational charts by Admiral Zheng-He’s fleets during their Western
Ocean voyages from China through Southeast Asia to East Africa in seven
expeditions between 1405 and 1433.27 This diagram offers a precise enough
record of the ship's navigational positions to warrant a favorable compari-
son with the latitude and longitude-based measures of today. The Celestial
Navigation Diagram used in Zheng-He’s navigation reflected the latest tech-
niques of astronavigation used by Admiral Zheng-He’s fleet when crossing the
Indian Ocean.
The nautical chart used by Admiral Zheng-He was a practical map for
sailing with a view from the ship of the significant landmarks. In the astro-
nautical guidance, the fleets of Admiral Zheng-He incorporated the astro-ob-
servation techniques and the celestial rulers traditionally used by Chinese
seamen, thus forming their unique method.
Among the landmarks in navigation charts used by Admiral Zheng-He’s

fleet, we could find the drawing of Mount Wanglanghui as a navigation marker
on the Quanzhou Bay.
As the legend about the Chinese ancient classic literary image of
women longing for their loved ones’ early return from the sea, Wanshou
Pagoda is also called Mount Wanglanghui (longing for husband’s return from
the seafaring).
According to Voyage with a Tail Wind, a sailing reference book edited in
1403, Gusao Pagoda on the top of Mount Wanglanghui is a prominent geo-
graphical landmark which guided ships to Quanzhou harbor. Zhu Yunming
(1460–1526) also records it in Qian Wen Records that a fleet led by Wang
Jinghong saw Mount Wanglanghui on June 10th, 1433. This is a historical
record of Wanshou Pagoda which was used as a navigation reference for
Admiral Zheng-He’s fleet in the Taiwan Strait.
According to Professor Zhang Xun (1980),28 the nautical chart he
collected was made during the mid-Qing Dynasty (the seventeenth to
eighteenth centuries), and Gusao Pagoda was marked on the map which
used to guide the ships entering the port of Quanzhou. The navigation
chart proved what was described in Zhi Nan Zheng Fa—a navigation book
completed in the eighteenth century, which indicated that the Wanshou
Pagoda was regularly regarded as a navigation marker of Quanzhou harbor.
The latter has a clear depiction of the shipping routes with their compass
bearings written next to them, as well as the unique compass rose and ruler
as a scale bar at the top of the map. The Selden Map of China (abbrevi-
ated as the Selden Map hereafter) is a unique Chinese map, as most of the
Chinese maps before the twentieth century did not have a compass rose
and scale bars.
The Selden Map was a colored landscape painting-style map combined
with a nautical chart. The compass rose on the Selden Map is a traditional
Chinese representation of a mariner’s compass with its 24 equal divisions
rather than the European version with 16 or 32 divisions. The navigation
routes have their compass directions marked on them, but they do not include
travel times, unlike the famous fifteenth-century Chinese nautical chart used
by Admiral Zheng-He.
Why do we say the Selden Map of China is so unique? In the next chap-
ter, we will compare the nautical charts used by Admiral Zheng-He with the
East and West Sea Chart of the Ming Dynasty, also known as the Selden Map
of China.
Section 6 Ancient Nautical Charts—The East

and West Sea Chart of the Ming Dynasty
A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and its adjacent
coastal regions.29 Nautical charts have been developed in sailing practices,
serving as a guiding tool for navigation activities.
In China, map drawing started early in history, but most early maps have
perished. The existing maps prove that nautical charts specially designed for
navigation firstly emerged in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, matured and flour-
ished gradually in the Ming Dynasty.
Regarding a nautical chart, the East and West Sea Chart of the Ming Dynasty,
also known as the Selden Map of China, could never be neglected.
Besides having a practical function, every single map symbolizes the
period in which it represented throughout human history.
The Selden map was called so because an English lawyer by the name of
John Selden bequeathed it to the Bodleian Library of Oxford in 1659.
In 2008, the value of this nautical chart drawn in the early seventeenth
century was rediscovered after it had first been deposited in the Bodleian
Library of Oxford 350 years before.
As a complete navigation chart, the Selden Map of China reflected the
navigation routes on the eastern and western oceans around China, which
were recorded and used by civilians living on the southeast coast of China.
This map marked some parts of China, harbors in current Korean, Japan,
Philippines, Indonesia and India. It is of considerable significance regarding
practicality in ocean navigation.
Its value lies in its utility, and it fills several gaps in the field of Chinese
nautical charts. Previously, it had never been noticed that it indicates naviga-
tion routes with compass bearings from Quanzhou to other parts of the world
known to the Chinese by the late Ming. In this respect, it is unique.
The Story of the Selden Map
A nautical chart and some other Chinese books collected in Southeast Asia
were donated to Oxford by the Selden family in 1659. The chart rediscov-
ered its value in 2008, which uncovered the early history of globalization and
greatly expanded knowledge of the maritime trade and centuries-old global
connection. However, the origin of the map remains unresolved. Historians
set out to explore the riddle. The Selden Map of China is one of the most
famous Chinese nautical charts in maritime trade history. It maps the part of
the world that the Chinese knew at that time, from the Indian Ocean in the
west to the Spice Islands in the east, and from Java in the south to Japan in
the north.30
It exists today because it fell into the hands of John Selden, who had a
great passion for ensuring the survival of knowledge—not just English exper-
tize but all knowledge—even Chinese, although it was a language he could
not read. It is fortunate that he made it. The map and other books are just
like a time capsule, which reveals the prosperous maritime trade and cultural
exchange between China and the outside world at that time.
The nautical chart, measuring 1.54 in length and 96 cm in width, painted
with carbon ink and watercolors in Chinese papers, is a unique example of
Chinese merchant cartography. It depicts a network of navigation routes,
starting from the port of Quanzhou, Fujian Province, and reaching Japan and
Indonesia. These shipping routes of traditional Chinese maritime merchants
are accompanied by a vibrant depiction of the landscapes with rivers, moun-
tains and plants, making this map a beautiful visual artifact.
The map, which could be dated to the 1620s, arrived at the Bodleian
in 1659 following the bequest of the Orientalist John Selden and enriching
one of the earliest collections of Chinese material in England at that time.
The map’s Mandarin text was annotated in Latin in 1687. It took two people
working together to get the work done, the scholar Thomas Hyde and Shen
Fuzong, a Jesuit priest, the first Chinese visitor to the university.
The map was mounted on the original stave, together with the cotton
lining and yellow box dating from the restoration in 1919. In the first week of
January 2008, the significance of the map was rediscovered by the historian
Robert Batchelor with the assistance of the librarian David Helliwell during a
visit to the Bodleian Library, which has ignited a burst of research surrounding
the history and interpretation of the map.
A Nautical Chart in the Style of Traditional Chinese

Landscape Paintings
The Selden map of China is in the style of traditional Chinese landscape

paintings, composed of the seas, the rivers, the plains, mountains and the rare
houses and pavilions, and so on. The plants on the map are not just for decora-
tions but are geographically accurate depictions of the local featured plants—
many of which are the very commodities that attracted the maritime traders.31
Unlike maps that were printed, it is a singleton, drawn and painted by

hand, the only one of its kind. It is a large map, measuring 154 cm in length
and 96 cm in width and it must count as the most massive wall map of its time.
As neither China nor Europe manufactured sheets of paper that massive,
wall maps of this scale required ingenuity. The size problem was resolved by
taking two sheets, cutting one lengthwise down the middle and gluing one of
the halves down the size of the other layer, then trimming the length of the
remaining half part and fixing it along the bottom.
Unfortunately, more detailed information regarding the map remains
unknown. Researchers are still working on the clues about the maps, such as
when and where the navigation chart was drawn, or who drew it and for what
purpose.32 A Chinese scholar suggested that it was probably produced in the
early seventeenth century by the Chinese since Chinese sources are used for
the place names on the Map and the navigation routes.
The compiler was probably from Southeast Asia, as the Map’s depiction of
that area was to remain the most accurate. The map is elaborately decorated
with landscapes and plants, which was undoubtedly produced for reference in
the mansion of a wealthy merchant rather than for use at sea.
Moreover, the cartographer of the map drew the map from a different
perspective of the world. The Selden map witnessed the impact of China’s
encounter with the world, seen from the other side of the globe. The cartog-
rapher outlined the plan using long-established traditions, but he also stepped
outside that tradition to depict the lands that lay beyond China in a style that
no other Chinese cartographer had ever used.
The cartographer also employed the traditional Chinese painting tech-
nique to paint the subtle beauty of eastern Asia with mountains, trees, flower-
ing plants, and the occasional whimsical detail. For example, the two errant
butterflies in the Gobi Desert are typical Chinese traditional painting dec-
orations. Adding butterflies or birds in a meticulous style for decoration is
excellent for adding a romantic feel and is used occasionally in traditional
Chinese paintings.
The map Professor in 2011, and it is now on display in the Bodleian
Library.
Research on the Selden Map
Some conjectures have been proposed for the origin of the Selden Map of
China. Kogou et al. (2016) argued that the map was made in the neighboring
port cities of Quanzhou or Zhangzhou in southern Fujian by a local scholar or

by a Sinicized Arab/Persian merchant settled in Quanzhou since there was a
sizable Arab/Persian community there at the time. Others thought an over-
seas Chinese from Fujian made it in Manila or Banten in West Java. These
hypotheses will be examined given new evidence in subsequent analyzes.
According to Kogou, et al. (2016), the map was examined by a remote
spectral imaging instrument (PRISMS), and comprehensive analysis revealed
that the Selden Map of China was most likely drawn between 1619 and 1624.
The research on the pigments used in the maps also revealed that the map
was made with a fusion of Chinese, South and West Asian styles in paint-
ing materials and techniques. The research showed that the Selden map was
painted in a typical Chinese style. However, it was unusual in the depiction
of a compass on a Chinese style navigation chart. In addition, the binding
medium in the map was found to use Arabic gum, rather than the animal
glue used in traditional Chinese paintings. The usage of Arabic pigments in
the chart was found to be different from the standard practice in traditional
Chinese arts. Arabic pigments were used as the binding medium, which pro-
vides useful clues for researchers to infer that the map was drawn by an over-
seas Chinese in southeastern Asia, or by a sinicized Muslim from southeastern
coastal China during the heyday of medieval maritime trade.
It is unlikely for a Chinese cartographer living in Fujian, China to paint
the map using Arabic gum rather than the usual animal glue. Moreover, the
cartographer had applied different painting techniques and borrowed the idea
of painting a compass on the map. The cartographer was likely an Arabic
or Persian descendant living in Quanzhou sinicized to the extent of drawing
such a Chinese style painting. However, it might be more convenient for him
to have used Chinese animal glue rather than Arabic gum if he was living
in south Fujian as the Arabic adhesives might have been difficult to source
in China.
The detection of Arabic gum in the map as a binding medium is puzzling,
as it was a mixture of orpiment and indigo used by the Europeans, South and
West Asian, which was commonly found in European and South and West
Asian paintings, gives further evidence on the unusual origins of this map.
The possible detection of basic copper chloride, such as atacamite, in
the green areas, suggests an influence from South and West Asia rather than
the European tradition. Regarding the hypothesis of overseas Chinese from
Quanzhou and other parts of coastal Fujian in Manila, the conclusion is
reached based on the observation of the navigation route marked from Manila
to Ternate is in detail with all the zigzags that end up in both the Spanish and
Dutch controlled areas. The above finding suggests that the cartographer’s
knowledge of this route was very detailed. In addition, the cartographer might
be familiar with these areas so that no compass directions were marked on
this route.
The only other navigation route that did not have compass direction
marked on the map was the route along the East China coast north from
Quanzhou. We could infer that the cartographer was a maritime merchant
with Southern Fujian ancestry living in Manila, and then, the cartographer
might be familiar with these two routes and therefore found it less urgent or
necessary to mark the exact directions on them. However, one might have
argued that the relative positions of the Dutch and Spanish on Ternate Island
were incorrect. What is more, the relative positions of some cities along the
east coast of China were also wrong, suggesting perhaps the cartographer was
less familiar with these parts of the world while a new hypothesis argued that
the origin of the Selden map is in Aceh Sumatra. As Aceh is one of the few
six ports marked with a red circle, the possible location of the cartographer
could be narrowed down to the six ports including Aceh in Sumatra, Nakhon,
Phatthalung, Patani and Kedah on the Malay Peninsular across the strait
which were safely away from the Portuguese in Malacca, and Hue in central
Vietnam. As it is noted by Kogou et al. (2016), they suggested, “If we believe
that the magnetic declination drawn on the map corresponds to where the
map was made, then this points to Aceh.”
According to the above analyzes, we may have a new assumption that the
cartographer was brought up in the Arab/Persian community in Quanzhou
and immigrated to Southeast Asia as he was not just familiar with the Chinese
painting technique, but also most of the Chinese place names and shipping
routes from Quanzhou.
Historical Significance of The Selden Map of China
The Selden Map of China is a Chinese nautical chart of East Asia navigation
routes. Hence, the map is also called as The East and West Sea Chart of the Ming
Dynasty. The rediscovery of the map in the Bodleian Library in 2008 provides
an opportunity to reassess the history of Chinese cartography and debates
about maritime dimensions of the Ming Empire. The nautical chart depicts a
network of Chinese shipping routes, reaching from Japan to Aceh, Sumatra,
and suggests previously unknown map-making techniques.33 It is one of the
first Chinese nautical maps to reach Europe. It was known as the Selden Map
of China as it was donated to the Library in 1659 from the possession of the
London lawyer John Selden.
The most distinguishing feature of the Selden map is that China was not
at the center of the map. It is not only a map of maritime China but the
whole of East and Southeast Asia. China occupies less than one-half of the
area, centered on the South China Sea, with an equal area depicting Borneo,
Java, Sumatra, the Philippines, other parts of Southeast Asia, and India. It
is entirely different from the earlier and later maps, which depicted China
not only as of the center of the known world but also occupying almost its
entire area.
The Selden Map of China accurately reflects the relationship between
China, East Asia and Southeast Asia and shows the difference between the
Ancient Chinese ruler’s view of the world and the folk view of the Ocean.
According to Batchelor (2013) “It is conjectured that the map may have been
made for a Chinese merchant family or organization with ties to Fujian. ”
The other feature of the Selden map is that it marked the shipping routes
with compass bearings from the port of Quanzhou on the southeast coast of
Fujian Province to all the other ports on the map which charted the commer-
cial world as no map, either European or Chinese, had done before.
The map used an accurate compass scale, and precisely marked the coast-
lines, navigation routes, coastal cities, and even islands and reefs at exact
positions.
It is the first ancient nautical chart in China marked with compass and
scale, and the first measurement-based marine navigation chart.
There is a total of 18 international sea routes plotted in this chart, six
eastbound routes, and 12 western bound routes. The nautical chart shows
all navigation routes started from Quanzhou or Zhangzhou area in Southern
Fujian.
It is the earliest example of Chinese merchant cartography, unique in that
it is not a product of imperial bureaucracy. It indicates that China’s civilian
trade with the rest of the world at that time was still going on when it was
generally supposed to have been isolated after trade restriction.
Critical areas plotted in this chart include the South China Sea, and
some sea areas with daily trading activities conducted during the period of
the Ming Dynasty, including the Japan Islands, the Ryukyu Islands and the
Philippine Islands. Moreover, this chart also marked several routes starting
from Southeast Asia to the ports in the Indian Ocean. This navigation chart
is a good reflection of the maritime trades.
A third feature of The Selden Map of China became apparent during the
conservation work that was undertaken following its discovery. According to
Kogou et al. (2016), navigation routes were discovered identically drawn on
the reverse after the old backing was removed, which indicated that it was
the first draft with systematic geometric techniques applied to the drawing of
the map.
The Selden Map of China is the first Chinese map discovered to be made
with navigation data obtained from a magnetic compass and distances calcu-
lated from the number of watches, which is a technique that had no western
parallel at that time (Kogou et al., 2016).
Finally, and most importantly, it is also the first existing ancient nauti-
cal chart marking the accurate positions of the Diaoyu Islands northeast of
Taiwan, Southern Shoals islands (known as Nansha in Chinese) and Western
Shoals (known as Xisha in Chinese) in the South China Sea (known as Paracel
and Spratly Islands in some western books). As the Selden Map of China is the
only detailed and geographically specific Chinese depiction of these waters
before the nineteenth century, this nautical chart may work as substantial
evidence that China could use it to claim its historic title.34
With accurate sea route drawings, the East and West Sea Chart of the Ming
Dynasty coincided with the history that maritime merchants in Quanzhou
and Zhangzhou area could conduct trades in eastern and western oceans after
the Longqing Emperor of the Ming Dynasty issued an embargo against private
naval trade. The nautical chart demonstrated that China’s maritime trades
kept pace with the Great Discovery Age.
Notes
1. Marco Polo and Rustichello of Pisa (1903). “Book Second, Part III, Chapter LXXXII: Of
the City and Great Haven of Zayton” in The Book of Ser Marco Polo: The Venetian
Concerning Kingdoms and Marvels of the East, translated and edited by Colonel Sir Henry
Yule, Volume 2. London: John Murray, 1903.
2. Wang, Q. (2017). Foreword-Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou.
Retrieved from http://www.zaytun.org/content/2017-04/01/content_5569700.htm.
3. Ibn Battuta Biography for Kids—Ducksters. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.ducksters.
com/history/islam/ibn_battuta.php.
4. Through the Strait of Malacca To China: 1345–1346 | Orias. (n.d.). Retrieved from
https://orias.berkeley.edu/resources-teachers/travels-ibn-battuta/journey/through-strait-
malacca-china-1345-1346.
5. Ben-Menahem, A. (2009). Historical encyclopedia of natural and mathematical sciences
(Vol. 4). Springer Science & Business Media. pp.654.
6. Ibn Battuta on the Maritime Silk Road Between India And... (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
factsanddetails.com/china/cat2/4sub8/entry-5469.html.
8. Marco Polo, The Travels of Marco Polo, ed. Manuel Komroff (New York: Boni and
Liveright, 1928),185.
14. Quanzhou—Wikipedia. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quanzhou#cite_ref-chengho_55-0
15. Quanzhou—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinchu.
16. Encyclopedia Britannica, Ninth Edition/chinchew. Retrieved from https://en.wikisource.
org/wiki/Encyclopædia_Britannica,_Ninth_Edition/Chinchew
17. Stange, H. O. (1949). Where Was Zayton Actually Situated? Journal of the American
Oriental Society, 121–124.
18. Geo. Phillips. (1890). The Identity of Marco Polo’s Zaitun with Changchau. T’oung Pao,
218–238.
19. Phillips, G. (1873, January). Notices of Southern Mangi. In Proceedings of the Royal
Geographical Society of London (Vol. 18, No. 2, pp. 168–174). Royal Geographical Society
(with the Institute of British Geographers), Wiley.
20. Chia, L. (2006). The Butcher, the baker, and the carpenter: Chinese sojourners in
the Spanish Philippines and their impact on Southern Fujian (Sixteenth-Eighteenth
Centuries). Journal of the Economic and Social History of the Orient, 49(4), 509–534.
21. Ptak, R., & Baozhu, H. (2013). Between Global and Regional Aspirations: China’s
Maritime Frontier and the Fujianese in the Early Seventeenth Century. Journal of Asian
History, 47(2), 197–217.
22. Pinto, P. J. D. S. (2014). Manila Macao and Chinese networks in South China Sea. Anais
de História de Além-Mar 15, 79–100.
23. Zhangzhou—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zhangzhou.
24. Ap World History -ch. 23 Flashcards | Quizlet. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://quizlet.
com/47228637/ap-world-history-ch-23-flash-cards/.
25. Williams, Glyn (1999). The Prize of All the Oceans. New York: Viking. p. 4. ISBN
0-670-89197-5
26. History of Navigation—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
History_of_navigation.
27. KOGOU, Sotiria, et al. The origins of the Selden map of China: scientific analysis of the
painting materials and techniques using a holistic approach. Heritage Science, 2016, 4.1: 28.
2 8. Zhang, X. (1980). The Interpretation on an Ancient Map, Beijing, China Ocean Press.

29. Nautical Chart—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Marine_charts.
30. Brook, T. (2013). Mr. Selden’s map of China: Decoding the secrets of a vanished cartographer.
House of Anansi.
31. Kogou, S., Neate, S., Coveney, C., Miles, A., Boocock, D., Burgio, L., & Liang, H. (2016).
The Origins of the Selden Map of China: Scientific Analysis of the Painting Materials and
Techniques Using a Holistic Approach. Heritage Science, 4(1), 28.
32. The Selden Map of China. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://seldenmap.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/.
33. Batchelor, R. (2013). The Selden map rediscovered: a Chinese map of East Asian shipping
routes, c. 1619. Imago mundi, 65(1), 37–63.
34. Of China. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://6164667836ab08b81b8e-42be7794b013b-

8d9e301e1d959bc4a76.r38.cf3.rackcdn.com.
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Brook, T (2013). Mr. Selden’s Map of China. London: Profile Books.
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97–118.
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University Press. pp. 839–40.
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65:97–105.
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Society of London. Vol. 44 (1874), pp. 112–118.
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p. 294.
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Discovery of New Sea-Route. In Symposium on Chinese Historical Geography (pp. 83–
91). Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg.
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Multispectral Imaging of Wall Paintings, ICOM-CC 15th Triennial Conference Preprints.
Delhi: Allied publishing. p. 353–8.
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Dei Publications.
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Footnotes of Ibn Battuta. Asian Affairs, 32, 313–314.
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Oxford, UK: An Account of the Selden Map of China and its Conservation. Studies in
Conservation, 59(suppl 1), S115–S118.
Oropeza, D. (2007). Los ‘indios chinos’ en la Nueva España: la inmigración de la nao de China,
1565–1700. México, Centro de Estudios Históricos, El Colegio de México.
Schottenhammer, A. (2001) (ed.), The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–
1400, Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Shabahang, M. (2014). Quanzhou: A Crucial Port along the Eastern Maritime Silk Roads.
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·2·
historic relics witnessed the
prosperity of maritime trade
(1000–1400)
Section 1: Sunken Ships Along Maritime Silk

Trade Routes
The ‘Maritime Silk Trade Route’ is used to refer to a series of trade routes con-
necting ports in the southeastern coastal provinces of China with harbors in
the South and East of Asia, Africa and Europe. Sailboats using monsoon and
ocean torrents were a means of transportation, which was very popular from
the tenth century to the middle of the nineteenth century before steamboats
replaced this method.
China, India, the Philippines, Japan, Korea and other neighboring coun-
tries have kept close maritime contact with each other since ancient times.
Recent underwater archeological discoveries present vivid demonstrations of
ancient maritime activities in Northeast Asia, Southeast Asia and East Asia.
Chinese merchant junks voyaged as far as India and the Persian Gulf in the
times when Marco Polo visited China.1
According to Flecker, M. (2005), “Of the dozens of archeologically exca-
vated shipwrecks in Asia, almost all contain ceramic as a major constituent
of their non-perishable cargoes. China exported ceramics, silk, iron, and to
lesser extent lacquerware in exchange for spices and jungle and sea products
Figure 2.1. Shipwreck Discovered in Quanzhou Bay in 1973.

from Southeast Asia, textiles, gemstones and pearls from India and Sri Lanka,
and aromatics from the Middle East.”
Sunken Ships Found in Southeast Asia
In 1998, many ceramic wares were discovered in the sea by a fisherman

when he was fishing sea cucumber off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia.
A German company spent a whole year working on the salvage. Tens of thou-
sands of ancient porcelain and other artifacts were excavated from the sea
where ceramics were first discovered. More than 67,000 porcelain pieces, ten
exquisite gold and forty-two silverwares, and thirty bronze mirrors were exca-
vated during the salvage operation. The ceramic cargo found in the shipwreck
provides strong evidence for China as the place of landing. The wreck and the
relics were shown to belong to an ancient Arabian dhow called Batu Hitam,
which sailed a route from Africa to China around 830 A.D.2 The sailing ship
completed the outward journey but sank on the return journey—approxi-
mately 1.6 km off the coast of Belitung Island, Indonesia. Ethnographic and
The Prosperity of Maritime Trade (1000–1400) 29
iconographic evidence suggests that these are the features of ancient Indian
and Arab vessels. The shipwreck of the Arabian/Indian dhow is the first clear
archeological evidence to support historical records which imply that there
was direct trade between China and the western Indian Ocean and beyond.
The Cirebon and Intan ships3 are also significant sunken ships discovered
in the waters of Indonesia, dating back to the late Tang Dynasty (618–907)
and Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period (907–960).
Sunken Ships Found in Quanzhou and Other Chinese Waters
The only archeologically excavated shipwreck so far discovered, that was originally
bound for China, is the late thirteenth century Quanzhou Wreck which was lost off
the coast of China and contained a cargo of Southeast Asian commodities.—Flecker,
M. (2005)
The wooden sailing ship that sank in Houzhu Harbor, Quanzhou Bay was
discovered in February 1973.4 In the summer of 1974, the wooden hull of the
sunken ship was excavated, immediately gaining full attention in archeolog-
ical circles. Artifacts recovered from the shipwreck, coupled with scientific
evidence, showed that the wreck was initially a three-masted ocean-going
commercial vessel of medium size built in Quanzhou in the thirteenth century,
bringing back spices, medicines and other merchandise after returning from
Southeast Asia. The ship belongs to one of the four types of ancient Chinese
junks in the thirteenth century. It is the world’s oldest three-mast wooden sail
ocean-going ship of the Song Dynasty with a load of up to 200 tons.
This discovery is of archeological importance and great value to the
study of China’s navigation history and the development of its shipbuilding
in ancient times. The significance of this archeological discovery lies in the
fact that China’s shipbuilding and navigation technology, represented by
Quanzhou in the Song Dynasty, was once ahead of the world. According to
the study of the structure of the shipwreck and other artifacts, it was found
to be the earliest existing shipwreck with a watertight bulkhead. Developed
in South China’s Fujian Province, the watertight bulkhead technology of
Chinese junks permits the construction of ocean-going vessels with water-
tight compartments. If one or two cabins are accidentally damaged during
navigation, seawater will not flood the other cabins, and the ship will remain
afloat. The watertight bulkhead technology was inscribed in 2010 on the List
of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding.
The Quanzhou ship uncovered a golden era in the Song Dynasty with
advances in shipbuilding and navigational technologies, and during that
period, Quanzhou led the world in shipbuilding techniques. In addition to its
role as one of the leading maritime trade centers, Quanzhou was an important
center of shipbuilding and navigational technologies during the Song and
Yuan Dynasty.
After two years of restoration work, the shipwreck excavated within the
Quanzhou Bay was on display in an exhibition hall of the Quanzhou Maritime
Museum.
It is 10.5 meters high at its stern and may have carried up to 370 tons.
Solely an area of the deck was broken, and therefore the remainder of the hull
remained nearly intact. The multi-layered sides and bottom of the ship were
produced using pine, cedar and natural resin and divided into thirteen com-
partments. The ship was carrying agarwood and other precious wood, which
suggests that it was sailing from Southeast Asia. Archeologists believe that
the ship should have undergone the war in the last years of the Southern
Song or early Yuan as small pieces of ceramic wares were found widely spread
in different cabins. The evidence for dating the shipwreck is from 504 copper
coins found inside the hull. Seventy of them date back to the Song Dynasty,
with the latest of them dating to 1272. Based on the information on the cop-
per coins, the archeologists concluded that the shipwreck must belong to a
ship sunk a few years after 1272—that is, the during the very last years of
the Southern Song Dynasty,5 when Zayton fell to the Mongols in 1277, or
perhaps during the wars when the Mongol conquered South China between
1277 and 1279.
Marco Polo noted in his travelog that “These large ships are of fir timber
and have but one deck, which contains some 50 or 60 cabins, one rudder, and
four masts, sometimes with two extra masts. Moreover, some large vessels have
thirteen compartments in the interior,6 made with planking strongly framed,
in case the ship should spring a leak, either by running from one chamber to
another. The lading in the chamber is to be moved to another compartment,
and then the leak will be stopped.”
The discovery of the Quanzhou shipwreck demonstrated the remarkable
shipbuilding technology in the thirteenth century in Quanzhou. It is a low
block coefficient, and mid-ship section coefficient combined with its delicate
lines which tend to overcome the disadvantage in speed resulted from the
length-breadth ratio being too small.7 Based on this discovery, more infor-
mation about the particular form and structure of the ancient Quanzhou
ocean-going sailing ship has been revealed. The Quanzhou shipwreck proved
that it was divided into thirteen watertight compartments, which is in accor-
dance with Marco Polo’s record. Also, the position and the form in joining
the keel are well arranged. The bottom of the ocean-going ship is of double
plating with the side shell of triple plating, while lap joints are used alterna-
tively with butt joints. It was also vastly ahead of European ships of the same
period, with features like the transom stern, axial rudder, its carrying capacity,
and multiple masts not coming into use in Europe until the mid-fifteenth cen-
tury. Western shipbuilders would not adopt watertight bulkheads until iron
ships were built in the nineteenth century, and then not always satisfactorily,
as the sinking of the Titanic shows.
Underwater Archeologist Jeremy Green (1997),8 also analyzing the
Quanzhou ship, sees strong similarities between it and the Southeast Asian
craft. Perhaps, he reasons, the Quanzhou ship is a hybrid, representing Chinese
adoption of external shipbuilding influences.
Up to the present day, ancient shipbuilding techniques are still well pre-
served at the shipbuilding construction site at Xiangzhi, Quanzhou.
In Taiping Huanyu, a historical record of the Northern Song Dynasty, the
ocean-going vessel was listed as the featured product of Quanzhou, which
shows the leading role of Quanzhou as a shipbuilding center at that time.
The records of the shipbuilding activities in Quanzhou could also be found
in the History of the Yuan Dynasty. In the year 1279, a Mongolian Emperor
ordered Quanzhou, Yangzhou, Hunan and Guangzhou to build 600 warships
for the campaign of conquering Japan.
Moreover, Quanzhou was among the cities which received the shipbuilding
order for 3,000 warships of various sizes in the year of 1281 and 1282, respec-
tively. In 1291, Kublai, the fifth Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, ordered thirteen
ships, each with four masts and twelve sails built in Quanzhou to convoy the
Mongol Princess Kököchin to Persia. These ships were built in Quanzhou.
With the prosperity of the maritime trade-oriented economy, from the
tenth to fourteenth centuries (the Song and Yuan Dynasties), the shipbuild-
ing technology was well developed in Quanzhou, and it became the leading
shipbuilding center in China. Shipwrecks excavated in Quanzhou Bay, the
South China Sea and other sites along the maritime trade routes lay claim to
the prosperity of the maritime trade of a bygone era.
In 1964, a similar shipwreck from the fourteenth century was excavated in
Ningbo, and the Hong Kong Museum in Kowloon also discovered the other
similar wreck.
The maritime trade was only possible because the shipbuilding techniques
had advanced significantly with the construction of wave-resistant “dragon
bone ships (longguchuan),” while the adoption of compasses allowed for the
much safer and swifter sailing. At the same time, large volumes of Chinese
pottery and spices from Sumatra, Java and the Moluccas (Maluku Islands)
were being exported to Europe via Arabia, resulting in the southern sea
routes during this time becoming known as the “Ceramics Routes” or “Spice
Routes.” By the eighteenth century onward, sea routes were accounting for a
significantly greater portion of the Silk Road trade.
Called Citong (Also as Zayton in Arabic) in the past, Quanzhou’s inter-
change and interaction with other countries in the South China Sea as
recorded in historical records could be traced to as early as the Southern
Dynasties in the sixth century.
In the Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou ranked as one of the four biggest ports in
China. Moreover, in the Song and Yuan Dynasties, Quanzhou further became
the largest port in Eastern China, bustling with numerous vessels, crowded
with merchants and seafarers, and brimming with merchandise from all cor-
ners of the world. This “powerhouse in the East” “reaching out to myriad
nations” linked the maritime silk route with up to one hundred countries and
regions. The excavated shipwreck serves as a testament to the accessibility
and prosperity of Quanzhou in ancient China.
With the excavation of the wreck of a merchant ship belonging to the
Song Dynasty in 1974, archeologists expected to discover a trove of historical
relics, unveiling more details of the historic Maritime Silk Trade Routes.
Moreover, the other shipwreck was found near Fashi Port at Quanzhou
Bay in 1982.9 One may recall the sunken sailing ship with a wooden hull
unearthed in Houzhu Harbor, Quanzhou Bay in 1974. It was a three-mast
ocean-going commercial vessel initially built in Quanzhou in the thirteenth
century, loaded with spices, medicines and other merchandise returning from
Southeast Asia. It was the earliest existing shipwreck with the watertight
bulkhead.
Also, a similar shipwreck was discovered in 1987 off the coast near
Yangjiang. The wreck, named Nanhai No.1, dates to the Southern Song
Dynasty in the thirteenth century and it is recognized as one of the oldest and
largest merchant boats ever to have sunk in Chinese waters.10
An estimated 60,000 to 80,000 antique items were unearthed from the
shipwreck of Nanhai No.1, most of which were ceramics, precious metal
objects and coins.11 Many of the white porcelain wares were found products
made in Dehua and Cizao Kilns of Quanzhou. The relics discovered in the
shipwreck along the maritime trade routes shed light on the prosperity of
ancient trade.
Overseas trade along coastal China reached an unprecedented height
during the Song and Yuan Dynasties (960–1368). Sunken ships were discov-
ered in ports of embarkation, places to start shipping lines, and long-distance
shipping lines, most of which belong to the heyday of historical maritime
trade during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Just name a few, a Shipwreck dis-
covered in Houzhu Harbor of Quanzhou, Nanhai No.1 Shipwreck, Huaguang
Reef No.1 Shipwreck and the Sinan sunken ship in South Korea.
When Quanzhou saw its prime time in maritime trade during the Song
and Yuan Dynasties, Shibosi, the Bureau for maritime trade management clas-
sified imported goods into two types: Rough Type and Fine Type. Rough Type
refers to pepper, sulfur, incense, cotton clothing and so on; Fine Type includes
gold, silver, jewelry, musk, etc. Jewelry and spice were imported into China
by Arabic fleets embarked from the Gulf of Aden or the Port of Sohar, Oman.
Due to a ban on overseas trade, maritime activities with the Arab World
and the Indian Ocean declined in the early Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).
However, smuggling and private trade along the southeast coast of China
continued. Maritime trade in coastal China revived after the open policy was
exercised during the reign of the Ming Dynasty Emperor Longqing. Nan’ao
No.1 Shipwreck discovered in the Southeast China coast was a representative
merchant ship of its kind during that period.
Also, Admiral Zheng-He’s expedition into the Western Seas was just
a result of the development of maritime activities and navigation technol-
ogy of that period. It was not a coincidence that Zheng-He’s expedition also
occurred at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. When China ruled the
seas with its advanced navigation technology, they traded with other parts
of the world instead of conquering or colonizing. With the development of
navigation technology, new maritime routes were pioneered to connect Asia
with Europe and other parts of the world.
Why did merchants and sailors from the Middle East and Europe go on
an adventure along the Maritime Silk Routes to the distant Far East? Surmise it
to say: The reason they gained such enormous benefits is that Chinese goods
were considered valuable and rare, and to possess such intricately designed
treasures was considered a luxury.
Significant changes in types of cargo and trade patterns along the nav-
igation routes took place when European influence rapidly increased, and
shipments imported from China changed as a result. In that period, silk,

tea and porcelain produced in China were primary goods shipped through
ocean trade.
The sunken ships along the Maritime Silk Trade Routes give us an insight
into the premodern navigation routes between the southeast coast of China,
western extremities of the Indian Ocean, and beyond—encompassing the
vast ocean space. In this sense, the premodern maritime activities promoted
commercial and cultural exchange in the inter-regional trade, and it is an
usher of modern globalization.
Section 2: Zayton—The Ancient City of

Maritime Quanzhou
Rivers played a significant role in traditional transport as water transport was
still more efficient than transportation by land. Waterborne transportation
was a crucial factor for trade and the development of a city. Transportation
systems encouraged commercial expansion, facilitated the division of labor,
and linked production to markets. Until the popularization of railways in the
middle of the nineteenth century, rivers and canals were essential in decid-
ing which regions and cities could trade with each other, and where industry
could be profitably located. Most importantly, they allowed for a ship of bulky
raw materials or products to be transported at a low cost.
The city of Quanzhou is located on the Jinjiang plain between two
rivers, namely, Luoyang River and Jinjiang River. Two factors explain
the city’s supremacy as the leading trade center in the South of Fujian
Province. The first factor that accounts for Quanzhou’s dominant role in
medieval maritime trade is that the city and its external ports are in the
strategic position of the west coast of Taiwan Straits. During the heyday of
maritime trade for sailing ships, these were the best seaports in the region
with the protection of Taiwan Central Mountain across the straits, which
prevented the strength of severe typhoons which lash the southeast coast
of China in summer.
Secondly, its hinterlands and neighboring cities add advantages to its
strategic position. Within 120 kilometers from Quanzhou to Zhangzhou city
and 90 kilometers to Putian city, the location of Quanzhou as the regional
center minimized transport costs. Adding to its advantage and traveler’s con-
venience was the fact that the roads and bridges were constructed on level
land along the coast and were well maintained. Two neighboring cities in the
South of Fujian including Zhangzhou and Putian also served as intermediate
centers for maritime trade. The city of Quanzhou played the same role for
its intermediate hinterland while acting as a regional center for higher-level
naval trading activities.
Historical monuments and sites scattered around the Quanzhou Bay, as
well as the old nautical charts and documents, prove that Quanzhou was a
significant harbor and trade hub during the pinnacle of maritime trade.
The Urban Layout
The city of Quanzhou is endowed with the strategic position between two
rivers flowing into Quanzhou Bay and a large body of water with several coves.
The strategic location of the city added to the advantage of Quanzhou in its
historical role in maritime trade.
The river, now heavily silted, was deep enough in the Song and Yuan
times for large ships to navigate up river from the inlet to the foot of Mount
Jiurishan in Nan’an.
Originally square in shape, the city of Quanzhou was first built in the
Tang Dynasty (618–907). It was expanded to have three concentric walls by
the tenth century which had assumed an irregular outline adapted to the local
topography.
Outside the outer wall was a moat. To the south, a flanking wall was built
in 1230 to protect the commercial sector, which had grown up outside the city
(Pearson, et al., 2002). Municipal offices were in the inner areas around the
Yacheng Wall, while branch taxation offices and the office of the superinten-
dent of maritime affairs were located along the riverbank. While official tem-
ples, like those of land and grain and the temple of the city god, were situated
near the center of the city, Buddhist temples were more dispersed, and foreign
temples lay outside the city gates.
According to Anna Duncan (1902) in her book, The City of Springs, the
general planning of the city was quite similar to the layout of the thirteenth
century described above.
The great surrounding wall of the city is pierced in four places by gates known as the
North, South, East and West Gates. From these gates run four main streets, named
respectively, the North, South, East and West Streets. These converge toward the
heart of the city form a cross at the point of the meeting.12
Besides the city gates in the four directions, there were three more new
gates in a total number of seven in Quanzhou.
Outside the West Gate is the largest temple, the Kaiyuan Temple, famous
since Tang times, with its two pagodas, the Eastern and Western. In the time
of 685–688, the mulberry garden of Huang Shougong, a maritime silk mer-
chant, was donated to the monks for the construction of a temple. There
used to be a mulberry garden and silk workshop in the current site of Kaiyuan
Temple. The pagodas were erected during the Southern Song, during the
period of twenty-two years. 48.24 meters in height; the pagodas were featured
with Chinese and Indian architectural features according to inscriptions in
the pagodas. G. Ecke and P. Demiãville conducted an on-site inspection in
Quanzhou in 1926. The Twin Pagodas of Zayton was the subject of an excellent
monograph they published in 1935.13
The Site of Shibosi, Fujian Provincial Maritime Trade

Superintendency
The Southwest Gate contained two gates here: Water Gate and New Gate.
Adjacent to the former was the Customs House—Shibosi.
Maritime trade during the Tang (618–907) was under the control of
local governments. The local prefect oversaw the administration of for-
eign trade and foreign settlements. In 714, the title of Shibosi was granted
to a Commissioner for Trading with Foreign Ships. In the beginning, the
Commissioner for Trading with Foreign Ships was an official without any
designated office, who was merely an officer sent to the coastal cities to buy
foreign goods for the court.
It was the local officials but not the Shibosi who was administering the
trade activities in their respective localities; when a eunuch was appointed
Shibosi to a seaport, his major was probably to conduct and supervise official
purchasing, but not to perform himself the routine administration of seaborne
trade. In the Tang Dynasty, the power to administer foreign trade was gradu-
ally shifting from the local prefect to the Shibosi, the Commissioner for Trading
with Foreign Ships. By the ninth century, the Commissioner for Trading with
Foreign Ships was already in charge of the collection of taxes, registration of
names of foreign merchants and enforcing the laws on the export of contra-
band products14.
The site of Shibosi in Quanzhou is in the Licheng District. Shibosi is a super-
intendence office of maritime trade in Fujian for overseas business, marketing
and taxation. According to The Gazetteer of Jinjiang County edited in the sec-
ond year of the Daoguang period, the site of Fujian Provincial Maritime Trade
Superintendency (Quanzhou) was situated near the South Narcissus Gate.
With the prosperity of Quanzhou Port in the Tang Dynasty, the Maritime
Trade Superintendency (Quanzhou) reached its peak in the Song and Yuan
Dynasties and declined in the middle of the Ming Dynasty.
In 1087, the Maritime Trade Superintendency in Fujian, called Shibosi
in Chinese, was set up by the Imperial Court and it remained in Quanzhou
until the year of 1472 when it was transferred to Fuzhou. For 400 years, Fujian
Provincial Maritime Trade Superintendency managed the overseas trade and
related affairs of the Quanzhou ports. The presence of Shibosi in Quanzhou
greatly encouraged foreign trade in southern China. Quanzhou became the
largest port in the East, and the prosperous commercial exchange also led to
the unprecedented level of cultural exchange between the East and the West.
During the Song and Ming Dynasties, maritime merchants and their car-
goes were transferred via Jinjiang River and other water channels in small
boats to Shibosi for customs declaration.
Shibosi Warehouse at Fuhoushan
During the Ming Dynasty, there were five communities with thousands of
households under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou Prefecture.
The historical record shows that the place where the Shibosi warehouse of
the Song Dynasty used to be was renamed as the Qianqianhusuo community.
Quanzhou Zhong Shan Park previously was the site of Quanzhou Prefecture
Administration in the Ming in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
During the early 1980s, many ceramic residues, as well as potteries of var-
ious styles were unearthed on a hillock allocated as the construction site of a
local medical school in Quanzhou. According to the archeological findings,
it was proved to be the site of Shibosi (the Maritime Trade Superintendency)
warehouse in the Song Dynasty. For its high topography, it was favorable for
storing treasured goods, and the alley nearby is named after the site of the
ancient storehouse.
Laiyuan Post House for Foreign Traders and Sailors
During the times of the Song Dynasty, maritime trade overtook international
overland trade for the first time. The authority of the Song Dynasty sent
missions to Southeast Asia countries to encourage their traders to come to

China. Chinese sailing ships were seen throughout the Indian Ocean and began
to displace the leading role of Indian and Arab merchants in the South Seas.
Laiyuan Post House is a service station and hotel for foreign traders and
sailors set up by the Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127) in Quanzhou as part
of the trade promotion policy. During the Southern Song Dynasty (1127–
1279), Laiyuan Post House was not set up in the capital city of Linan, but it
was established in Quanzhou, Guangzhou, etc.
According to The Compilation of Song’s Regulations, Laiyuan Post House
was set up not later than 1115. The record on 8th July of the 5th year during
the Zheng-He period (1115), the Ministry of Rites recorded: “Yesterday the
Maritime Trade Superintendency was restored, and Laiyuan Post House was
set up in the city of Quanzhou.” During the Southern Song Dynasty, Laiyuan
Post House’s continued to exist. Its activity was recorded by Cheng-You, the
Head Official of the Maritime Trade Superintendency, who wrote that on the
November of the third year of Quandao period (1167), a tribute delegation of
twelve members on the ship led by Captain Chen-Ying returned to Champa
(Located in modern Vietnam). They were hosted in Laiyuan Post House with
the company of the local officials according to tribute practices. “However,
the site of the Laiyuan Post House established in the Song Dynasty did not
survive to the present day.”
The current site of the Laiyuan Post House in Quanzhou was established
in the third year of the Yongle period (1405). The Post House Hotel was set
up in the southern district of Quanzhou to receive tribute envoys, foreign
traders and sailors. In the third year of the Xuande period in the Ming Dynasty
(1428), the Dyeing Bureau was set up for fabric dyeing at Menlou Alley in
the East Street Gate. Both two sites bear testimony to maritime trade and
exchange between Quanzhou and the people in Southeast Asia.
According to the Biography of Pu Shou Geng, during the Yongle period of
the Ming Dynasty, a post house named Huaiyuanyi was kept in Guangzhou to
receive tribute envoys from Siam, Champa Kingdom.
While the Laiyuan Post House in Quanzhou hosted tribute convoy from
Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and other state emissaries, and Anyuan post house in
Ningbo was used to host Japanese emissaries. Following the previous practice
during the Song Dynasty, these post houses were subject to the jurisdiction of
the local Maritime Trade Superintendency.
In 1472, the Fujian Provincial Maritime Trade Superintendency trans-
ferred to Fuzhou, and the Laiyuan Post House ceased operations.
In 1952, Mr. Zhuang Weiji, a researcher from Xiamen University, inves-

tigated the ruins and found that there were two stone inscriptions with the
name of Laiyuan Post House on them.
The Eight-Trigram Canal and the City Water Network
The city moat of Luocheng built in the Five Dynasties, and the Eight-Trigram
canal dug in the Song, and Yuan Dynasties are essential parts of the ancient
city of Quanzhou.
In ancient times, the flood control and drainage systems in Quanzhou
were only composed of the internal ditches. Most parts of the city were low-ly-
ing land, and all the open spaces around the pools were occupied. The worst
part of it was that the section of the flood drainage channel was too small, and
the silt accumulation caused a decrease in the flood detention capacity. When
the flood drainage system was in disrepair, or whenever the typhoon torrential
rain and floods occurred, or when the seawater flows backward into the river,
it could cause severe water-logging problems.
The history of the Eight-Trigram canal can be traced back to the sub-
city built in the Tang Dynasty. A moat always surrounded a city in ancient
China. The trench, in turn, was connected to a gutter way in the town, and
the drainage of the town passed through the gutter way in the town to a moat
surrounding the city wall. A moat could also be connected to canals or rivers
both in the city and outside the town thus providing both a defense and a
convenient transportation route.
According to The Gazetteer of Quanzhou Prefecture, there were two kinds
of canals in- and outside the sub-city, a minor division within a larger city.
The moat surrounding the sub-city was around three meters deep, and there
were five channels in the inner part of the town. The trenches in the sub-city
were all named. When the city was expanded and surrounded by a more tow-
ering city wall, both the waterways in and outside the sub-city were broadened
into a water network.
The Eight-Trigram canal was designed to be connected with the city moat
for water drainage. The seven gates of Quanzhou City, namely, Renfeng Gate
(East Gate), Yicheng Gate (West Gate), Deji Gate (South Gate), Chaotian
Gate (North Gate), Tonghuai Gate (Tu Men Gate), Linzhang Gate (New
Gate), Tonghuai Gate (Shui Gate), were connected to the city moat by a
watergate. The city moat neatly surrounded Quanzhou City and a natural
water channel in the southwest was used as part of the city moat. Watergates
were used to receive the water from various sources within the city and fill the
moat around the walled enclosure.
Throughout the historical record of the city, the Eight-Trigram canal has
been dredged and repaired regularly.
In the summer of 1066, torrential rains poured down on the city, and
“the Tonghuai (Tumenmen) trenches failed to discharge the floodwater,
and it caused much damage to many houses numbering in the thousands.”
Hence, Ding Wa, the Chief of the Prefecture, “had a trench dug through
the city wall,” and drained the accumulated water out of the city and built
a canal which was connected to the Jinjiang River and converted it into
a channel that can hold back the tide when the seawater flows backward
into the river.
During the Jiading period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1208–1224),
Zhen Dexiu, the Governor of that period, also ordered to dig and dredge
the city canal. In the year of 1553, Tong Hanchen, magistrate of Quanzhou
Prefecture dredged the trenches in and out of the city to connect the river so
that boats could sail to the Confucius temple which was situated downtown.
In the second year of the Longqing period (1568), Zhifu Wanjun, the mag-
istrate of Quanzhou Prefecture had the canal dredged. Also, three Watergates
were established. Namely, Linzhang, Tongjin and Yingchun, and guards were
assigned to guide the boat transportation. Small boats for transition and stone
levels down to the canal were built for easy access.
The layout of the ancient city of Quanzhou exhibits a unique structure
featuring sea-river-inland connectivity, which contains rich and diverse high-
light elements that demonstrate prosperous inter-regional trade and fusion of
various civilizations over four centuries in ancient times.
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China include twenty-two
monuments and sites related to maritime trade and culture, which have sur-
vived to this day from the legendary Zayton of the Song (960–1279) and Yuan
Dynasties. With unparalleled diversity, integrity and excellence, the monu-
ments and sites of Song-Yuan Quanzhou bear testimony to the historical sig-
nificance of Quanzhou (Zayton) and its commercial and cultural exchanges in
the golden age of the maritime trade.
The Site of Deji Gate
The Site of Deji Gate on Tianhou Road, Licheng District, Quanzhou City
used to be the old downtown’s southern city gate. As the city’s most flourishing
district, this area connected the inner urban area with the outer seaport where
foreign ships and passenger ships docked.
Deji Gate is in the south of downtown Quanzhou and was a significant
marketplace for Quanzhou’s maritime traders, it used to be an extremely
prosperous area inhabited by foreigners who visited the city during the Yuan
Dynasty. Deji Gate witnessed the booming maritime trade in Quanzhou, the
thriving cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries and the
meteoric rise of Quanzhou as an essential port for maritime trade.
The Deji Gate was built in the third year of the Shaoding Period of the
Southern Song Dynasty (1230) and was repaired in the Yuan Dynasty. During
the 1st year of the Hongwu period of the Yuan Dynasty (1328), the gate was
again restored, with a semicircular enclosure added between the outer and
inner-city gates. The final repair of the gate took place during the Qing
Dynasty. Archeologists excavated the site between 2001 and 2002.
The Deji Gate’s existing structure has a polygonal planar surface 36.50
meters long from south to north and 49.10 meters wide from east to west, with
a circumference of 171.20 meters and an area of nearly 2,000 square meters.
The relics, consisting of granite slabs of different sizes and worn-out stone
building components, include the remains of the city wall, the inner moat
and the ancient arch bridge over it, the city wall of the Deji Gate, and the
city wall of the semicircular enclosure between the outer and inner-city gate
and the outer moat.
Wall bricks produced by government-run brickyards of the Southern
Song Dynasty and many Hindu, Nestorian, Islamic and Buddhist stone carv-
ings of the Song and Yuan Dynasties were also unearthed from the site. The
relics include twelve Islamic stone tomb structures, four ancient Christian
stone carvings—including the remnants of a Semeru base and three point-
ed-arch-shaped tomb headstones, which are quite similar in form, content
and sculptural methods to Nestorian Christian works. Out of the many tomb-
stones discovered at the site—one top tombstone with both Christian and
Islamic patterns which might have belonged to a tomb where a Muslim and
a Christian were buried together. Moreover, five Hindu stone carvings were
excavated, including one door-frame stone, three stone pillars with a pillar
base, and a relief figure of Buddha on the stone pillar with a plate. These stone
carvings were destroyed during the chaos of war in Quanzhou in the late Yuan
Dynasty and were used to fill in the city wall’s foundation.
The most distinguished one is the carved stone slab engraved with the
Nestorian cross and a lotus at one end and the clouds and moon of Islam at the
other end. It is thought to be a slab of a co-burial tomb of a Muslim–Nestorian

couple. It is concrete material evidence of the harmonious coexistence of reli-
gions in Quanzhou in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Of ancient Quanzhou’s seven gates, only Deji Gate has been excavated
and its ruins preserved. This gate is the symbol of ancient Zayton. According
to historical records, around the eleventh century, “Rare and exotic goods
were piled up like a mountain” at Deji Gate. In the thirteenth century, Yu
Jiugong, a Prefecture Chief, expanded the city and built the wing towns
“along the river with stones.” As a result, business boomed inside and outside
the city, and Quanzhou boasted of possessing “80 magnificent communities”
with “a population of 500,000.” Deji Gate was the most prosperous area, with
“importers and tributes gathered there from various countries.”
The site’s archeological remnants are primarily of the Southern Song and
Yuan Dynasties. The precious cultural relics, unearthed from clearly over-
lying strata, form a complete record of the historical footprints of southern
Quanzhou’s expansion, development and evolution.
As the remains of a critical commerce and trade passage of the ancient
city of Quanzhou in the flourishing period of the maritime trade, the Site of
Deji Gate bore witness to Quanzhou Port’s course of thriving commerce and
business and the centuries of peaceful coexistence of diverse cultures.
Luoyang Bridge
Quanzhou saw its prosperity during the tenth to fourteenth centuries, with
its place in overseas trade even exceeding Guangzhou. The Zayton harbor of
Quanzhou became the largest seaport and gateway for foreign exchanges in
China and the Far East at large as well as the critical distributing center for
goods from all over the world. A significant number of relics about maritime
trade have been well preserved up to the present day under the protection of
governments at various levels.
Believing the transition from late Tang to Song constituted a watershed
in Chinese history, Billy K. L. So (2000) and Shiba studied significant com-
mercial aspects and their influences on the Song society, respectively. In each
element, they provided various evidence from historical records to support the
idea that the development of business exchange had a profound impact on
transportation, cities and towns alike.
During the Song Dynasty, there were large beam bridges built in Quanzhou
with the high demand for domestic business exchange and overseas trade.
To facilitate the dialog between merchants and local people and assist in
the transmission of cargoes, local people and authority of Quanzhou had an
unprecedented rash of bridge construction during the Song period.
According to The Gazetteer of Quanzhou Prefecture, a total of 106 bridges
were built during the Song Dynasty. A number of these bridges were built at a
length of 1000 meters and beyond, with the range of their spans of up to 22.33
meters (70 feet) in length, and the construction of which necessitated the
moving of massive stones that weighed more than 200 tons.15
At the peak of the booming overseas trade, the social economy prospered,
and Quanzhou caught an unprecedented bridge-building fever, with records
showing the construction of 106 large bridges, not counting the smaller ones.
The significant number of bridges constructed in the Song Dynasties
reflects the prosperity of the economy and trade at that time. The bridges of
Song Dynasties have survived from the earthquake and typhoons in the past
millennium and still stand in the Quanzhou Bay today, among which Luoyang
Bridge and Anping Bridge are two of the most outstanding ones.
Luoyang Bridge, also called “Wan’an Bridge,” is located at the estuary of
the Luoyang River in the eastern suburb of Quanzhou City. Known as Luoyang
Port during ancient times, this area near Quanzhou Bay used to be a crucial
passage for the imported cargoes to be transmitted to Fuzhou, the capital city
of Fujian and even inner China.
According to The Notes of Wan’an Bridge, a manuscript by Cai Xiang,
the construction of the bridge started in April 1053 and was completed in
December 1059. Since its completion in 1059, Luoyang Bridge has been ren-
ovated at least sixteen times through the ages.
During the Song Dynasty, Luoyang Bridge helped facilitate the smooth
trade of “various imports of spices and medicines such as pepper, betel nut,
hawksbill, rhinoceros’ horns, and ivories” to the provincial capital Fuzhou.
“Bustling market towns” formed at both the southern and northern ends of
the bridge.
Wang Dayuan (1311–1350) noted in his traveling journal Daoyi Yi Zhilue
(“Description of the Barbarians of the Isles,” dated in 1349) “More than a hun-
dred maritime traders from Wuzhai Village (a village not far from Luoyang
Bridge) sailed to Timor for trade.”
Zhaohui Shrine at the north end of the bridge was built in the eleventh
century. It is a small temple enshrining King Tongyuan, the Sea God, for his
blessing the building and safety of Luoyang Bridge. It is still well preserved in
Luoyang Street at the northern end of the bridge.
A memorial in honor of Cai Xiang, a Prefecture Chief who facilitated

the building of the bridge, is still preserved at Qiaonan village. At present,
Cai Xiang Memorial Hall and Zhaohui Temple still have their Song Dynasty
stone foundations and platform bases. Other structures, including the wooden
structure, were rebuilt in modern times according to the original features.
Initially, this huge stone-beam bridge suspending the port was 1,200
meters in length, 5 meters in width and 7 meters in height. It included 46
piers, 500 balustrade posts, 28 carved lions, seven stone kiosks and numer-
ous delicate stone carvings, including the Moon Buddha in the middle, four
knight statues and four stone pagodas at both ends of the bridge.
With the color of local light gray granite, the bridge resembles a sil-
ver dragon lying above the water at the joint point of Luoyang River and
Quanzhou Bay. This magnificent bridge has four unique features, including
a raft-style foundation, the application of biology to bridge engineering and
to make use of the buoyancy force and waves in the construction, which is a
pioneering work in the annals of bridge construction in the world.
The first unique feature of Luoyang Bridge is its raft-shaped foundation,
which was invented in the construction. After forming a stone dam on the
riverbed with large numbers of stones along the bridge’s central axis, where
piers were built through staggered joints with the tiered placement of big
stone slabs with ends pointed like ships’ bows to divert the heavy currents.
Since torrents often washed away the bridge foundation, the masters
came up with the world’s first application of biology to bridge engineering,
the so-called “consolidating of the foundation by cultivating oysters.” Oysters
were grown to solidify the bridge foundation, which is still in effect today.
The secretions of the oysters cultivated by the bridge builders serve to glue
together the bridge foundation and piers.
The second feature of Luoyang Bridge is the natural method of reinforcing
the foundation of the bridge by raising oysters. Thousands of oysters were
bred around the footstones and piers so that their secretions would act as a
kind of cement. Cultivating oysters to consolidate the foundation is the most
excellent method of using bioengineering in bridge construction. This is the
world’s first example of the use of biology in bridge building, and it shows the
great wisdom of the ancient Chinese people. Therefore, the bridge was listed
with other famous stone bridges in the history of old Chinese architecture.
The third feature of Luoyang Bridge is the technology applied to the
installation of stone beams by the buoyancy force and waves. Making use of
the buoyancy force and waves to lift the stone beams is an innovation in
bridge construction. Also, local legendary stories revealed that the lunar tide
cycle was observed at the site, and stone beams and slabs were loaded with a
methodology based on the highest astronomical tide. They lifted the bridge
surface’s multi-ton stone slabs into place by making use of the buoyancy force
and waves during astronomical tides. After 46 piers were erected, stone beams
were hung over the docks weighing several tons and elevated on the piers by
making use of the buoyancy force and waves.
The fourth feature of Luoyang Bridge is its exotic carving decoration. The
stupas at Luoyang Bridge were built in the same period as the bridge. Similar
to the stupas in Kaiyuan Temple, they are the outcome of the eastern dissem-
ination of Esoteric Buddhism of ancient India, featuring designs of Indian
stonework.
In the middle of the bridge, there is a Moon Buddha sculpture and the
dhāranī of Five Dhyani Buddhas. The word dhāranī derives from a Sanskrit
root meaning “to hold or maintain.” A dhāranīis a Sanskrit term for a type
of ritual speech similar to a mantra. A dhāraṇī is generally understood as a
mnemonic which encapsulates the meaning of a section or chapter of a sutra.
Dhāraṇīs are also considered protecting the one who chants them from malign
influences and calamities. Mantra and dhāranī were initially interchangeable,
but at some point, dhāraṇī came to be used for meaningful, intelligible phrases,
and mantra for syllabic formulas which are not meant to be understood.
The five Sanskrit words on the other side of sculpture are dhāraṇī of five
Dhyani Buddhas, which reads chì tuó nǐ, ā jiā luó, mì lī zhù, bān lī dá luó yē
and níng jiē lī, respectively. Dhāraṇīs carved on the stupas was a blessing for
the travelers across the river which witnessed the commercial and cultural
exchange between Quanzhou and the regions around the Indian Ocean.
To sum up, the heritage value of Luoyang Bridge is just laid on the
advanced bridge-building techniques such as ship-shape foundation. Above
all, it is the Moonlight Bodhisattva Tower which was built when the Luoyang
Bridge was completed in 1059. It is the only stone inscription engraved on the
bridge with a consecutive year. The inscription of the Sanskrit word on the
stupas is essential material evidence of the trade and cultural links between
Quanzhou and India.
The Legendary stories of Luoyang Bridge reflect the challenge in its con-
struction and the maritime history of the city.
We know that a legend refers to imaginary events to some real personage,
or it localizes romantic stories in some particular spot. It is a challenge to build
a long stone bridge at the joint point of a river and a bay a thousand years ago.
This massive project at that time must impress many people so that there are
a significant number of legends about the bridge construction passing down
from generation to generation.
It is said that it took many efforts to lay the bridge’s foundation in the
deep channel of the river. Each time the rocks thrown into the water were
swept away by the powerful tides. In frustration, Caixiang sent one of his men
to find the Sea God and ask for advice. The runner returned with a one-word
suggestion, “Vinegar.” Cai Xiang interpreted this cryptic word as the date and
time of the low level of the tide and successfully laid the stone into the river
as the foundation of the bridge at the perfect timing. It is a pity that no names
of the engineers of the Quanzhou bridges were recorded on inscriptions of the
bridges. The only names featured were merely the names of the local officials
of the Song Dynasty or those who sponsored them and gave oversight of their
construction and repair. However, there might have been an institute at the
site of the Zhaohui Shrine headed by a prominent scholar of the time known
as Cai Xiang (1012–1067).
Cai Xiang and the Crowdfunding Activities for the Bridge Construction. Do
you believe that the fund for the construction of Luoyang Bridge was raised
by crowdfunding as early as 1053? There are several versions of the legendary
stories about crowdfunding activities for the bridge construction. It was said
that an elegant lady raised the fund for bridge construction by standing in a
boat on Luoyang River. She would marry the one who donated the most and
touched her heart. The other version is about the Avalokitesvara, who was
in the appearance of a young lady to invite local people to donate money for
the bridge construction. The one who could touch her by throwing silver or
gold in the distance would marry her. Of course, the legend is just a metaphor.
The historical records and inscriptions both show that the people of all trade,
including the Buddhists and monks, took active participation in the fundrais-
ing of the bridge construction.
According to The Notes on Wan’an Bridge, a manuscript by Cai Xiang,
it was written, “The construction of the bridge started in April of the fifth
year of Huangyou period (1053 A.D.) and was completed in December of
the fourth year of Jiayou period (1059 A.D.). The bridge was erected by lay-
ing rocks deep into the channel to form the foundation of the piers, which
divided the river into 47 streams. Stone beams hang over the piers. The
bridge is 3,600 chi long and fifteen chi wide (1 chi is equal to 31.68 cm;
namely, 1140.40 meters long and 4,752 meters wide). There are railings on
each side of the bridge, which span the full length of the bridge. With the
construction of this bridge, the local people can cross the strait securely.
The construction project cost 14 million copper coins, which was raised
by crowdfunding. There are fifteen major participants engaged in the man-
agement of the bridge construction, including Lu Xi, Wang Shi, Xu Zhong,
FutuYibo, Zong Shan, etc. Quanzhou Governor Cai Xiang hosted a banquet
in celebration of its completion. He was recalled to the capital of the empire
in the fall of the next year. As he was the organizer of bridge construction,
Cai Xiang made a stele recording the construction process. The stele stands
on the left side of the bridge.”
Cai was a noted scholar; an author of books on Litchi fruit and tea. When
Cai was promoted as the Governor of Quanzhou Prefecture in Quanzhou, he
participated in the planning and construction of the Luoyang Bridge from
1053 to 1059 A.D. A shrine was built at the south end of the bridge to com-
memorate Cai Xiang’s contribution, who took charge of the construction of
Luoyang Bridge respectively in 1055 and 1058. The article, handwriting and
inscription of the tablet by Cai Xiang can be rated as the superb works of cal-
ligraphy and art. These stone inscriptions are valuable historical records for
the study of the bridge construction history.
The Historical Account of Luoyang Bridge
Luoyang Bridge is one of the most famous ancient bridges in China. Built in
the eleventh century, it is the first flat-beam cross-sea stone bridge in China.
The bridge, with unique historical, artistic, and scientific value, is of great
importance in the China bridge history, even Marco Polo described it in his
journey notes.
Rev. Pitcher (In and About Amoy, 1912) shares one of the locally leg-
endary stories surrounding the bridge, which reflects the growing demand of
local people for a safe path for inter-regional exchange and people-to-people
communication during the heyday of maritime trade.16
When Cai Xiang’s mother was in pregnancy, she almost drowned along
with a large boatload of passengers in a ferryboat that was crossing the river.
They faced a sudden storm. Fortunately, they reached the shore safely.
The mother’s wish for a safe traveling represented the growing demand
of the local people for a bridge to be built over the troubled water. When her
son Cai Xiang became the Governor of Quanzhou Prefecture, he decided to
join in the effort of the local people to raise funds and build a bridge over the
Luoyang River.
The gratitude of the local people for the bridge project was real. They
composed folk songs and operas, which have been handed down from gen-
eration to generation—moreover, the songs, operas and legends were widely
spread with the maritime trade along the coast. The folk song in the port
city of Ningbo, Zhejiang Province sang, “Scholar Cai built Luoyang Bridge.”
You could also find a similar narration in the opera in Wenzhou of Zhejiang
Province. In 1907, the famous Hebei Bangzi artist Xiao Jinfeng performed an
opera about Luoyang Bridge in Tieling in Northeast China. In 1928, Ruan
Lingyu, a famous movie star, starred in a film about Cai Xiang and the story
of Luoyang Bridge.
Luoyang Bridge facilitated land-and-sea transportation, enhanced con-
nectivity with inland areas north of ancient Quanzhou Port, and significantly
extended the scope of trade activities and cultural communication into its
hinterland and other parts of China.
Many stone tablets from past dynasties were erected near the central
pavilion on the Luoyang Bridge, including stone statues of pagodas and war-
riors. The pavilions, memorial temples, ancient towers and stone warriors are
all exquisite and are rare cultural relics today. Just as The History of the Song
Dynasty wrote in the 33rd chapter: “When Cai Xiang ruled Quanzhou, he
supervised the construction of Luoyang Bridge.” The bridge is extended as
long as three hundred and sixty Zhang (a unit of measurement in ancient
China), and pine trees were planted as long as seven hundred li to protect
the road and pedestrians. The people in Quanzhou Prefecture all praised Cai.
There stood at one end of Wanan Bridge (also as Luoyang Bridge), the inscrip-
tion composed by Cai Xiang telling the story about the bridge.
Luoyang Bridge in the Western Travelog
Galeote Pereira, a Portuguese pirate, was captured on the southeastern

Chinese coast as a smuggler in 1549. When Galeote Pereira was taken through
Quanzhou on his way to Fuzhou, he was very much impressed with the pop-
ulated countryside, the “gallantly paved streets” and the very noble and very
well-wrought bridges of stone.
Quanzhou’s bridge was even more splendid than Fuzhou’s bridge, surpassed
only by the one spanning the Luoyang River ten miles to the north.
Anne Averill and Mackenzie Grieves visited Luoyang Bridge in the 1920s.
“For me, the great granite bridges of Fukien had an indescribable fascination.
It lay, not in their uniqueness (there are believed to be none like them in the
world), but, I think, in the grand, brave way in which they spanned the rivers,
set their broad buttresses against the currents.”17
“Their gray bulk had personality and inspired respect; they reminded
me of elephants. No one knows exactly how the stones were put into place.
The buttresses supported solid granite slabs twenty-two feet long, two feet
thick, laid, in the bridge over the Luoyang estuary, five abreast for over a
thousand feet.”
For me, the Roman coliseum rises yawning like an empty wasps’ nest; life has gone
from it. Even in Lucca, whose coliseum is a teeming hive of cell-slums, built with the
help of Lombardic bricks and Romanesque hewn stones, builders and users are buried
in history—remembered it is true but as a legend. However, across the great stone
Fukien’s bridges, the people swarmed, thinking, acting, writing, talking, precisely as
their forebears had done for more than seven hundred years. The stream of pole-carri-
ers, litter-bearers, pedestrians, flowed unbroken throughout the centuries, the strong
tide of life undiminished, undiluted; an endurance so close-textured, so ubiquitous
that, living in China, one accepted it and only afterward was amazed.
(Excerpt from, “A Race of Green Ginger,” pp. 112, 113)
This famous stone-beam bridge in Quanzhou (Also as Chang Chew; Chin

Chew; Chin Chu; Quanzhou), Fokien (Fujian Province) made of granite, was
first built in the eleventh century. Oysters were cultivated to help bind the
foundations and ship-shaped piers. This photograph shows the bay at low tide.
“How many times did Erythrina bloom in the spring? How many years
did the East and West Towers gaze at each other? How many people walked
across the Luoyang Bridge? How many boats sailed out of Quanzhou Bay...”
Adapted from “Luoyang Bridge,” in 2011, Mr. Yu Guangzhong, a renowned
Chinese poet.
There is another similar stone bridge constructed in the Song Dynasty
which still stands today and features raft-like piers that reduce the amount of
the rapid river water friction.
Anping Bridge
As a national cultural relic, Anping Bridge is located at Anhai Town of

Jinjiang City, Fujian Province. Anping Bridge extends over the bay between
Anhai Township of Jingjiang and Shuitou Township of Nan’an. Its location
at the ancient Anping Township of Jinjiang gave it another name, “Anping
Bridge.”
The construction of the bridge started in the eighth year of Shaoxing of

the Song Dynasty (1138 A.D.) and lasted until the 22nd year of the Shaoxing
period (1152 A.D.). Built on granite piers, the bridge is also known as the
Wuli Bridge because its length is about five Chinese li, where a Chinese li is
about 500 meters or 0.3 miles. This long stone bridge was regarded as the lon-
gest stone bridge at a seaport in ancient China, and the longest beam bridge
in the world during the Middle Ages. It was often said of the bridge that “no
bridge would be longer than this bridge.”
The construction of Anping Bridge is unique, as the original piers were
designed in three different shapes: square, semi-boat, and raft, according to
different water conditions. The foundation of the bridge adopted a “sunken
foundation covered by wood” and wooden piles respectively according to dif-
ferent earth layers.
The surface of the bridge was laid with granite slates of 5–11 meters long
and 4.5–25 tons each. The bridge surface was laid by utilizing the rising and
falling of the tide. The most massive beam weighs 25 tons. Anping Bridge
consists of 330 spans of granite beams resting on top of 331 stone piers. The
width of the bridge varies from 3 to 3.8 meters, with stone rails on both sides.
It initially had five pavilions where travelers could rest; however, only one
pavilion still exists today.
Section 4: Ancient Navigation Towers—

Gusao Pagoda and Liusheng Pagoda
A significant number of bridges were built in Quanzhou in the old times, such
as Luoyang Bridge and Anping Bridge, which were decorated with beautiful
pagodas.
In ancient times, a pagoda was a marker at the road intersection, ferry
crossings, and harbors, giving direction to the travelers. In the open field or
wilderness, a lofty pagoda could indicate the exact position of a bridge so that
travelers did not have to go a long way around. A single pagoda or a pair of
pagodas were sometimes built at a bridgehead, designed as an accessory or
extended part of the bridge.
Pagodas were also erected near dangerous rapids and shoals in rivers and
lakes, for in ancient times superstitious people believed that “pagodas could
suppress the evils that might create dangers for travelers.”
Pagodas in ancient China provided a sense of security. However, pagodas
also reminded people of the risks at hand and helped them maintain vigilance.
As most pagodas were tall, straightly erected, and prominent, Pagodas atop
a hill near a port were used to pilot ships to harbors or mark ferry crossings
on rivers.18 In ancient China, pagodas were often built on riverbanks, by sea
harbors or near ferry crossings or bridges. These towering architectures could
be visible from far away. Some pagodas have become symbolic markers for
specific ports or wharves.
Interestingly, the word “pagoda” was introduced to Europe by the sev-
enteenth century by the Portuguese.19 Western reference works regard the
architectural term pagoda as being of uncertain origin. Liang Sicheng, who
pioneered the study of classical Chinese architecture, proposed an overlooked
and convincing solution to the mystery: The word is Chinese, with the lit-
eral meaning “eight” (pa) “cornered” (ga) “tower” (ta). It is interesting that
the pronunciation of pagoda has a linguistic link to the local language in
Southern Fujian but not Mandarin.
When the Portuguese sailors came to the southeast coast of China for
trade, they must have seen the pagoda of Quanzhou on the hilltop when they
first navigated along the southeast coast of China. A pagoda was marked on
the navigation chart as a marker of a small town, and triple pagodas were used
to emphasize the significance of Zayton on a Portuguese map.
As the description in Meng Brook Record by Wu Zhimu in the Song
Dynasty times, Quanzhou Port is a crucial port for maritime trade. For those
merchant ships sailing in or out of the Quanzhou Harbor, Wanshou Pagoda
(Also as Gusao Tower) and Liusheng Pagoda along the coast of Quanzhou
were both critical navigation markers.
Wanshou Pagoda is also called Gusao Tower by local people. The tower is
situated not far from Quanzhou Bay atop Baogai Hill, the highest point of the
southern shore of Quanzhou Bay. It was a signal tower for those ships sailing
along the west coast of Taiwan Straits.
Made of huge granite slabs, the octagonal five-story tower was constructed
between 1131 and 1162 with a total height of 22.86 meters. The pagoda is
a five-story octagonal structure, hollow inside and encompassed with exter-
nal corridors on each floor. It features a simple but vigorous style, ingenious
design, a unique construction, a stable center of gravity and a spectacular
façade. It has survived typhoons, windstorms and earthquakes over the past
800 years and still stands firm today, fully exhibiting the marvelous building
technology of the Song Dynasty pagoda in Quanzhou.
It was previously called Wanshou Pagoda but is known as the Gusuo Tower
(Gu means husband’s sister and Sao, brother’s wife in Chinese) by local people
and the Overseas Chinese diasporas in Southeast Asia, after a legendary story
was widely spread. It is said that once a young woman who married a maritime
merchant used to gaze at the sea from this site awaiting their beloved one’s
return. The first immigration of coastal Chinese to Southeast Asia began with
the maritime traders of the Tang Dynasty during the tenth century. The lat-
est phase of Chinese immigration to Southeast Asia occurred between 1851
and 1900. More than two million “contract laborers” were shipped off from
China coast, and two-thirds of them went to South Asia. From another per-
spective, we can locate this resettlement as the latest phase of Chinese immi-
gration in the long-term expansion of Chinese laborers and merchants into
Southeast Asia—the basis for the deepening economic and cultural bonds
linking the region. Not all the maritime travelers successfully reached the des-
tination and returned. Many of them perished on an outward-bound ship or
were lost in the maritime disaster on the way home. This story embodies the
deep emotion of traveling men’s nostalgia and their families’ longing for their
early return, making the Wanshou Pagoda an icon of Southern Fujian in the
Overseas Chinese diasporas. It has long been regarded as a symbol of home-
town by overseas Chinese who immigrated to Southeast Asia from Quanzhou
as well as those who are engaged in maritime navigation, maritime trade or
ocean fishing. For hundreds of years, it has served as a signal tower for those
ships sailing along the Taiwan Strait and has been an icon of the ancestral
place of overseas Chinese, moving countless Chinese diaspora to nostalgia for
their native land. The Gusao Tower witnessed the city’s history of exuberant
overseas trade.
With a high elevation above sea level, Wanshou Pagoda boasts a wide
field of vision to all directions, and it is visible from the vast sea surface at
the whole entrance area of Quanzhou Bay. During the heyday of maritime
trade, merchants realized they would arrive at Quanzhou Bay when Wanshou
Pagoda was visible since it was a significant navigation marker in the bay area.
Foreign merchant boats viewed it as the destination landmark of China.
Liusheng Pagoda is the other tower built on the top of a hill near Shihu
harbor, where is a coastal village of Hanjiang Town, Shishi City under the
jurisdiction of Quanzhou. Most of Shihu villagers are descendants of Arab
immigrants who came to Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
The stone tower is an octagonal, five-story granite structure. Built on a
Sumeru platform, the stone pagoda consists of the center part, the corridors
and external walls. It was designed with four doors and four inches arranged in
a staggered order on each floor. Such a design not only enhances the artistry
of the building but also consolidates the structure and enables wall weight
to be more evenly distributed. The walls were decorated with relief figures of
Buddhism besides niches on each floor, featuring vivid images and exquisite
craftsmanship.
Also known as Shihu Tower, Liusheng Pagoda was built in the twelfth
century and served in ancient times as a signal tower for ships approaching
the Shihu harbor. Liusheng Pagoda at Shihu harbor has long been recorded
as an important navigation marker on the navigation maps of ancient marine
routes. The ancient navigation marker on the main channel of Quanzhou
Harbor is an octagonal five-story stone tower with a height of 36.06 meters.
It was first constructed in A.D. 1111 and rebuilt by Ling Huifu, a Quanzhou
maritime trader, from 1336 to 1339, which revealed the enormous economic
potential of the local maritime merchants and also bore testimony to achieve-
ments of marine infrastructure and prosperity of the maritime trade of ancient
Quanzhou.
The stone pagoda is an octagonal, five-story granite structure. Built on a
Sumeru platform, the stone pagoda consists of the center part, the corridors
and external walls. It was designed with four doors and four niches arranged in
a staggered order on each floor. Such a design not only enhances the artistry
of the building but also consolidates the structure and enables wall weight to
be more evenly distributed.
The walls were decorated with relief figures of Buddhism besides niches
on each floor, featuring vivid images and exquisite craftsmanship.
Liusheng Pagoda is located on a small hill in Shihu harbor near its outlet
to the sea. When ships and boats come to Quanzhou Bay during the daytime,
sailors see the pagoda from a long distance and know they are approaching the
Quanzhou Harbor.
At night it serves as an essential signal tower to guide ships in the
right direction. An ancient document recorded that “when ships wanted
to anchor at night alongside the shore, they looked for the beacon tower as
guidance.”
According to local fishers, Liusheng Pagoda at Shihu harbor served as a
beacon tower. “Every story of the pagoda was lit with square lamps; sailors on
the East China Sea all looked for it as a guide in navigation.”20
The Gusao Tower at Baogai Hill also “lit lamps throughout all the night
for sailors as a landmark,” as recorded in the local ancient document. The
purpose of building a pagoda at Baogai Hill was simple and clear: “as a beacon
tower for ships and boats along the west coast of Taiwan Straits.”
As the historical witness of the ancient sea trade in Quanzhou, the Gusao
Tower atop the hill in Quanzhou Bay embodies the millennium maritime
culture of pioneering and enterprising to enlighten the local people to fight
against any adverse situation in the ocean.
Section 5: Docks and Wharves

Shihu Dock is one of the representative sites of maritime transportation and
trade as part of the Serial Property of Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in
Song-Yuan China.21
Combined with many inland wharves, Shihu Dock was part of the dock
infrastructure system of Quanzhou Port, bearing witness to Zayton harbor’s
prosperous and advanced maritime transportation during the Song and Yuan
Dynasties.
As one of the outer harbor docks of Quanzhou, Shihu Dock lies at the
west shore of the Shihu Peninsula on the southern side of the entrance of
Quanzhou Bay. The shoreline is concave, providing a favorable natural con-
dition for the construction of a port.
As a key dock for business and trade as well as an important outpost for
coastal defense in ancient times, Shihu Dock came into being between 713
and 741 in the Tang Dynasty, when Lin Luan, a maritime merchant and nav-
igator, built stone staircases on seafront slopes and used natural rocks to build
a dock. Hence it is also called Lin Luan Ferry.
In the eighth year of the Kaiyuan reign of the Tang Dynasty, Lin Luan
sailed between the coast of China and Borneo to do the trade for profit, while
the people along the coast followed him.
Shihu Dock is in the shape of a try square, extending from south to north,
with a total length of 113.5 meters. The curved part, 70 meters long, 2.2
meters wide and 2.41 meters high, was built with granite slates along the
coast. Several stone stairs and paths were constructed on the slope of the rock
facing the sea, to facilitate loading and unloading of cargo.
To the northeast of the port is the entrance to the main channel of Quanzhou
Harbor. Owing to its location of strategical significance, an over-water fortress
called Shihu Village was built for defense, with its gate connected to the port.
Tongji Bridge was a stone-beam bridge on the dock’s left side. According
to The Gazetteer of Quanzhou Prefecture (1612), Tongji Bridge, located in
Shihu port, was built by an official named Fu Jin during the Yuanyou reign of
the Song Dynasty (1086–1094), to connect the coast with an inshore rock,
thus forming a coastwise dock facility for ship mooring.
The bridge has been restored several times since the Song Dynasty. The
remains of the stone tablet, recording bridge restoration activities, built in
1639, the 12th year of the Chongzhen reign of the Ming Dynasty, still exist at
the bridge entrance. Shihu Dock and Tongji Bridge both retain their original
Song Dynasty foundations, although the entire dock has been restored several
times since the Song Dynasty.
Tongji Bridge and the rock dock were combined to make up a complete
outer port dock, that is, Shihu Dock, which was a crucial offshore dock of
Zayton Port used as the maritime infrastructure for both maritime trade and
coastal defense during the Song and Yuan Dynasties and has been in use to
this day.
During the Ming Dynasty, it is said that Admiral Zheng-He’s fleet docked
there. A 758.3 kg iron anchor was excavated in the 1970s, similar to the struc-
ture of the anchor used by Zheng-He’s fleet, and the anchor is now exhibited
in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.
Estuary Docks
Estuary Docks are piers at the inlet or along the bank of Jinjiang River, which
are located at the convergence of the river and the sea. The Estuary Docks
consist of Meishan Wharf, Wenxing Wharf, located on the northern bank
of the Jinjiang estuary, located in the area where the river meets the sea.
Through Jinjiang River, the navigator can reach the inland wharves or sail out
to the sea. Founded in the Song Dynasty (the tenth to thirteenth centuries),
the cluster of commercial wharves along the river was a hub of water and land
transportation between the urban area and the port area of Quanzhou during
the peak period of the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Both medieval travelers, Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta, were impressed by
the prosperity of the estuary dock in Quanzhou and made a vivid description
in their travelogs, respectively.
A series of riverfront wharves were combined with seashore docks such
as Shihu Dock to establish a network of river-to-sea dock facilities, including
sixteen ports along the four bays in ancient Quanzhou.
Meishan & Wenxing Wharves
The site consists of two extant riverfront commercial piers in Fashi Port,
major inland wharves of ancient Quanzhou, bearing witness to the prosperous
maritime transportation of Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
With the development of overseas trade in the tenth century, a series of

docks along the north bank of Jinjiang River came into being in the southern
part of the ancient city of Quanzhou.
Foreign merchants gathered in the south of the old town near the docks.
In the Southern Song period, when the city was expanded to the location,
the Deji Gate was built in 1230. Cargo was unloaded here and moved into the
town through Deji Gate.
Wenxing Wharf and Meishan Wharf are two representative berths which
have survived up to the present day. The two riverfront commercial wharves
were the hub for water-land transshipment between the urban area and the
port area of Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Estuary piers are located at the juncture of the river and the sea, through
which boats from freshwater courses can reach the sea, and ocean-going ships
from ocean courses can go right to the city gate of Quanzhou. Wenxing Wharf
and Meishan Wharf are two representative docks along the Jinjiang River,
which are approximately one kilometer from each other.
Being a part of the commercial wharf cluster along Jinjiang River, Meishan
and Wenxing Wharves emerged in the eleventh century and evolved into
an essential gateway to Quanzhou Harbor. As a navigation hub, the piers
together with such wharves at the entrance to the sea as Shihu Dock com-
posed the ancient Quanzhou Port Cluster, mirroring the unique features of
Quanzhou Harbor in its heyday.
Meishan Wharf
Supported by the stone foundation, Meishan Wharf has a stone platform on

the shore, with its components laid in a crisscrossing pattern, which is capable
of harboring large boats when the water level is high.
Wenxing Wharf
Wenxing Wharf is a revetment berth with slanted stone staircases, capable of

docking small boats. The main structure of the Wharf was laid up mainly by
alternate joint stone slabs while T-structures were partially inserted.
Shipwreck at Fashi Port
A sunken ship was discovered in the vicinity of Wenxing Wharf, Fashi Port in
Quanzhou Bay in 1982, which is another significant archeological discovery
after the excavation of a shipwreck in Quanzhou Bay in 1973. A trial excava-

tion was conducted on a portion of the hull. A piece around mid-ship toward
the stern was revealed during the excavation. Four compartments in its rear
were exposed during the excavation. The exposed part of the hull was rebur-
ied for in-site preservation.
In the trial excavation, local ceramic products of the Southern Song
period were discovered at the bottom of the marine sediment layer of the ship-
wreck. The discovery included narrow-mouthed porcelain bottles produced in
Cizao Kilns of Jinjiang and fragments of a celadon bowl with engraved floral
pattern decoration.
After the analysis of these trade-oriented porcelain wares, we could deter-
mine that the ship sunk in the port during the Southern Song Dynasty.
Further research into the shipwreck, revealed similarities between the
shipwreck of Fashi Port and the sunken ship excavated at Houzhu Port in
terms of form, structure, craftsmanship and material, which both belong to the
type of Fujian junks which are known for a deep draft and excellent stability.
Fashi Port was a major commercial port along the Jinjiang River for ship
mooring and cargo handling during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The Song-
dynasty shipwreck discovered in 1982 at Fashi Port is a repeatedly significant
archeological discovery similar to the wreck in Houzhu Port in Quanzhou
Bay. Several shipyard sites, stone anchors and other shipwrecks dating back
from the twelfth to fifteenth centuries, as well as several Islamic tombstones,
have been found in the vicinity area of Fashi Port. The shipwreck and other
artifacts discovered at Fashi Port provide physical evidence of the highly
advanced ship-making capacities of ancient Quanzhou and give essential ref-
erences for the study of the history of overseas trade, ship-making, and mari-
time navigation during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Oyster-Shell Houses in Xunpu Village
The Oyster-Shell House is the local feature residence in Quanzhou. Residence

houses near the Estuary Docks have oyster shells interlocked together on the
exterior wall. These outlandish shell structures make a beautiful decorative
pattern in the wall, which is not only artistic but guards against cold, heat,
damp and corrosion. The structure contains distinct local features. In the back
alleys of the Xunpu Village at the inlet of Jinjiang, huts and antique houses
stand with outer walls insulated by oyster shells.
Like the proverbial saying, “an oyster shell lasts longer than a house.” It
will not get eroded by the salty sea breeze. Locals believe that oyster shells are
durable organic construction material, even if the house collapsed, it could be

recycled and reused in a new home. The worn-out sign is a pleasing reminder
of old times.
According to local researchers, the oyster shell used in the old houses in
Xunpu Village in the inlet is not local oyster shells but that of the species from
overseas. How could that happen?
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the city of Quanzhou enjoyed fame
and prosperity under the Arabic name Zayton-the Arabs’ first port of call
along the Maritime Silk Route in China.
The maritime traders brought ivory, spices, rhino horn and other exotic
goods to Quanzhou, and then sailed back to the Middle East with Chinese tea,
silk and porcelain.22
Oyster-Shell Houses in Quanzhou seaside villages witness the prosperous
marine trade in the ancient time. To prevent the vessels from capsizing during
the return trip, Chinese mariners carried oysters in the sailing ships for food
and other loads to increase the weight of the ships after unloading cargo at the
overseas market. When the returning ships arrived at the Estuary Docks, the
oyster shells were discarded and used as building material by local villagers.
Traditional maritime activities not also have a unique impact on the local
houses but also affect the traditions and lifestyles of local people.
While men were struggling for a living on their ships in the high sea, local
coastal women did not just stay at home to complete the housework. They
were the mainstay of oyster vendors in the marketplace. Nowadays, tourists
flock to Xunpu Village for two things: oysters, seafood and a photo of the col-
orfully dressed women who sell them.
Some Chinese historians believe that the head ornaments of the villag-
ers of Xunpu were influenced by the Arab traders and seafarers who resided
around the harbor. That is why the women wear a distinctively different set of
costumes and head ornaments than the average Han Chinese.
Likewise, the tradition of the floral ring hair decoration and the colorful
costume of local coastal women were borrowed from Arabic culture.
The wealthiest Arabic maritime merchant of the Yuan Dynasty
Pushougeng, had a private pier, watchtower, gardens and mansions in the
vicinity of the Estuary Docks along the Jinjiang River. A stone-paved street
was built to connect different wharves. Hence, the neighboring area got its
name from the stone-paved streets.
When Marco Polo arrived in Zayton of Quanzhou in 1291, he bid fare-
well to China and accompanied Kököchin, the Mongol Princess to attend
her wedding ceremony in Persia in 1292.23 He had to walk through the stone-
paved street to the wharf to board the ship, which may have been the reason
for it being called Marco Polo street.
At the Wenxing Wharf, there is a temple called Wenxing Palace for
the enshrined Gods who provide spiritual comfort and blessings to the local
community, maritime merchants and travelers. In the traditional ceremony, a
large model ship would be sent as a prayer and allow to drift along the Jinjiang
River to the sea. Many of the prayer ships, called Wangchuan (the Ship of
the Lord), would follow the current and cross the Taiwan Straits. The immi-
grants on the west coast of Taiwan regarded it as a blessing from their ancestral
places in Quanzhou. Moreover, they would build a temple at the site where
the Wangchuan ship landed. Even nowadays they still trace it back to visit the
temple at Wenxing Wharf.
Since 1869, the first Wangchuan ship from Wenxing Wharf crossed the
strait and landed at Houlong of Miaoli County of Taiwan; two other ships
arrived at the shore of Miaoli, respectively. From 1869 to 1908, a total of three
Wangchuan ships crossed the strait from Wenxing Wharf to Miaoli, Taiwan.
Section 6: Sea God Belief in the Context of

Maritime Prosperity in Zayton
The Inclusive Belief System of Coastal People
Due to their limited understanding of the sea and their inability to scientifi-
cally explain its irregular changes, people in ancient times believed that there
must be a supernatural god in the sea supervising maritime activities, which
they regarded as the Sea God. The worship of the Sea God is the coastal res-
idents’ psychological reflection of revering the sea and praying for a blessing
for safety.
From the temple on Mount Jiurishan at the upper stream of Jinjiang River
to the shrines at the external ports of Quanzhou Bay, religious places pro-
viding spiritual support to maritime practitioners and travelers were widely
spread across Quanzhou Bay’s naval infrastructure.
The worship of the Sea God widely exists in Asia. For example, Mazu
Worship, Dragon King worship, Boat God worship, and Tide God worship in
East Asia. Also, the cult of Poseidon—the God of the Sea was seen in Europe;
Goddess Iemanja in South America. Throughout history, various systems of
worship in the Sea God has been manifested in different parts of the world.
Due to the increasing activities on the sea, people in Zayton began to

worship the Sea God. They hoped that a Sea God could govern the sea with
humanity and personality. Thus, both historical figures and local dignitaries
could become figures to be worshiped by local people. For example, Mazu, Qu
Yuan, and Port God Wang Shenzhi were names given to the deities of the sea.
Over time, with increased maritime traffic and trade, the types of Sea
God worship were further diversified with local characteristics and person-
alities. Sea God worship appeared in the coastal areas successively during
the Tang and the following Five Dynasties period. There were also ordinary
people who were said to be capable of stabilizing the sea wave, such as the
Tongyuanwang.
Also, since the maritime trade routes were partly through the South
China Sea in the Song Dynasties, the Zhenwu Emperor who was believed
by Chinese seafarers to oversee the southern sea became accessible to coastal
residents residing in the area near the South China Sea. People in Quanzhou
also worshiped Tongyuan King of Mount Jiurishan in Nan’an. In the Song
Dynasty, before merchant ships set sail on a voyage, magistrates of Quanzhou
and officials from the Department of Maritime Trade and Customs would pray
before the shrine of the Tongyuan King for favorable monsoon and safe sail-
ing. In the meantime, with further development of maritime traffic and trade,
the types of Sea God worship were further diversified with local characteristics
and personality. For example, the people of Quanzhou and Putian, Fujian,
worshiped Mazu. As eastern Fujian is endowed with extraordinary natural set-
tings, Quanzhou and its neighboring areas became prosperous in the historical
maritime trade. Especially the harbors along the Quanzhou Bay were hardly
affected by tropical storms as the central mountain of Taiwan across the strait
blocked the way of typhoons. Hence, the strategic position of the harbors
along the Quanzhou Bay played an important role in the maritime trade in
the history and Mazu, and other Sea God belief was widely spread with the
trade routes reaching far into Southeast Asia.
The Development and Spread of Mazu Worship
With the development of maritime trade and frequent navigation activities in

the South China Sea, Mazu gradually became the Goddess of Sea (also known
as Tian Hou or Heavenly Goodness), the protector of seafarers with the most
significant influence, extended history, the highest status, and most extensive
scope among all Sea Gods in Chinese folk religion.
At the very beginning, people’s belief about Mazu was fundamental, and
she was merely venerated as a Sea God. Emperor Huizong sent out an imperial
decree which granted Mazu as the “Governess of the Sea,” ensuring her domi-
nant status among the Sea Gods from then on. In the Southern Song Dynasty,
the title of Mazu had been upgraded from madam to imperial concubine and
Goddess because of her achievement in protecting water transportation in
the Yuan Dynasty. The scope of influence extended to all areas associated
with water.
The Gods of Four Seas were the most important gods before the Song
Dynasty, but their status was threatened as Mazu was promoted. With the
extension of Mazu across China, the condition of the local Sea God also
declined to some extent.
In the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1912), coastal people worshiped
Zhenwu, 108 Brothers, besides Goddess Mazu. Because people of coastal area
immigrated to nearby islands, it has led to the appearance of Gods of Island
and Reef, in Zhejiang Zhoushan islands, in particular.
As Christianity and Islam were also spread in the coastal area, espe-
cially in fishing villages, the fishermen and boatmen also regarded the God
of Christian and Allah of Islam as the God of Sea. Official maritime activi-
ties, such as Zheng-He’s voyages to the west and Shi Lang’s march to Taiwan,
was believed to be blessed by Goddess Mazu. Thus, the Imperial Court con-
ferred Mazu repeatedly from Celestial Princess to Queen of the Heaven, and
Goddess of the Heaven, entering the rank of proper worship of the country.
With the upgrading of rank, Mazu has increasing functions from the Sea
of God in the beginning to a multifunctional Goddess who can rescue the
victims from disaster, prevent the enemy from invasion, fight against drought,
prevent or control flood, relieve hunger, cure disease, drive away an evil spirit,
and even pray for pregnancies.
As a result, the position of the East Sea God and South Sea God fell off
steadily. The Mazu Worship is further promoted across China, and thus Mazu
has become the God of Sea who is nationally worshiped.
By observing the establishment and distribution of Mazu Temples, we
would see that Mazu Worship is the necessary result of daily maritime activi-
ties and the Imperial Court’s effort in its promotion. The cult has been trans-
formed from the civilian to an official, from island to inland, and from China
to other parts of the world.
From the perspective of social hierarchy, social groups worshiping Mazu
expanded from fishers and sailors to traders of higher economic status, to
gentries and officials who had higher political status and finally entering into
national political life. After Mazu Worship became a civil ceremony, its mode
of dissemination has substantially changed as the national power promoted it
to culturally different religions compared to its place of origin.
Regarding geographical dissemination, Mazu Worship was widespread in
Fujian after it originated in coastal cities of Quanzhou and Putian and then
extended to the south and north along with the coastal areas.
South line: Guangdong, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, etc. North
Line: Zhejiang, Jiangsu, Shanghai, Shandong, Heibei, Liaoning, etc. Oversea
line: Japan, Korea Peninsula, Southeast Asia, the United States, Brazil, etc.
There are two ways of dissemination of Mazu Worship along the maritime
routes. First, it was brought overseas by traders or immigrants. They prayed for
protection in their hometowns before sailing, and for safety on the ship during
the voyage. When they arrived at the destination, they set up a rough house
to worship Mazu for the protection granted by her. When they had sufficient
money, they extended the size of the original temple as an act of gratitude for
her blessings.
Second, Mazu Worship was spread along with the official trade. For exam-
ple, Zheng-He not only opened the maritime routes on his seven voyages
to the western areas starting from 1405 but also promoted the Mazu culture
to the outside world. Every time Zheng-He’s fleet started from Jiangsu, they
would stop at the coastal areas of Fujian and Guangdong as well as the South
China Islands before they voyaged to the West. Whenever the ship arrived
at a pier, Zheng-He first worshiped Mazu. If there were a pier without a Mazu
temple, he would take the lead to build one. Therefore, Mazu Worship had
been spread to over 30 countries in Southeast Asia and West Asia along with
Zheng-He’s fleet, influencing Asian and African areas.
Worshiping Mazu thus became the unique folk culture along the ancient
maritime trade routes. Mazu Worship is distributed in various regions of East
Asia, Northeast Asia along the Maritime Silk Routes and is widely spread in
Japan, Korean Peninsula, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia,
the Philippines and so on.
Though Mazu enjoyed the dominating status of the Sea God in the coastal
area in China and the Chinese communities in Southeast Asia harbors, in
the comprehensive belief system of coastal people, the Sea Gods they wor-
shiped were not exclusive but included all those who could provide relief from
the uncertainty of maritime activities. Real people who provided psycholog-
ical comfort to the fishermen and seafarers became role models for coastal
communities. Therefore, you will not be surprised that a dozen soldiers sacri-
ficed their lives to rescue the coastal villagers in the Chongwu peninsular in
Quanzhou.
Today, locals in the coastal villages of Quanzhou, Xunpu for example,
many of whom are descendants of Arabic merchants and immigrants, are loyal
followers of the cult of Mazu rather than Islam. The center of worship in the
village is a Mazu temple rather than a mosque. The annual Mazu procession,
which falls on the 29th day of the first lunar calendar month, is a big festival
for the village when all the women dress up. However, travelers do not need to
wait until next year to see fisher folk’s fashion extravaganza. Women here are
colorfully attired every day. The colorful dressing is part of their tradition as
they believe that eye-catching color is natural to be spotted in an emergency
on the sea. According to Chung-wah Chow (2012), coastal villagers believe
that bright- bright colored outfits symbolize good luck and happiness, which
is one of the ways to make sure their seafaring husbands will come home in
one piece. You can see similar colorful outfits and traditions in other coastal
villages like Chongwu and Putian.
Their eye-catching outfits beckon back to an outdoor lifestyle store—all
the walls are stacked high with shelves full of eye-catching boots and shoes
with bright colors and outdoor gear of all kinds. Red, yellow and other colors
have astonishingly luminous intensity. The luminous intensity enables us to
notice them from a distance in case of an emergency. That is the ancient wis-
dom of the coastal people who learned from extreme situations which have
gradually become a part of their traditions and beliefs.
The maritime trade made Quanzhou a melting pot of the medieval world,
thanks not only to its great commerce but also to its uninhabited exchange,
integration and harmonious coexistence of cultures, philosophies, and religious.
Section 7: The Site of Wind-Praying Carvings

The Site of Wind—Praying Carvings on Mount Jiurishan
Wind-Praying Carvings are set on the rocky cliffs of Mount Jiurishan, on the
north bank of Jinjiang River. These are stone inscriptions of sacrificial ritu-
als, prayers for a safe voyage and favorable wind, which were created by the
Quanzhou local government during the twelfth to thirteenth centuries. They
are the only existing stone inscriptions of state sacrificial ceremonies relating
to maritime navigation established by ancient Chinese local governments.
Now there are altogether seventy-seven stone inscriptions and seven tab-
lets dating from the tenth century to the eighteenth century, among which
the most precious ones are the ten inscriptions of prayers for favorable winds
in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Since such inscriptions cannot be
found elsewhere, they are distributed over the East Peak and the West Peak of
Mount Jiurishan, with the earliest one dating from 1174, and the latest 1266,
nearly across a whole century.
There are many stone inscriptions in the western peak. A total of eight
stone inscriptions of maritime themes (eight out of thirteen) were carved here.
The Shibosi Department (Maritime Superintendency) held wind-praying
ceremonies twice every year in the Temple of Tongyuan King. Recreational
activities such as mountain climbing and boating were carried out after the
celebrations. The whole event would take an entire day. Six officials attended
the wind-praying ceremony in the fourth lunar month during the summer
of 1188, while five officials participated at a specific day in the tenth lunar
month during the winter of the same year. Prefecture and his colleagues
hosted a wind-praying ritual for departure voyages at Zhaohui Temple in
1201. After the ceremony, they visited local historical sites and went hiking
in Mount Jiurishan. Records were inscribed on rocks during the twelfth to
thirteenth centuries when the municipal government of Quanzhou held great
ritual prayers for favorable winds in navigation. They are the only existing
stone inscriptions about the sacrificial sacrifice rituals on navigation by the
ancient Chinese government. As a testimony to the flourishing overseas trade
in Quanzhou, the stone carvings are of great historical value, suggesting that
the ancient Chinese government had attached great importance to the devel-
opment of overseas trade.
Sutra Stone
In 546, an eminent Indian Tipitakacariya Paramattha, (Also called Gunarata,

498–569 A.D.) came to China. He landed at Liangan port of current Quanzhou
in 561. Gunarata stayed in the temple, and it was at a stone near the temple
that he translated the first draft of abhidharmakosa-sastra, which was retrans-
lated between 566 and 567 A.D.
Gunarata was not only a great translator but also a master of Buddhist
philosophy, and with his long sojourn in China, he acquired an excellent
command of the Chinese Language.24
Yanfu Temple
The ceremonies of prayers for favorable winds were held in Zhaohui Shrine,
Yanfu Temple on the slopes of Mount Jiurishan. Built from 280 to 289, Yanfu
Temple (initially called Jianzao Temple) was the oldest Buddhist temple in
Southern Fujian Province. In the ninth century, Zhaohui Shrine was built to
worship a Sea God known as the Tongyuan King. In the Quandei period of
the Song Dynasty (963–968), the temple was renamed as Yanfu Temple after
an expansion.
A Stone Inscription by UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition
On February 16th, 1991, members of UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition

investigated the inscriptions commemorating prayers for favorable winds, at
Mount Jiurishan and they left a stone inscription after the investigation.
The inscription reads as follows:
Seven centuries after the “Begging wind” inscriptions, a new inscription illustrating
friendship and dialog will be added to “Jiu-Ri” hill. We, the International Team of
the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition, who have traveled from Africa, America,
Asia and Europe on board the “Fulk AL Salamah”, Ship of Peace, lent for the occa-
sion by the Sultan of Oman, are here as pilgrims not only to renew the age-old prayer
but also to carry the message of peace between peoples, which is the ultimate aim of
the UNESCO Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog.
16 February 1991.
Section 8: Mint Site and Currency

The Discovery of Yonglong Tong Bao Coin Mint
In the 1970s and 1980s, Yonglong Tong Bao coin making molds were repeat-
edly excavated in the Chengtian temple. The ancient molds for casting metal
coins were made of earthenware with a distinctive local feature. The discov-
ery of coin casting molds in Quanzhou has attracted great attention to the
Chinese coin circle.
Ancient Chinese coins are markedly different from coins produced in the
West. Chinese coins were cast in molds, unlike Western currencies which
were typically struck (hammered) or, in later times, milled. Chinese coins
were usually made from bronze, brass or iron. Precious metals like gold and
silver were seldom used.
Ancient coins of different dynasties were frequently discovered in the
shipwrecks or historical sites; however, coining molds or mints had never been
unearthed before in Quanzhou.
In April and May 2000, the Fujian Provincial Museum presided over the
archeological excavations and the unearthed artifacts included many earthen
molds, the ruins of roasting stoves and other related objects such as porcelain
pieces made in the Five Dynasties. It was confirmed that the site belonged to
Min State during the Five Dynasties period. It is a mint site where Yonglong
Tong Bao coins were cast.
Why were Yonglong Tong Bao coins cast in Quanzhou?
The fall of Tang plunged China into turmoil, with power being shifted
through a series of dynasties, culminating in the establishment of the Northern
Song Dynasty.
The direct transfer of power from Tang to Northern Song involved the
shifting of Five Dynasties, but at least another ten kingdoms existed and influ-
enced this period profoundly. During this chaotic period of history, which is
called the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960). “Only some roughly
fifteen dynasties are known to have issued coins, but the numismatic history
of this period is rich and complex.”25
Though the alloys of the coin metals varied considerably, most
Chinese coins were produced with a square hole in the middle. The mint
coins were threaded on a square rod so that the rough edges could be filed
smooth more efficiently, after which they were threaded on strings for ease
of handling.
Official coin production was sometimes spread over many mint locations
throughout the country. Aside from officially produced coins, coining was
made regionally with distinctive local features during the chaotic period of
Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960).
According to historical records, Fujian began casting coins in the
fifth year of the Huichang period of Tang (845). In the North Gate Street
of Quanzhou, Yonglong Tong Bao copper coins with copper scraps were
unearthed, and experts inferred that Quanzhou rose to a megalopolis in 845.
As the court could not meet the business needs for currency circulation,
Quanzhou applied for casting coins on the spot. Crucible for coin casting
was also unearthed on East Street. That may be the earliest discovery of coin
making in Quanzhou.
In the tenth century, when Wang Yanbin, Liu Congxiao and Chen
Hongjin became the rulers of Quanzhou, respectively, they all devoted them-
selves to overseas trade and economy.
During the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the Min
State (909–945) was one of the Ten Kingdoms. It was established in Changle
(now Fuzhou, Fujian Province) and then moved the capital to Jianzhou (now
Jianou, Fujian Province). In the fourth year (933) of the late Tang Dynasty,
the second son of the king of the Min State, Wang Yanjun declared himself
as the Emperor of the state of Damin. When Fujian was an independent local
regime, Fujian minted copper coins, lead coins, and iron coins, among which
iron coins were distinguished by local features.
The discovery of Yonglong Tongbao Mint site not only confirms that
Quanzhou is the foundry place of Yong Long Tong Bao but also fills the
blank in the history of Chinese coin casting. Yonglong Tong Bao is the coin
made by Wang Xi, the sixth ruler of the Min State during the fourth year of
the Yonglong period (942) during the Five Dynasties. The coins were only
cast for one year and seven months. According to the historical records and
research papers, Yonglong Tong Bao was cast with three metals including cop-
per, iron, lead respectively, and the large iron coins are the most frequently
discovered ones.
Why did Wang Xi choose to cast Yonglong Tong Bao coins in Quanzhou?
Scholars revealed that although Fuzhou is the capital city of Fujian province,
it was, in fact, the front line of the continuous wars against the powers in the
North of China, while Quanzhou was situated in the rear area and experienced
relative stability. As the central city of Fujian, Quanzhou had developed into
a trade center and needed a great amount of currency for circulation. There
were abundant iron ore deposits in Nanan, Anxi and Yongchun, which were
mined nearby for the convenience of coin casting.
The Use of Silk and Valuable Metals as Equivalents of Value

in Maritime Trade
Why was China’s maritime trade with Southeast Asia, South Asia, the Middle
East and other places of the outside world during the tenth to fourteenth cen-
turies also called Maritime Silk Roads or Maritime Silk Routes?
Silk was the most famous and widely used non-metallic measure and the
equivalent of the value in the historic maritime trade at that time as China is
the primary producer of silk in the ancient world.
The Tang Dynasty is a prosperous and powerful dynasty with the massive
scale of economic development. Silk was one of the most important exported
items along the historic Silk Road. What’s more, silk was also used as equivalent
in value of both domestic and inter-regional trade. However, the shortcom-
ings of silk as payment in the inter-regional transaction was apparent because
it was too heavy, too inconvenient to separate, and awkward to transport and
store. Gradually, silk as payment became unpopular in the market, and the
function of silk as a currency was in decline.
Meanwhile, metals also fulfilled their role as a measure and equivalent of
the value in different ways and different regions and countries. Until the mid-
twelfth century, the area of Quanzhou relied almost entirely on copper coins.
However, with the introduction of local taxes to be paid with silver in Fujian,
sliver probably became a universal measure of value in local trade, although it
never functioned officially as a price stand.
In his study of money, markets and trade in Southeast Asia, S. Wicks
(1992) has emphasized that valuable metals gain general acceptance as an
equivalent of value at any time or by all countries. “It is plausible that within
a society which is oriented toward self-sufficiency such measures of value were
to a great extent directly linked to their use of values than in societies which
were at least partly dependent on trade.”
During the Song Dynasty, prices were expressed regarding copper coins.
Also, iron coins were regionally distributed, and in the Southern Song period
paper money was introduced. Silver was only used for large business transac-
tions, and it usually was not used to dominate prices.
For the maintenance of a national or regional economy, for internal cir-
culation of commodities, it was sufficient that a particular commodity which
served as an equivalent of value within trade fulfilled the essential require-
ments of a measure of value as described above.
During the latter part of the Tang Dynasty, iron coins were minted in
Quanzhou, and also, at the beginning of the Song Dynasty, large iron coins
were also created in Fujian, probably in Jianzhou. The depreciation of currency
may have been subjected to local and national particularities, the demand for
such a measure of value crystallized about the price of other commodities.
Before 983 (the eighth year of Tai Ping Xing Guo), the price ratio between
iron and copper coins was 3:1, and in 1005 (the second year of Jingde Period)
the rate had fallen to 10:1. During the reign period of Tai Ping Xing Guo
(976–984), Fujian is supposed to have produced a total of 100,000 strings of
iron coins.
It is possible that in the first fifty years of the Song Dynasty, the Quanzhou
region had to deal with problems of counterfeiting and official changing ratios
between copper and iron coins, which might have affected the maritime trade.
In 1405, Gao Yijian, the Transport Commissioner of Fujian Province sub-
mitted a proposal to introduce a double standard system in Quanzhou, i.e., to
use bronze cash for all domestic transactions and iron coins for the trade with
foreigners (So Kee-Long, 2000, 133–134).
This proposal gained little acceptance, and Gao Yijian was subsequently
dismissed from office.
The explanation for the firm rejection of this proposal may be seen in the
following consideration of the court and the government: despite the consid-
erable coin drainage, as early as the eleventh century, the court merely wanted
to maintain this trade.
As the Imperial Court was interested in certain foreign commodities, the
overseas trade imported luxury foreign commodities or in the form of coins
earned by reselling the foreign goods it had obtained through taxation or gov-
ernment purchase. As a result, the prohibition on the use of copper coins in
this trade would have been identical to a large reduction of the volume of
business, and therefore to its disadvantage, whether this is in the form of com-
modities required or in the way of precious metals.
Also, the fact that in 1045, the court had not yet begun to think seri-
ously about establishing a Shibosi (the Maritime Trade Superintendency), in
Quanzhou. The establishment of Shibosi implies that in the mid-eleventh cen-
tury the primary aim was not yet to use maritime trade mainly as a means to
fill the state’s coffers by means of taxation but suggests that the court under
Emperor Renzong (1023–1069) was primarily interested in the foreign com-
modities, such as spices, perfumes and medicines.
An obligation to accept iron coins would undoubtedly have angered many
foreign maritime merchants, a result of which the maritime trade would have
declined instead.
The crucial questions for domestic merchants in the use of metals in for-
eign maritime trade were the following: “which metals were in demand in the
receptive foreign countries or were circulating as a measure of value? Which
metals were at their disposal, and how could they make successful business
transactions by using a specific metal as an object of trade and as a measure of
value, or a means of payment in supra-regional trade?”
Compared to copper and silver, gold played a minor role in the maritime trade
of Quanzhou during the Song Dynasty period (Schottenhammer, A. , 2001).
The maintenance of the copper currency as public tender made this valu-
able means of the circulation an object of speculation for the merchants,
particularly during times of the increasing depreciation of paper notes which
functioned as a domestic means of distribution of paper notes at an overseas
trade port such as Quanzhou.
As the market price of copper about coins and the market price of coins
in relation to paper notes rose, the copper coins regained their original com-
modity character.
By a high demand for Chinese copper coins, the maritime merchants did
not merely use it as a means of circulation but as a commodity, an object of
trade themselves. Thus, copper coins were sometimes hoarded.
Eventually, the depreciation of paper notes and devalued copper coins
increased the tendency to withdraw copper coins and precious metals from
internal circulation. Copper coins were hoarded or melted down into copper
ingots, and they were exported abroad.
In 1222 Quanzhou officials confiscated over one thousand catties of cop-
per ingots, which gleamed like gold, and were all made of pure copper. Even
superintendents of maritime trade (Shibosi), who were supposed to control such
practices, were engaged in this extremely lucrative metal trade. In this way,
the Song Dynasty Imperial Court, which initially had intended to increase its
wealth in the form of coin and bullion, was eventually confronted with solid
economic principles, which were beyond the reach of its sovereign power.
The Use of Silk and Valuable Metals as Equivalents of Value

in Maritime Trade
How did medieval travelers like Marco Polo or Ibn Battuta pay for their trips?
According to the detailed information in their travelogs, we could infer
that both Polo and Ibn Battuta may have used gold or jewelry as a portable
store of wealth and could go a long way with a lightweight purse. Ibn Battuta
mentioned in his travelog that it was safe to travel to China when he carried
gold with him. Moreover, Marco Polo also noticed that paper money was used
in some parts of China. Ibn Battuta noted in his accounts that the Chinese
did not trade in gold or silver coins, but instead the gold and silver were cast
into ingots and only were only used in significant transactions. Paper money
was used for daily expenses.
Marco Polo made a vivid description of currency, salt production and rev-
enues from the salt monopoly which proved that he was the only one among
his contemporaries that was able to explain why paper money was not in cir-
culation in Fujian and Yunan.
Travelers from Arab countries, Persia or the West were unable to observe
and describe in detail the day-to-day processes as closely as Marco Polo. He
explained the production, shape and size of the paper money, as well as the
importance of gold, silver and salt revenue.
According to Marco Polo, paper money was only used primarily in north
China and in the regions along the Yangtze River, but not in Fujian and cer-
tainly not in Yunnan, cowries, salt, gold and silver were the main currencies.26
Marco Polo is the only one to describe precisely how paper for money was
made from the bark of the mulberry tree. He not only detailed the shape and
size of the paper but also described the use of seals and the various denomina-
tions of paper money.
The Chinese historical records proved this information recorded by
Marco Polo. Apparently, if Marco Polo failed to visit China, he would not
have known any of the detailed information above.
He also reported that gold, silver, pearls and gems were monopolized by the
court—which enforced a compulsory exchange for paper money and the pun-
ishment for counterfeiters, as well as the 3% exchange fee for worn-out notes
and the widespread use of paper money in official and private transactions.27
Chinese sources and archeological evidence confirm the above descrip-
tion of paper money and main currencies in Marco Polo’s account.28 Most of
these sources were collated or translated long after Marco Polo’s time—so he
could not have drawn on them. Besides, he could not read Chinese.
Vogel concludes that no Western, Arab or Persian observer reported
in such accurate and unique detail about the currency situation in Mongol
China.29
Besides the valuable property medieval travelers might bring with them,
they could also find a job and earn money for the traveling expense. That is
what Marco Polo did. Marco Polo worked in the court, whereas Sudan spon-
sored Ibn Battuta, and he received a warm reception in China. Also, Ibn
Battuta as a qualified legal and Quranic scholar, to find jobs pretty much any-
where he went in the Muslim world. If he was running low on funds, he could
just set out his shingle as a lawyer or the Qur’an and move on when he had
refilled his purse.
When medieval explorers traveled in China, they also depended on the
society and might have also relied on the support of friends and relatives. In
China, it is a tradition that people are hospitable to receive a guest from afar
in their houses. In addition, in both Eastern and Western societies, rulers,

elites and charitable organizations might set up inns and hospices where peo-
ple from the same places would get assistance there and travelers could stay
free of charge or for a nominal fee; this is another aspect Marco Polo and Ibn
Battuta were able to take advantage of. Ibn Battuta mentioned that he lived
in a Muslim home or stayed in a hotel when he came to a Chinese city.
The Issue of Paper Money in Quanzhou and Its Consequence
According to Schottenhammer (2001), an essential factor in overseas trade

for the economy of the Song Dynasty turned out to be the parallel functioning
of both bronze coins and paper money as means of circulation.
The ultimate consequence of this substitution of metallic coins by tokens
of value was the issuing of valueless paper money. As a consequence, the issue
of paper money has decisive implications for maritime trade in Quanzhou.
In the traditional trade practices, merchants gave each other credit based
on their experience and the requirements for trade. The actual payment in
terms of money thus was delayed. This is the history of how private paper
certificates, such as “huizi” (literally “agreement bonds”) came into being.
Originally, Huizi paper notes had been issued by merchant associations in
Hangzhou. The paper notes served as a promise to pay in cash as soon as the
money was available. These exchange notes were treated as money.
The paper notes circulated among merchants and the use of exchange
notes proved excellent facilitation to trade. By business activities which
already accomplished business transactions and the expectation of future
cooperation, the exchange notes entered the circulation, standing for the
promise to pay at a later time. As such as a promise to pay, these exchange
notes were a result of trade and occurred as a necessity of extended trade
relations.
Doubtlessly, Quanzhou merchants primarily imported foreign commodi-
ties destined to be sold in the domestic market.
They used personal credit to raise funds and pay cargo on loan, and I-Owe-
You (IOU) notes. The paper note was also called huizi.
This means of private enrichment of merchants was readily seized by the
Song Dynasty court, which in 1160 prohibited the circulation of these private
huizi that were issued and circulating in Fujian from 1172. However, according
to Zhongwai Lishi Nianbiao, local traders were not forced to use them before
1986. This temporary abolition of the Guanhui (official notes) may be traced
back to a response of the Song government to an adverse reaction by local

merchants.
Up to the present time, the private fund raised in a friend circle which
used personal credit and a receipt for a loan in a friend circle in Quanzhou was
still called huizi.
Metal Coins Witnessed the Development of Maritime Trade
In 1974, metal coins of different dynasties were discovered in an unearthed

shipwreck. Traditionally, Quanzhou’s shipbuilders would put the ancient and
current coins into a slot in the keel of a ship in order to pray for good luck.
However, at the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the ship sank at the
Houzhu Port of Quanzhou after its returning voyage from Southeast Asia.
Twenty-eight tons of Chinese copper coins were discovered in another
shipwreck of the Yuan Dynasty, which sank in the southwest region of the
Korean Peninsula. The ship was initially built in Quanzhou. The copper coins
ranged from the Tang Dynasty, the Northern Song, the Southern Song, Liao,
Jin, Xixia and the Yuan Dynasty, Jin, Xixia and the Yuan Dynasty. The latest
ones were Zhida Tong Bao of the Yuan Dynasty.
According to historical records, Chinese copper money was the primary
currency circulated in Japan during an extended period before the Qing
Dynasty. The massive amount of Chinese copper coins discovered in Xinan
shipwreck bear testimony to the close trade relationship between Quanzhou,
Korea and Japan during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Since the Song Dynasty, copper coins had been exported in large quan-
tities. Because of the unification of the Song coin system and the fine cop-
per coins, Chinese copper coins enjoyed a high reputation in Korea, Japan,
Vietnam and other Southeast Asia countries so that it can be described as
an international currency. Many coins were exported overseas, which even
resulted in a money shortage in the Central Plains of China.
Chinese copper coins were also unearthed in the coasts of India, Iran,
Oman and East Africa, of which 233 coins of the Song Dynasty were discov-
ered in Kenya which means that Chinese currency went as far as East Africa.
The excavations of the copper coin in the countries along the maritime trade
route revealed the widespread acceptance of Chinese currency by the people
along the maritime trade routes.
During the Ming Dynasty, with the coming of the Great Discovery era
and the rapid development of global trade, the Ming government was forced
to abolish the bans on maritime trade in the first year of the Longqing period.
Hence, foreign silver flowed into China with maritime trade, and it reached
its peak in the Qing Dynasty.
In the mid-and late period of the Ming Dynasty, Spanish silver was the
most significant foreign currency circulated in China. Foreign silver coins
such as Spanish silver became the primary currency at that time with copper
coins and silver in parallel circulation.
Several archeological excavations in Quanzhou can verify this section
of history. Since the 1970s, the Spanish silver coins have been unearthed
frequently in Nanan Guanqiao, Nan’an Shi Shan, Hui’an Chengmen Street,
Quanzhou Manjianghong Hospital and Fashi. The casting time of the silver
coins was mostly concentrated in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
In April 2013, dozens of copper coins were unearthed at the Zhaohui
Temple in Quanzhou, including Vietnam’s “King Sheng Tong Bao” during
the Ming Dynasty’s Chongzhen period and Japan’s “Kuanyong Tong Bao”
from Qianlong to Jiaqing period in the Qing Dynasty. “Kuan Yong Tongbao”
coin was the first cast in 1626 and circulated for more than 240 years. It is
the coin circulated for the most extended period with the most substantial
amount in the history of Japan. The ancient Japanese and Vietnamese cop-
per coins unearthed from the temple bear witness to the history of financial
exchanges between Quanzhou and overseas countries during the Ming and
Qing Dynasties.
From the latter part of the Qing Dynasty to the currency reform in
November 1935, a large amount of Mexican silver flew into Quanzhou with
overseas remittance. Foreign currencies were circulated in Quanzhou and the
southeastern coast of China. The international silver was referred to as “for-
eign trade silver.”
Overseas trade in Quanzhou has declined since the Ming and Qing
Dynasties, but oversea remittance witnessed the history of Chinese immi-
grants to Southeast Asia and the establishment of lifelong bonds with the
homeland.
Section 9: Export-oriented Ceramics of

Quanzhou Kilns
Ancient Quanzhou functioned as a port city and transit center for its hinter-
land in Southeast China and overseas markets. It has left behind complex
physical remains of ancient society such as secular and religious architecture,

graves, inscriptions, sunken ships and production sites inscriptions, sunken
ships and production sites. From the latter, relics of hard-fired ceramics are
particularly abundant (Pearson, et al., 2001p. 177).
Quanzhou is rich in natural resources, long coastlines and deep ports. It
is a significant producer of exported ceramics in the Song and Yuan Dynasties
(960–1368). Cizao Kiln, Dehua Kiln, Anxi Kiln, Dongmen Kiln, Nanan Kiln
are famous ancient Chinese kilns in the Song Dynasty (960–1279) and Yuan
Dynasty (1279–1368). In recent years, shipwrecks have exposed large quanti-
ties of exported porcelain from these kilns.
Moreover, the active involvement of the Quanzhou merchants in the
maritime trade was of importance to the growth of the ceramic business.
Ceramic products were transported from the manufacturing base in the hin-
terland to the harbor via the river or coastwise shipping. Jinjiang River played
a significant role in the maritime trade, which connects land transportation to
the harbor and exits to the sea near the out docks of Zayton.
Richard Pearson, et al. (2001) studied the distribution of kiln sites in the
Quanzhou region from the Southern Dynasties to the Qing and attempted to
explain its development and decline (p. 178). Production was concentrated
in coastal areas, including Tong’an, Nan’an and Quanzhou, as well as other
small centers further north.
Also, with the development of ceramic production and export, the
ceramic production centers began to expand inland. During the Song and
Yuan Dynasties, celadon kiln sites were found in abundance most numerous
in Nan’an County (50 sites), with many being found in and next most numer-
ous sites were in Dehua County (42 sites), An’xi County (36 sites), Jinjiang
County (12 sites), Yongchun County (9 sites), Tong’ an County (8 sites),
and so forth. Up to now, there have been 163 kiln sites of the Song, and
Yuan Dynasties discovered in Quanzhou. In the Ming-Qing period produc-
tion expanded dramatically in inland areas. Five-fold increases can be seen in
Anxi and Dehua, while the number doubled in the Jinjiang area. The local
kilns at Dongmen, closest to Quanzhou Harbor, stopped production. Thus,
celadon production declined, and the center of activity shifted from the coast
to inland, upland regions.
However, more detailed information about the growth and decline of the
kiln sites in Quanzhou remains to be unknown until a full-scale archeological
excavation on all the kiln sites is conducted.
Local scholars, Chen Peng and Zeng Qingsheng noted that the Song
ceramics were excavated from a warehouse relic of Maritime Trade
Superintendency at Fuhoushan, the site of ancient Quanzhou Prefecture
government. The unearthed artifacts include large quantities of ceramics
from Shuiji Kiln of Jianyang, Fujian; Longquan Kiln, Zhengjiang; Cizhou
Kiln, Heibei; Jizhou Kiln and Jingdezhen Kiln of Jiangxi, in addition to local
ceramics of Anxi, Cizao of Jinjiang, Dongmen, Dehua and Tingxi Kiln of
Tong’an country.
From the findings in Quanzhou and various ceramics on the shipwreck
Nanhai No.1, it becomes evident that ceramics from different ports reached
Quanzhou before they were shipped with local ceramics, silk and other cargo
to the overseas market during the Southern Song period.
The Kiln Complex at Jinjiaoyi Mountain
The kiln complex at Jinjiaoyi Mountain was mostly built in the tenth century
and flourished from the tenth to thirteenth centuries. The kiln site was exca-
vated in the 1950s, and after several investigations and excavations, 26 kilns
found dating back from the Qing Dynasty (1644 to 1912) to the Southern
Dynasty (420 to 589) were exposed. The kiln site at the Jinjiaoyi Mountain
is the largest and best-preserved Song Dynasty Kiln Site at Cizao. Also, it is
where the most unearthed relics were discovered after archeological excava-
tions. Among the above kiln sites, the most representative one is four roughly
same-structured dragon-shaped kiln ruins and one workshop ruin.
The technology used in the firing process in the Dragon Kilns of Cizao
was a combination of previous advantages. The kiln structure changed from
dragon kilns in the Song and Yuan Dynasties to furnaces with the separation
chamber (Chicken cage kiln). Further development in the Ming Dynasty led
to the construction of stage kilns in Dehua.
There was also a diversification of glazes, including several types of green
glazes, as well as underglaze painting, in the Cizao complex. Bulk products of
Cizao Kilns included the daily utensils and decorative articles, which featured
a wide variety, vibrant and diverse patterns, distinctive local characteristics
and the style of the times.
In addition to supplying the daily needs and consumption of the sur-
rounding cities, the products of Cizao Kilns were also transported to Zayton
harbor via the Mei Brook. From Zayton harbor, local ceramics and other
commodities were exported to Japan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia,
Sri Lanka, Kenya and other countries and regions of East Asia, Southeast
Asia, South Asia and East Africa, which witnessed the prosperity of over-
seas communication, maritime trade and exchanges. The production of
Cizao Kilns was closely related to the rise and fall of Zayton’s export vol-
ume in the maritime business, vividly illustrating Quanzhou’s unique eco-
nomic pattern that centered on the overseas trade in the Song and Yuan
Dynasties.
The Kiln Sites at Jinjiaoyi Mountain is located at Goubian Village, Cizao
Town. The site is adjacent to Mei Brook in the east. The kiln site covers about
15,000 square meters, 400 meters wide from north to south and 270 meters
in depth from west to east. From 2002 to 2003, four dragon kilns, one work-
shop site and several accumulation layers of ceramic shreds were revealed in
three excavations. Some ceramic wares, kiln furniture and other relics were
unearthed.
Most of the unearthed wares are celadons and black glazed wares, which
were made of gray clay. With the Sonim technique, ewers, pots, bottles, water
dropper, boxes, bowls, plates, dishes, ceramic lamps and other household
wares were produced.
A Black Glazed Bowl With Three Chinese Characters “Ming

Jiao Hui” (Manichaeism Community)
Mingjiaohui Bowl of the Song Dynasty, listed in the Category I Historical

Relics, is collected by the Jinjiang Museum. It is 6.5 cm high with a caliber of
18.3 cm and a bottom diameter of 5.9 cm.
The Jinjiang Museum collects the Mingjiaohui Bowl of the Song Dynasty.
It is a black glazed bowl with Chinese Characters—Mingjiaohui. This bowl
was made by the Dashuwei Kiln of Cizao Town in the Song Dynasty and
unearthed from an ancient well in the Cao’an Temple. It was a kind of uni-
form tableware which was made by the followers of Mani and was an essential
object for the research on Manichaeism in the Song Dynasty.
Huang Shichun (1985) noted that black-glazed bowls with the inscription
“Mingjiaohui” were found in a well of Cao’an, a local temple of Manichaeism
in 1979, and similar fragments of black glazed bowls with the same inscription
were discovered in the Dashuwei Kiln site in 1982 and 1983 respectively,
Cizao and providing a glimpse into the inter-relation of Manichaeism and
local kiln sites. Mingjiao was a term used for Manichaeism. It may be that
Dashuwei produced ceramics for the Manichaeist community.
Cizao Kilns From the Ming and Qing Dynasties to

Modern Times
The manufacturing of Cizao Kilns in the Ming and Qing Dynasties followed
the overall style of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. However, due to the policy
of the ban on the maritime trade and its impact on the southeastern coastal
areas along with domestic trouble and foreign invasion, Cizao Kilns gradu-
ally declined with the port of Quanzhou. With a decrease in production and
decline both in quality and variety, most of the products were pithos, urns,
pots, bowls, and other large household ceramics. At the end of the Qing
Dynasty, Cizao Kilns gradually realized the industrial transformation from the
production of household utensils to the creation of architectural wares.
As typhoons often hit the coastal area of Jinjiang and other parts of
Quanzhou, it was an ancient tradition to decorate the roof ridge with blessing
ceramic wares, such as Fengshiye, burners and bowls, which was believed to
exorcize evil spirits. All of these blessing wares were made in Cizao Kilns. This
custom spread all over the coastal area of South Fujian and Taiwan, which has
become part of the unique regional culture.
The production of architectural wares of the Cizao Kiln sprang gradu-
ally in the 1840s and has become a flourishing business since the 1950s. The
famous overseas Chinese, Tan Kah Kee came to Cizao to choose and purchase
structural materials by himself for the construction projects of Jimei University
complex. At the end of the 1900s, Cizao had developed into the most massive
production base and professional market of ceramic architectural materials.
The Ceramic Exports of Cizao Kilns
Quanzhou is an integral part of the ancient maritime trade routes. It became

the most significant Asian harbor during the Song and Yuan Dynasties. With
the development of overseas transportation and the prosperity of maritime
trade, ceramics, silk and tea became staple export commodities.
Cizao Kilns became one of the important manufacturing centers of
export-oriented ceramics in Quanzhou. Products were exported to countries
and regions in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Africa. During
the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Cizao Kiln ceramics continued to be exported
to overseas markets.
Ceramic wares of Cizao Kiln were not only unearthed and collected in Japan,
Southeast Asia and other places but also were discovered during archeological
investigation and excavation along the maritime trade routes. The ceramic
wares of Cizao Kilns were salvaged from the Nanhai No.1 Shipwreck, and the
Sunken Wreck of the Song Dynasty near the Huaguang Reef contained ceramic
products from Fujian. Similar discoveries were also found in the Sunken Ship
Salvaged off Shinan, Die Breaker-Dschunke, Die Investigator-Dschunke, Java,
and other sunken wrecks. This is the typical material evidence for ceramic
exports in the maritime trade of medieval Quanzhou.
Historical Records
Ceramic wares are produced at Cizao, Jinjiang.
The above record is from the Geographical Record in the Volume III
of Quanzhou Fuzhi (Gazetteer of Quanzhou Prefecture), Wanli edition of the
Ming Dynasty
... The ceramic wares are made at Cizao, Jinjiang.
The note is quoted from Quanzhou Fuzhi (Gazetteer of Quanzhou

Prefecture), Qianlong edition of the Qing Dynasty.
Ceramic wares are made in Cizao. From clay mining to loading and firing kilns, bowls,
pithos, jars of varied sizes are produced in great numbers and exported the overseas
market.
The historical record is from Jinjiang Xianzhi (Gazetteer of Jinjiang County),

Qianlong edition of the Qing Dynasty.
Records of Ancient Chinese Explorers
The history of the overseas trade about Chinese ceramic was documented
in the book, Description of Foreign Countries by Zhao Rushi during the Song
Dynasty and Dao Yu Zhi Lue (Description of the Barbarians of the Isles) by Wang
Dayuan during the Yuan Dynasty.
Zhufanzhi recorded ceramics shipped from Quanzhou to a total of 35 over-
sea markets including Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines,
India, Sri Lanka and Tanzania.
According to Dao Yi Zhi Lue (“Description of the Barbarians of the Isles,”
dated in 1349), a travel account composed by Wang Dayuan, the principal
exports recorded in his travelog were ceramic wares. Wang Dayuan was born
around 1311 in Nanchang, a prosperous port not far from Jingdezhen, a por-
celain production center. Wang was believed to live in Quanzhou, and he
booked space on a sailing ship for himself and his goods. Wang made two
voyages from Quanzhou, one from 1330 to 1334, and the other from 1337
to 1339. There are more than 40 notes about porcelain trade out of his 100
travelogs, 20 of which recorded blue-and-white porcelain trade.
The number of countries and regions recorded by Wang Dayuan in
the Yuan Dynasty increased to 58. According to an archeology report, the
unearthed Chinese pottery have been discovered throughout the territory of
Indonesia. In the past ten years, about 40,000 pieces of Chinese ceramics have
been found in various parts of the Philippines, among which there is blue-
and-white porcelain of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. The most abundant
unearthed Chinese porcelain is in Malaysia. The Sarawak Museum alone col-
lected more than one million specimens, and many of them are ceramic prod-
ucts of Quanzhou and Jingdezhen in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
The Ceramic Wares of Cizao Kilns Unearthed at

Penghu Islands
According to Dao Yi Zhi Lue (Also as Description of the Barbarians of the Isles30,
dated in 1349), a travel account composed by Wang Dayuan, “There were
islands belong to Quanzhou Prefecture. They are Penghu Islands under the
jurisdiction of Jinjiang County.”
In the early 1970s, the Penghu Song & Yuan Taoci Archeological team
was set up by the Taiwan Academic Community of Archeology for the inves-
tigation on ceramics of the Song and Yuan Dynasties at Penghu. This team
inspected several places on the Penghu Islands and collected more than ten
thousand specimens of export ceramics of the Song and Yuan Dynasties. Most
of these findings were the products of kilns in Quanzhou. Among these relics,
there are 2,015 brown glazed small-mouthed bottles of Zengzhushan Kilns,
374 green glazed pots of Wenshan Kilns and some other black-glazed bowls
and structural materials from kilns of Cizao.
At about the same time Cizao ceramic was also exported. Thousands of
celadon artifacts made in the Song Dynasty have been found in the Penghu
Islands which worked as a transit center on the way to the target market in
the Philippines and other Southeast Asia countries.31 Several specific types
have been identified by Pearson, et al. (2001)as followings: tall vases from
Zengzhushan, celadon vessels from Douwenshan and Tongzishan, and cel-

adon bowls with stamped decoration from Zhizhushan Kilns.
Customized Ceramic Products for the Overseas Market
Kendi, a customized porcelain product made in Cizao Kilns

Kendi, also known as Kundi or Kundika, was a kind of bottle that Buddhists
and monks used for drinking or handwashing.
Moreover, it was also popular in Southeast Asia, where Muslims used it for
handwashing to prepare for worship. The Cizao Kilns met the market demand
of Buddhists and Muslims in Southeast Asia by producing Kendis in large
quantities and by selling them overseas. Kendis were ideal export products
with their unique and distinctive features and bear testimony to the maritime
trade of ancient Quanzhou.
Trade Relationship with Ryukyu. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty,
the unloading port for ships from Ryukyu was transferred to Fuzhou from
Quanzhou. Also, thirty-six families from Fujian went to Nha at the beginning
of the Ming Dynasty. Most of the immigrants in Nha were from Zhangzhou
and Quanzhou.32 The establishment of the tributary relationship occurred
in 1372 A.D. The immigrants from southern Fujian to Ryukyu formalized a
long-standing relationship of private trading which was built up over several
centuries.
Richard Pearson, et al. (2001) argued that ceramics shipped from
Quanzhou to Okinawa were not only products made in Quanzhou region but
also from other areas such as Jingdezhen.
Exports to the Philippines
Huang Tianzhu et al. (1980) outline several significant features that mark
Song-Yuan ceramic products in Quanzhou. There was a proliferation of vessel
shapes for trading including a wide variety of bowls, serving platters, plates,
jars, ink slabs, etc. Kendi spouted pouring vessels—widespread in Southeast
Asia—were produced in Cizao, Anxi and Dehua for export, but were rarely
made in other parts of China.
According to Huang, et al. (1980), the ceramic products of Quanzhou
included joining molded portions of large jars which were used for the export of
salted vegetables. Large pots from Quanzhou have a long history in Southeast
Asia, even though their precise origins are only coming to light in recent years.
Dragon Pattern Jar
A ceramic craftsperson from Cizao passed on the technique of making

Dragon Patterned Jars to the Philippines in the Ming Dynasty. According
to the source from the Philippines, the pottery making technology came to
Vigan from a Chinese artisan in 1890 named Pedro Go, the first Chinese
potter to set up a camarin (jar factory) in Vigan, where it was developed into
a favorite craft.
This kind of Clay Earthenware Pottery made in Vigan was widely used
there while the Dragon Patterned Jars made in Cizao were regarded as a kind
of sacred treasure.
If you visit Vigan be sure to take a tour of “Ruby Pottery” where you can
meet the owner, Fidel Go who still makes Burnay Jars by hand daily. The
Burnay Jars have over the years became very popular with tourists who travel
from all over the world to Vigan, to purchase a Brunay Jar, and since Vigan is
the only place in the Philippines that makes Burnay Jars, you cannot get them
anywhere else.
Kilns and the Export Economy
Song and Yuan kiln sites were mostly located along the coast, while later kiln
sites shifted to inland mountainous regions. Local scholar Xu Qingyuan cal-
culated that the Song and Yuan kilns accounted for 50% to 80% of the total
number of kilns in Jinjiang and Nanan, but only about 10% of those in Anxi
and Dehua.33
Some coastal kilns were maintained in the Song-Yuan period even as
local resources declined, because of high profits.
At that time, professor So, B. K., & Su, J. (2000) estimated that over
100,000 people, or 10% of the population of the Minnan region, were engaged
in ceramic production.
In some cases, clay was transported to the coastal kilns from the interior
region.
Thus, the trade declined, and internal markets expanded in the Ming and
Qing period, kilns close to clay, wood, water and domestic communication
routes prospered. The high-value Dehua white wares were shipped from inter-
nal centers, near particular clay sources to the coast. Craft specialists followed
the shifts in production.
Xu Qingyuan references Ming records for Anxi and Yongchun, which
reveal that people from other countries operated the porcelain industry.34
Richard Pearson, et al. (2001) survey the city plan of Quanzhou about
ceramic production in its hinterland, and the evidence of trade between
Quanzhou and the Ryukyu Islands is evident.
The most apparent evidence of the first expansion of Quanzhou’s ceram-
ics export is the occurrence of comb decorated celadon bowls in Japan and
Southeast Asia from the eleventh century.35
Silk and ceramics are the two main items in exports. However, silk per-
ished, and ceramic endured.
The Nan’ao I shipwreck of the Ming Dynasty was discovered at the
Sandianjin Sea between Wuyu Island and Baichao Reef to the Southeast of
Nanao Island of Shantou, Guangdong Province in May 2007. The ship was
fully loaded with tens of thousands of plates, bowls, jars and other ceram-
ics from Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, including Dragon Patterned Jars of
Cizao Kiln and so forth. The ceramic wares of Cizao Kiln were also salvaged
from the Nanhai No.1 Shipwreck and the Sunken Wreck of the Song Dynasty
near the Huaguang Reef.36
The cargo discovered during the thirteenth to seventeenth century sug-
gests that Thai and Vietnamese kilns challenged the early Chinese monopoly
of ceramic exports from the late fourteenth century to the mid-sixteenth cen-
tury.37 The established indigenous potteries at Sisatchanalai appear to have
started production of black underglaze ware under the influence of Chinese
immigrants.38 By the late sixteenth century, the Thai kilns ceased produc-
tion, except at Singburi. Chinese blue-and-white porcelain had become
immensely popular in both Southeast Asian and European markets. None
of the Southeast Asian kilns could compete. After two hundred years, China
again dominated Asia’s ceramic trade.
Notes
1. Hornell, J. (1934). The origin of the junk and sampan. The Mariner’s Mirror, 20(3),
331–337.
2. Flecker, M. (2001). A ninth-century AD Arab or Indian shipwreck in Indonesia: first
evidence for direct trade with China. World Archaeology, 32(3), 335–354.
3. Stargardt, J. (2014). Indian Ocean trade in the ninth and tenth centuries: Demand, dis-
tance, and profit. South Asian Studies, 30(1), 35–55.
4. Pearson, R., Men, L., & Guo, L. (2001). Port, City, and Hinterlands: Archaeological
Perspectives on Quanzhou and its Overseas Trade. Richard Pearson, Li Men, and Li Guo.
The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400, 49, 177.
5. Xinhua (2014). Ancient Ship Tells Stories of Maritime Silk Road. China Daily. Retrieved
from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-05/21/content_17531610.htm
6. Early Chinese Overseas Voyages. Globalsecurity.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.

globalsecurity.org/military/world/china/history-early-voyages.htm
7. Guo-wei, X. L. F. H. (1979). A Study on The junk of Sung Dynasty Excavated in Quanzhou
Bay and its Original Dimensions to be Restored. Shipbuilding of China, 2.
8. Green, J. N. (Ed.). (1997). Maritime Archaeology in People’s Republic of China.
Australian National Centre for Excellence in Maritime Archaeology.
9. Pearson, R., Min, L., & Guo, L. (2002). Quanzhou Archaeology: A Brief Review.
International Journal of Historical Archaeology, 6(1), 23–59.
10. Kerr, R. (2008, May). Porcelain raised from the sea: underwater excavations of shipwrecks
are making major additions to our knowledge of the early international trade in Chinese
ceramics as well as bringing to the surface objects of great beauty and interest in their own
right. In Apollo (Vol. 167, No. 554, pp. 47–52). Apollo Magazine Ltd.
11. Xinhua (2014). Ancient Ship Tells Stories of Maritime Silk Road—China Daily. Retrieved
from http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2014-05/21/content_17531610.htm.
12. Wang, Zhengping (1991), Tang Maritime Trade Administration, Asia Major,1991,

pp.7–38; see p.20.
13. Ecke, G., & Demiéville, P. (1935). The Twin Pagodas of Zayton: A Study of Later Buddhist
14. Wang, Zhengping, Tang Maritime Trade Administration, Asia Major,1991, pp.7–38;

see p.34
15. Needham, Joseph (1986). Science and Civilization in China: Volume 4, Part 3. Taipei: Caves
Books, Ltd. pp.153.
16. Pitcher, P. W. (1972). In and about Amoy. Рипол Классик.
17. Mackenzie-Grieve, A. (1959). A Race of Green Ginger. Putnam. 112,113
18. For Piloting Ships in Navigation—China.org.cn. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.china.
org.cn/english/.
19. Tien, D. R., & Cohen, G. L. (2017). Chinese Origin of the Term Pagoda: Liang Sicheng’s
Proposed Etymology. Comments on Etymology, 46(7).
20. Lo, C., Luo, Z. (1994). Ancient Pagoda in China. Foreign Languages Press, 1994.p.16
21. Wang,Q.(2017). Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou (Zayton). Retrieved
from http://www.zaytun.org/node_61959.htm
22. Chung-wah Chow (2012). Xunpu oyster village: Fresh seafood, flamboyant women . Retrieved
from http://travel.cnn.com/xunpu-oyster-village-fresh-seafood-flamboyant-179266/.
23. King, R. J. (2018). Finding Marco Polo’s Locach. Terrae Incognitae, 50(1), 35–52.
24. Zhao, Puchu (2010). Chapter V THE SPREAD, DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF
BUDDHISM IN CHINA. Buddhism Q&A. Retrieved from http://www.shaolin.org.cn/tem-
plates/EN_T_newS_list/index.aspx?nodeid=608&page=ContentPage&contentid=3142.
25. Five Dynasties, Medieval Chinese Cast Coins—Calgary Coin... (n.d.). Retrieved from
http://www.calgarycoin.com/cast4.htm.
26. Vogel, H. U. (2012). Marco Polo was in China: new evidence from currencies, salts and
revenues. Brill.
27. Parks, G. B. (1927). Book of Ser Macro Polo: The Venetian Concerning the Kingdoms
and Marvels of the East.
28. Marco Polo’s Descriptions of China | Facts and Details. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
29. Universitaet Tübingen. (2012, April 16). Marco Polo was not a swindler: He really
did go to China. ScienceDaily. Retrieved April 30, 2019 from www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2012/04/120416100439.htm.
30. W. W. Rockhill tr. (1913). Description of the Barbarians of the Isles. T’oung Pao.
31. Lai, Y., He, Z. (2013).The Historic Links between Cizao Kiln Sites and Penghu. Oriental
Collection,(09):55-56.
32. Huang, T., Chen, P. Huang, B., & Zhicheng (1980). An Investigation on the developmen-
tal History of the Ceramics Industry in Jinjiang County. Journal of Maritime History Studies.
pp. 29–34.
33. Pearson, R., Men, L., & Guo, L. (2001). Port, City, and Hinterlands: Archaeological
Perspectives on Quanzhou and its Overseas Trade1 Richard Pearson, Li Men, and Li Guo.
34. Pearson, R., Li, M., & Li, G. (2001). Port, City, and Hinterlands: Archaeological

Perspectives on Quanzhou and its Overseas trade. Quanzhou and its Overseas Trade in the
Song Dynasty, Brill, Leiden, 177–236.
35. Pearson, R., Li, M., & Li, G. (2001). Port, City, and Hinterlands: Archaeological

Perspectives on Quanzhou and its Overseas trade. Quanzhou and its Overseas Trade in the
Song Dynasty, Brill, Leiden, 49, 177.
36. Wai-Yee, W. S. (2017). Rethinking Storage Jars Found in the 9th to 20th Centuries
Archaeological Sites in Guangdong, Hong Kong, and Macau. Bulletin de l’École française
d’Extrême-Orient, 103, 333–358.
37. Wu, C. (2016). A Summary on Shipwrecks of the Pre-contact Period and the Development
of Regional Maritime Trade Network in East Asia. In Early Navigation in the Asia-Pacific
Region (pp. 1–27). Springer, Singapore.
38. Hein, D., Burns, P., & Richards, D. (1986). An Alternative View of the Origins of Ceramic
Production at Si Satchanalai and Sukhothai, Central Northern Thailand. SPAFA Digest
(1980–1990), 7(1).
References
Flecker, M. (2005). The advent of Chinese sea-going shipping: A look at the shipwreck evi-
dence. In Proceedings of the International Conference: Chinese Export Ceramics and
Maritime Trade, l2th–15th Centuries. Hong Kong: Chinese Civilization Center, City
University of Hong Kong.
Guo-wei, X. L. F. H. (1979). A Study on the Junk of Sung Dynasty Excavated in Quanzhou Bay
and Its Original Dimensions to be restored [J]‌. Shipbuilding of China, 2, 006.
Huang Shichun (1985) Black glazed bowls with the inscription “Mingjiaohui” discovered in
Jinjiang. Journal of Maritime History Studies, 1985(01):73.
Huang, T., Chen P., Huang, B., & Zhicheng. (1980). An Investigation on the developmental
History of the Ceramics Industry in Jinjiang County. Journal of Maritime History Studies, 29–34.
Pearson, R. Li, M., and Li, G. (2001). “Port City and Hinterlands: Archeological Perspectives
on Quanzhou and Its Overseas Trade,” The Emporium of the World: Maritime Quanzhou,
1000–1400 (Brill, 2001).
Pearson, R., Min, L., & Guo, L. (2002). Quanzhou Archaeology: A Brief Review. International
Journal of Historical Archaeology, 6(1), 23–59.
Schottenhammer, A. (2001). The Role of Metals and the Impact of the Introduction of Huizi
Paper Notes in Quanzhou on the Development of Maritime Trade during the Song Period.
In the Emporium of the World. Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400 (Vol. 49, pp. 95–176).
EJ Brill.
So, B. K. (1991). Financial Crisis & Local Economy: Ch’Üan-Chou in the Thirteenth Century.
T’oung Pao, 119–137.
So, B. K. & Su, J. (2000). Prosperity, region and institutions in maritime China: The South
Fukien pattern, 946–1368 (Vol. 195, pp. 133–134). Harvard Univ Asia Center.
Tübingen, U. (2012). “Marco Polo was not a swindler: He did go to China.” Science
Daily. Science Daily, 16 April 2012. Retrieved from www.sciencedaily.com/
releases/2012/04/120416100439.htm.
·3·
the diversity of maritime culture
in quanzhou
Section 1: Records About Zayton by

Medieval Travelers and Missionaries
The earliest foreign historical record about the significance of Quanzhou as
a trade port in China was documented in The Book of Roads and Kingdoms,
a ninth-century geographical text by Ibn Khordadbeh, a Persian geographer
who came to China in the Tang Dynasty. The book maps the major trade
routes of the time within and beyond the Muslim world and describes distant
trading regions such as China, Korea and Japan. From the south to the north
of the China coast, the four key trade ports are listed as follows: Loukin (cur-
rently in Vietnam), Khanfou (Guangzhou), Djanfou (Quanzhou), and Kantou
(Yangzhou).
When the prosperity of overseas trade in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries reached its peak, many maritime traders and explorers came to
Quanzhou, the most prosperous harbor of the empire of Yuan.
The Zayton harbor of Quanzhou is a general name for a series of ports
in Quanzhou, including three bays and twelve ports, namely, Quanzhou
Bay (including Luoyang Port, Houzhu Port, Fashi Port, Hanjiang Port),
Shenhu Bay (including Xiangzhi Port, Yongning Port, Shenghu Port, Fuquan
Figure 3.1. Old Town of Quanzhou.

Source: © Photo by Pan Deng, Quanzhou Evening Post
Port), and Wei Tou Bay (including Wai Tau Port, Jinjing Port, Anhai Port,
Shijing Port).
It is worth noting that four renowned medieval travelers all visited
Quanzhou and recorded vivid descriptions of the prosperity of Zayton—Marco
Polo from Venice (1254–1324), Odorico da Pordenone (1286–1331), John
de Marignolli (1342–1346) and Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta (1304–1377).
They all described the prosperity of Zayton with great detail in their travelog,
respectively.
Marco Polo Travels
Marco Polo came to China with his father and uncle from Venice in 1271. They
reached the capital of the Yuan Dynasty in 1275 and returned home in early 1292
after he had been living in Yuan China for 17 years. That same year Marco Polo
was entrusted by the Yuan Dynasty to escort the Mongolian Princess Cocachin
to her own wedding ceremony in Persia. Their fleet consisted of fourteen ships,
and they set sail from Quanzhou port. After Marco Polo returned to their home-
town, he became involved in a war and put in jail. With the assistance of his
prison cellmates, he completed his travelog by dictation in 1298.
At the end of 5 days’ journey, you arrive at the noble and handsome city of Zayton
(Quanzhou), which has a port on the seacoast celebrated for the resort of shipping,
loaded with merchandise, that is afterward distributed through every part of the
The Diversity of Maritime Culture in Quanzhou 89
province. It is indeed impossible to convey an idea of the concourse of merchants

and the accumulation of goods, in this which is held to be one of the most substantial
and most commodious ports in the world.1—Marco Polo
He also made comments on the ceramic wares produced in Dehua and

mentioned that beautiful bowls sold well in his hometown in Venice, as they
were abundant and dirt cheap at the local markets.
A Gift to Those Who Contemplate the Wonders of Cities and

the Marvels of Traveling by Ibn Battuta
Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler who arrived in Quanzhou later than Marco
Polo, said:
The first city we cross the Sea is Port of Zayton… It is a huge city, and the brocade
and satin woven here are also named after Zayton. The city’s harbor is one of the
world’s major ones, even the largest.” “During the Southern Song Dynasty, the status
of Zayton has surpassed Guangzhou and become China’s largest port. When it came
to the Yuan Dynasty, Zayton developed into the world’s largest harbor in the East.2
In his records, Ibn Battuta also describes ocean-faring ships that were built
in Quanzhou and Guangzhou, with three to twelve sails and could carry thou-
sands of people. Quanzhou’s local officials sent him north on a “magnificent
grand official ship.”3 He noted in particular that the porcelain produced in
Quanzhou was shipped to India and exported to his hometown in Morocco.
He also mentioned that when he was in India, he saw 100 out of the 500 bro-
cade gifts given to the Indian king by the envoys of the Yuan Dynasty.
The Eastern Parts of the World Described by Friar Odoric

(1286–1331)
Odoric of Pordenone (1286–1331) is the second-most well-known Italian

traveler after Marco Polo who visited China during that time period.
As a late-medieval Franciscan priest and missionary explorer, Friar Odoric
set off from Venice and traveled to the East in 1318. In 1322, he arrived at
Quanzhou from Guangzhou, and then he went on from Quanzhou to Fuzhou,
Hangzhou, Nanjing, Yangzhou, Beijing, and many other Chinese cities. He
took the way of Tibet to return.4
The Eastern Parts of the World Described was written by Friar Odoric later
when he was ill in bed. Around April 1318, Friar Odoric left Venice by boat,
crossed the sea to Constantinople, then traveled across what is now Iran and
Iraq, through the Tigris River to the Persian Gulf, to Ormes.5
In the summer of 1321, Friar Odoric took a boat eastbound from the
Ormes and took 28 days to reach Tana on the west coast of India. There he
picked up the remains of four martyred clergymen and prepared to be taken
to Zayton, the most famous metropolis at that time; the destination they had
failed to reach. Down from Tana south along the west coast of India, to Mobar
and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), at the southeast tip of India.6
Friar Odoric continued eastward from Ceylon and passed through
the Sunda Strait to Zampa (Champa). He headed east again for days and
arrived at the southern part of China, the so-called “barbarian provinces” by
the Mongols. The first port city he landed in China was Censcalan (now
Guangzhou). After leaving Guangzhou, he finally arrived at the famous city of
Zayton, where he buried the remains of the martyr in two local churches. At
that time, he believed that the city was “one of the best places in the world,
abundant for all the necessities of life.” After leaving Quanzhou, he went
north through Fuzo (Fuzhou) to Hangzhou, a metropolis he called “the world’s
largest and noblest city.”7 After a six-day trip from Hangzhou to Chilenfu
(Jinling), he reached Iamzai (now Yangzhou) and then headed north again,
passing the Yellow River and finally arriving at Cambalech, that is, the capital
of Yuan Dynasty, Taydo (now Beijing).
Friar Odoric lived in China for a total of almost two years between 1322
and 1328. In 1328, Friar Odoric returned to his country by westward road—
from Taydo to the west of Inner Mongolia, Gansu, and then southbound to
Tubo (today Tibet).
Through Central Asia to the southern shore of the Caspian Sea, he fol-
lowed the original road to return to the country. In May 1330, at St. Anthony’s
Church in Padua, he recounted his story on his sickbed and the travelog was
written down by dictation. He recalled what he saw in China as well as with
the Franciscans in Zayton and other Chinese cities. In January 1331, he died
in Udine, ending his legendary life, but left The Eastern Parts of the World
Described to serve as a witness of the exchange between the East and West.8
A Letter Sent by Andrew of Perugia From Zayton in 1326
When Friar Odoric was in Zayton, he met Andrew of Perugia, an Italian

Franciscan priest and the third bishop in Zayton. In his accounts, he described
the prosperity of Zayton and the dissemination of Christianity there. Similarly,
detailed information was also found in a letter written by Andrew of Perugia,
in 1326. Now the letter is kept in the National Library of France, and the
tombstone of Andrew of Perugia was unearthed in the 1930s and is currently
held in Quanzhou Maritime Museum.
Andrew of Perugia wrote in his letter,
Across the ocean, there was a huge city called Zayton. There lived a rich Armenian
woman, which built a grand church in the city.9
Later, the archbishop made it as the main church. During her lifetime, the
woman handed over the church to Calendarrdo Albuini and his friars. Besides, she
bequeathed them a considerable donation. Calendarro was the first bishop to take
over the church. He was buried there after his death. Later, the archbishop hoped
that I could succeed him as a bishop, but I did not agree. Thus, the archbishop has
committed the position to Peregrino de Castello, who managed the church for years.
He died in 1323, namely nine days after St Paul’s and St. Peter’s Memorial Day.
Four years before his death, for some reason, I did not feel well in Khanbalik,
so I had permission to be in Quanzhou to receive my Alpha granted by the emperor.
Zayton was at least three month’s journeys from Khanbalik. After my sincere request
was granted, with eight horses allocated by the emperor, I grandly started my journey.
When I arrived at Zayton, friar Peregrino de Castello was still alive. In a woodland a
quartered mile away from the city, I had a comfortable and magnificent church built,
in which there were kinds of offices sufficient for the use of 20 friars, and there were
also rooms for senior friars.
Indeed, I lived there all the time, and I lived on the salary granted by the emperor.
According to the estimated of a Genoese merchant, my salary was worthy of a hundred
gold florins. I used most of this money to build the church. As far as its magnificence
is concerned, no church and temple in the whole province can match it. After the
death of Peregrino de Castello, I accepted the order of the archbishop to be the bishop.
Since then, sometimes, I lived in my church, and sometimes, I lived in the main
church. I am healthy and energetic. As for my age, other than some gray hair, I do not
have any defects and symptoms caused by old age.
In this vast empire, there lived so many foreign, and they were people of differ-
ent religions from different countries. They could all live according to their faith.
They think that everyone can be saved within his or her religious faith, although this
opinion is incorrect.
We can do mission work freely without being interfered. However, Jews and
Saracens do not convert to Christianity. Although many pagans were baptized, they
never behave according to the Christian doctrines.
A Letter From Peregrino de Castello, the Italian Franciscans

Priest, and the Second Bishop of the City of Zayton in 1318
The records of Andrew of Perugia and others can be verified by the other
letter sent by Peregrino de Castello from the town of Zayton in Quanzhou on
January 3, 1318.10
Now that I have been appointed the Bishop of Zayton, I am here in peace, quietly
trying to serve God with three devout brothers.
We have a good church in the city of Zayton, the church and a house left to us
by an Armenian woman, and she provides us with the necessities of life for ourselves
and for those who are coming. Outside of the city, we have a beautiful land with trees,
where we want to build a house and a church there.
In the Eastern Travels Record of Giovanni dei Marignolli
The country that the envoys came from was referred to in the historical record
of Yuan as Fulang—, a Chinese version of the name Farang (Franks), which
was also used in the Middle East as a general term for Europeans.11 Apparently,
the Mongolian great Khan was more interested in the tribute gift than more
information about the convoys belonging to Marignolli. Although Marignolli
is not mentioned by name in the History of Yuan, he is referenced in that
historical text as the “Frank” (Fulang) who provided the Yuan imperial court
with an impressive warhorse as a tributary gift.12
The horse that the envoys offered so impressed the emperor that an artist
named Zhou Lang was assigned to paint a portrait of the horse that Marignolli
had brought to the court as a present.
The portrait of the horse had been preserved in the imperial court of the
Qing Dynasty in the eighteenth century but is now lost. However, the battle
horse as a tribute gift was a big event at that time. Chinese literati wrote many
poems on the portrait of the horse; The horse was said to be 11 feet 6 inches
in length, and six feet eight inches high and black all over.
As the last envoy sent to China by the pope in the late Yuan Dynasty,
Marignolli and his convoys stayed at Khanbaliq (now Beijing) for more than
three years, after which time they traveled through southern and eastern
China to Quanzhou before bidding farewell to China in December 1347.13
Towards the end of 1353, he arrived at Avignon. There, he delivered a
letter from Toghun Temür, the last emperor of the Yuan Dynasty to Pope
Innocent VI.14
The emperor Charles IV, instead of urging Marignolli to write a history of
his Eastern journeys, set him to the task of recasting the annals of Bohemia
in Prague. The fragmented yet vivid notes of Marignolli’s Asiatic travels were
included in the Chronicles of Bohemia (Cronica Boemorum). In the last vol-
ume, Marignolli recalled his traveling experiences in China.15
In 1820, German scholar Joseph Georg Meinert published this part in the
Bohemian Science Society, making it known to the world. Titled “Oriental
Record of Giovanni dei Marignolli” or “the Travelogs of Giovanni dei Marignolli,”16it

is a masterpiece of the cultural exchanges between China and the West during
the Yuan Dynasty.
Marignolli’s primary work was his Annals or Chronicles of Bohemia (Cronica
Boemorum). Thus, the notes of Marignolli’s Asiatic travels again seem to have
remained unread until 1820, when Meinert published a paper on Marignolli’s
travels.17
In the Eastern Travels Record of Giovanni dei Marignolli, he described
Zayton as
A fascinating harbor and an amazing city… The Franciscans have three baroque
churches in the city. The church is wealthy, and it is equipped with a bathroom
and a warehouse for merchants to store goods. Three exquisite clocks were cast, of
which my request cast two, and a solemn ceremony was held for the installment cere-
mony. The larger one was named Johannina, and the other is Anton Nena. All were
installed in the center of Saracen’s community before we departed Zayton.18
Marignolli was impressed by the Christian community in Zayton, its

imperial support and Chinese culture. Two churches—, one built by a wealthy
Armenian woman, and the other by Andrew of Perugia, were also mentioned
by Odoric of Pordenone, a renowned Franciscan missionary who traveled to
China in the 1320s.19 Their reports, together with letters written by other
Catholic missionaries, brought firsthand information about China to medi-
eval Europe, and even today sheds light on the earliest missionary work in
Quanzhou.
Section 2: Medieval Christian and

Manichaean Remains in Quanzhou
Known to western medieval travelers as Zayton, Quanzhou in Fujian was a
crucial harbor and also the terminus at the east end of the Maritime Silk
Route. The city was home to a bustling population, especially when China was
under Mongol rule (ca. 1280–1368 CE). Italian visitors and Franciscan priests
visited Zayton, among them Marco Polo, Odoric of Pordenone, Giovanni dei
Marignolli, Peregrino de Castello, and Andrew of Perugia.
Zayton had a significant Christian population, both Catholic and
Nestorian (Church of the East), and the nearby town of Jinjiang still has a
Manichaean shrine housing a unique statue of Mani as the Buddha of Light.
A wealth of art was left on the stone by the maritime trade diaspora, and
religious communities in Quanzhou first came about in the mid-twentieth

century; however, there is still very little known about them outside of China.
The persecution of Manichaeism decreased but did not disappear under the
Mongols. There were about 700,000 families of believers who were thought
to be Christians by Marco Polo. The religion had its admirers among officials
and scholars for its asceticism.20
Samuel N. C. Lieu (1980) led a team of scholars from Australian univer-
sities in collaboration with the major museums in Quanzhou and Jinjiang.
After field research, he published a volume entitled Medieval Christian,
and Manichaean Remains from Quanzhou (Zayton). It is the first significant
work on Medieval Christianity and Manichaean Remains in a western lan-
guage. The book is not only of great interest to researchers of Manichaeism
and Nestorian but also to scholars of East-West contacts under the Rule of
Mongols.
Manichean Temple (Built Between 1131 and 1162)
Recent archeological findings in Quanzhou support Marco Polo’s report of his

encounters with a Christian community in Zayton of about 7000,000 fam-
ilies. Lieu (2008) and other scholars agreed that this was a secret group of
Manichaeans.
One of the Manichaean remains in Quanzhou is the Manichaean shrine on
Huabiao hill in Jinjiang county under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou municipal.
The site is the only remaining temple of Manicheism—, a once global
religion founded in third-century Persia—, to survive to the present day.
All others having been destroyed through centuries of persecution and the
extinction of the religion.
The Manichean shrine is called Cao’an Temple, which dates back to
Shaoxing period of the Southern Song Dynasty (1131–1162). It was initially
a hut, hence the name Cao’ an, which means “Grass hut.”21 In the fifth year
of the Zhiyuan period during the reign of the Yuan Dynasty Emperor Shundi
(1339), the hut was replaced with a stone structure and named “Cao’an
Manichean Temple.” Built entirely in granite, it has two stories with the main
hall for worship on the ground level.
The existing stone building foundations and the statue of Mani, the
Buddha of Light, are all Yuan Dynasty originals, but the brick masonry
structures and wood structures were built in the Republic of China period
(1912–1949).
The statue of Mani was carved into the granite back wall. Local worship-
pers still venerate Mani as the Buddha of Light.
Many shards of brown glazed bowls were unearthed near the Cao’an
Manichean Temple, with the words “Manichean Church” carved inside a
restored porcelain bowl. This bowl is similar in texture and style to a brown
glazed porcelain bowl unearthed from Quanzhou’s Song Dynasty Cizao kiln
site, providing evidence of the popularity of Manicheism near the Jinjiang
River in the Southern Song Dynasty.
As it looks like an ordinary Buddhist temple, Cao’an temple is used for
Buddhist practice by the residents (Wu, 1957). A local scholar in Quanzhou
named Wu Wenliang rediscovered its value in the 1920s.22
An inscription in the courtyard exhorts worshippers to repeat “Mani,
Buddha of Light, the purest light, the great and powerful wisdom, the highest
and unsurpassable truth” and dates the inscription the ninth month of the
Zhizhou year of the Zhengdong period (1445). The statue in the temple shows
distinct iconographic differences from a Buddhist sculpture. For instance,
the figure stares straight at the viewer, instead of looking downward, and is
bearded with no hair on its head.
A rare historical Manichean site, the Cao’an Manichean Temple was an
important outcome of Manicheism’s development in China’s coastal region and
fusion with the local culture. The statue of Mani, the Buddha of Light, carved no
later than the mid-fourteenth century, is the world’s only existing stone statue
of the Manichean founder, and thus is of priceless historical and artistic value.
Zayton Cross
The Zayton Cross is the sign of “Cross-on-lotus” found in Quanzhou by Wu

Wenliang (1957) on 28 stone carvings. It is believed that the Zayton Cross
belongs to the Church of the East. The Zayton Cross reflected the period
when Nestorianism and Franciscan missionaries were famous in Yuan China.
Andrew of Perugia (Latin name: Andreas Perusinus) was a Franciscan
friar and bishop born in Perugia, Italy, and he came to China in the fourteenth
century.
He became Bishop of Zayton (ancient name of Quanzhou) in Fujian
from 1322.
He was initially sent to China in 1307 by Pope Clement V as a member of
a group of seven Franciscan bishops. Only three of these envoys arrived safely
in 1308: Gerardus, Peregrinus and Andrew of Perugia (1308).23
Andrew of Perugia was nominated Bishop of Zayton in 1322.

One of his letters was sent to Friar Warden of the Convent of Perugia in
1326, mentioning his work in Zayton. Andrew died around 1332 in Quanzhou.
His tombstone has been discovered by Wu Wenliang in 1946 and was trans-
ferred to Beijing, with a duplication left in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum.
Remarkably, as a Franciscan priest, his tombstone displays a “Nestorian”
Christian motif.24
Christian Gravestones Discovered in Quanzhou
The Church of the East in Sassanian Iran and Central China, so-called
“Nestorians,” survived in later times (mainly medieval) in Quanzhou, which
was popular and active under the Song and the Mongols ruling.
Wu Wenliang, a local scholar in Quanzhou, reported that a batch of
tombstones with inscriptions in Syriac (Estrangela) script was collected when
the ancient city walls of Quanzhou were demolished from 1938 to 1941 (Wu,
1957). It is well noted that many of the tombstones bear an elaborate motif of
a cross on a lotus flower, which was later known as the symbol of the Nestorian
church in China, flanked by angels in flowing robes (Lieu, 1980, p. 73).
Christianity came to China as early as the seventh century. The arrival
of the Persian missionary Alopen in 635, during the early part of the Tang
Dynasty, is considered by some to be the first entry of the Christian religion
into China.25 What Westerners referred to as Eastern Church or Nestorian
Christianity flourished for hundreds of years, until Emperor Wuzong of the
Tang dynasty adopted anti-religious measures in 845, expelling Buddhism,
Christianity and Zoroastrianism. Christianity again came to China and flour-
ished in the thirteenth century during the Yuan Dynasty, when the Mongols
brought Nestorianism back to the region, and contacts began with the Papacy,
such as Franciscan missionaries in 1294. When the native Chinese Ming
Dynasty overthrew the Yuan Dynasty in the fourteenth century, Christians
were again expelled from China.26
Section 3: The Manila Galleon Trade

When Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta and other medieval travelers visited the city
in its heyday, they proclaimed it to be one of the most significant ports in the
world. However, its importance waned as successive dynasties discouraged and
then prohibited maritime trade. This decline spawned migration to Caton,
Taiwan, Macau and neighboring Southeast Asia in pursuit of opportunities

and a better life. The coastal people in this much-diminished city still engaged
in private trade with their contacts in Southeast Asia. The Manila Galleon
Trade is part of the trading network in which the overseas Chinese diaspora
participated.
The Manila Galleon Trade refers to a trade agreement which lasted for
two-and-a-half centuries linking the Philippines with Mexico across the
Pacific Ocean from the century onward through the Manila Galleons, large-
scale sailing boats. The Manila Galleons were Spanish trading ships built in
Manila making one or two round-trip voyages per year between the ports of
Acapulco and Manila, which were both parts of New Spain.27
The Manila Galleon Trade in the sixteenth century ushered the opening
of global routes for commercial and cultural exchange, and galleons were used
for maritime trade across the Pacific Ocean in East, including China, the New
World (American continent), Mexico and Peru.
Spain built Europe’s first vast colonial empire with its sixteenth-century
occupation of Central and South America (including Mexico and Peru) and
the Philippine Islands in Asia in 1571.
In the mid-sixteenth century, the Spanish expedition sailed from Mexico,
reached the central area of the Philippines, and then caught the east blowing
winds from the east coast of Japan and brought them back to the Acapulco.
In effect, they plotted a “Silk Road” to the New World in the Pacific Ocean.
After that, the port of Manila on the Luzon island became a stopover and
trans-shipment port for trade with China; galleons served as the means of
transportation.
The galleon trade between Manila and Acapulco ended in 1815, a couple
of years before Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821.
To commemorate the historical trade between the Philippines and
Mexico, Spain took the initiative to launch the preparations for the nomi-
nation of the Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route to be inscribed in the
UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015. Besides, Spain suggested the tri-na-
tional submission of the Archives on the Manila-Acapulco Galleons in the
UNESCO Memory of the World Register.
Manila Galleon was named to reflect the city that the ship departed. The
term Manila Galleon Trade is also used to refer to the maritime trade route
between Acapulco and Manila, which lasted from 1565 until 1815.28
The Manila Galleon was built in Manila by Spanish-hired Chinese crafts-
people, most of who were from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou. With a capacity of
300 tons, the Manila Galleon was the most advanced cargo ship in the world
at that time.
From the latter half of the sixteenth century to the early days of the nine-
teenth century, the Manila Galleons were traveling between Manila and
Acapulco for 250 years. Mexico mainly imported raw silk, porcelain, brocade
and cotton cloth from Guangdong province and southern Fujian along the
south and east coast of China.
The Manila Galleons were also known in Acapulco as “La Nao de la China
(The China Ship).” Because it mainly carried Chinese goods shipped from
Manila. Nowadays, residents of Acapulco hold a “China Ship” festival in
November every year to commemorate the first-ever cargo ship setting sail
from the port of Acapulco to Asia on November 20, 1564.
Before the end of the sixteenth century, Peru in South America accounted
for more than 60 percent of the world’s silver production, and Spanish mer-
chants usually shipped silver of Peru to Manila in exchange for Chinese tex-
tiles or porcelain.
Trade with Ming China via Manila was a primary source of revenue for the
Spanish Empire and also served as a significant source of income for Spanish
colonists on the Philippine Islands.
The Manila trade became so lucrative that nine galleons and six galleys
were constructed in Philippine shipyards between 1609 and 1616.
Most of the ships were built in the Philippines except eight that were
made in Mexico. The galleons averaged from 1,700 to 2,000 tons, were con-
structed of Philippine hardwoods, and could carry 300 to 500 passengers.
The galleon trade was highly profitable, but the voyage time was long.
There was a tendency to build the broadest possible vessels, which were the
largest class of ships known to have been made at that time. The trip from
Manila to Acapulco took at least four months and the galleons were the main
link between the Philippines and Mexico, and then to Spain.
Many of the so-called “Kastilas” or Spaniards in the Philippines were actu-
ally of Mexican descent, and the Hispanic culture of the Philippines is some-
what close to Mexican culture.29 Even after the time when Mexico finally
gained its independence, and the galleon trade ceased, the two nations con-
tinued to trade, except for a brief lull during the Spanish American War.
Galleons mainly transported the goods to be sold in the Americas, namely
in New Spain (Mexico) and Peru.30
The products carried by the Manila galleons to Latin America were not
only sold in the Americas, but many of them were then transported on the
backs of mules to the Atlantic coast in exchange for European commodities.

Therefore, a larger trade cycle across continents was achieved.
The cargoes arrived in Acapulco on the Pacific coast and were trans-
ported across the land bridge of Mexico to the port of Veracruz on the Gulf
of Mexico, where they were loaded onto the Spanish treasure fleet bound
for Spain. This route was the alternative to the westbound navigation routes
across the Indian Ocean and around the Cape of Good Hope, which was
reserved for Portugal according to the Treaty of Tordesillas.
The Royal mail routes of New Spain across Mexico also avoided stop-
ping over at ports controlled by competing powers, such as Portugal and the
Netherlands.
Some parts of Chinese or other Asian goods from the Pacific Coast Port of
Acapulco were conveyed along the Royal Mail Route on the backs of mules to
the City of Puebla, one of the earliest Spanish settlements in Mexico.
From the early days of exploration in the Americas, the Spanish already
knew that the American continent was much narrower across the Panamanian
isthmus than across Mexico. The Spanish colonists tried to establish a regular
land crossing there, but the thick jungle and malaria made it impractical.31
Trade between Manila and Southeastern China coast primarily functioned
on a silver standard due to merchants of Ming China’s use of silver ingots as a
medium of exchange. As such, goods purchased from Chinese merchants were
mostly paid by silver mined from Mexico, Potosí and Peru.32 Also, slaves from
various origins were transported from Manila.
According to Andre Gunder Frank (1929–2005), an economic historian
and sociologist, in the Global Economy of the Asian Age by the end of the
eighteenth century, 63 percent of Mexico’s total imports were from China.
Peruvian businesspersons usually purchased Chinese goods from Mexico with
millions of gold pesos, which is now equivalent to tens of millions of US dollars.
The galleon trade was nourished by merchants mainly from port areas of
Fujian who traveled to Manila to sell Spaniard’s spices, porcelain, ivory, lac-
querware, processed silk products, and other valuable commodities.
As the extent of its power at sea, Zheng Chenggong was able to set up an
efficient maritime blockade on Luzon and Dutch trade posts in Taiwan until
the Governor-General of Manila gave in and submitted to his control of the
maritime trade between China and Manila.33
The Zheng maritime organization succeeded in adapting traditional
Chinese institutions and Confucian orthodoxies in a way that enabled them
to harness merchants and mercantile interests.
The integration of the first global network of trade brought together the
premodern Asian maritime system with the New World Trade Navigation
lines. The silver for the Silk Trade Route was established to meet the mar-
ket demand of the Americas and Europeans for China’s silk and high-quality
goods with an insatiable thirst for silver in Ming China.
From Zheng Zhilong to his son Zheng Chenggong, the activities of the
maritime trading network evolved from a centralized piratical organization to
a regional political entity. At the time he took over Taiwan from the Dutch in
1662, Zheng Chenggong possessed several hundred warships and was able to
mobilize an army of 25,000 soldiers.
At the same time, in the name of Ming restoration, Zheng Chenggong
envisioned the highest possible autonomy and sought to establish control
over the three coastal provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, as well
as a 13,000 km long coastline. The Zheng organization controlled the mari-
time trade between the southeastern China coast and Manila during the long
process of negotiations between the Zheng clan and the Qing until the final
conquest of Taiwan by the naval force of the Qing Dynasty in 1683.
Zheng Chenggong’s initial military strategy was two-fold. First, he sought
to seize the rich resource of the Yangzi River delta to solve his military orga-
nization’s needs for food and supplies and, at the same time, to take control
of the primary production of silk and other luxuries. Secondly, he planned an
invasion of Dutch controlled Taiwan and Spanish controlled Manila.
The successful takeover of Taiwan from Dutch colonists after the war
was a backup plan for the setback of Zheng Chenggong’s military strategy to
seize Nanjing. However, the plan to invade Manila, although it was poorly
defended, never happened as the loss in Nanjing and the insufficient supply
in Taiwan.
This overseas expansion, if it had been successful, would have led to
the foundation of a maritime China encompassing a huge trading network
stretching from Japan to Southeast Asia and able to defy the continental Qing
Empire. Zheng Chenggong died young in 1662, which folded his ambitious
plan. The conservative policies of the Qing were an interruption and set back
of maritime China.
In 1655, a ban on maritime activities was issued by the Qing imperial
court, “Coastal provinces, maritime activities should be strictly prohibited;
None is allowed to sail into the sea; Violation will be a felony.”
The maritime traders and residents within 3 miles along the coast of South
Fujian were forced to move out or relocate. The Qing government imposed
strict sea bans to prevent coastal residents from subsidizing Zheng Chenggong.
Residents of Guangdong and Fujian within 25 kilometers off the coast were
forced to move out and relocate. All beachfront houses were burned down,
and coastal residents were banned from going to sea.
There were few exchanges and interactions between China and Latin
America regarding economic cooperation after the stop of Galleons trade.
However, today, the two sides are closely linked with each other.
The robust economic growth of China has boosted its massive demand for
resources and agricultural products. Most Latin American countries have seen
a sharp increase in their trade surplus by exporting resources and agricultural
products to China over the past decade.
Some economists are concerned that the economies of Latin American
states may depend too much on the export of bulk commodities to China. If
China’s economy slows down, will these countries lose their momentum for
sustainable development? Nonetheless, it is vitally important to note that the
foundation of Sino-Latin America cooperation has undergone fundamental
changes over the past decade.
The bilateral collaboration between the two sides not only reflects the
fact that emerging economies are playing an increasingly critical role in key
variables of the global economy, but also demonstrates that their interconnec-
tions have been strengthened via South-South trade and investment. All of
these are unprecedented changes.
The present Sino-Latin America cooperation has far exceeded the era
of grand galleons. Beijing put forward the initiative of building the Silk Road
Economic Belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, known as the “Belt and
Road Initiative” in a push to expand trade and investment instead of adding to
the trade routes. Latin America will benefit from the proposal.
In the light of historical contact in the premodern maritime trade, now
China has become the most significant source of Latin American economic
growth. The gradually expanding and enhancing cooperation is bringing the
two regions together, and the vast Pacific Ocean no longer poses an obstruction.
Section 4: Galeote Pereira and His Accounts

of Ming China
A sixteenth-century Portuguese soldier named Galeote Pereira (also as
Galiote Pereira) spent several years in Fujian and Guangxi province as a
prisoner.34 The Chinese authorities captured him in an anti-smuggling oper-

ation in South Fujian. The report he wrote on the sixteenth-century China
after escaping is one of the earliest accounts by a westerner living in the Ming
China; indeed, it is the first detailed observation of Chinese civilization by a
lay European visitor since that of Marco Polo.
Pereira engaged in smuggling along the southeast coast of the Ming
Empire, where there was one notorious smuggling center on the islet of Wuyu
when the private maritime trade was prohibited in coastal China. He was
captured when one of the two Portuguese junks was seized in March 1549 near
the Dongshan Peninsula during the Pirate Extermination Campaign launched
by Jiajing Emperor, which was actively carried out by Fujian & Zhejiang’s
Viceroy Zhu Wan.
Galeote Pereira was taken through Quanzhou on his way to Fuzhou
and was very much impressed by the populated countryside, the “gallantly
paved streets” and, above all, “the very noble and very well-wrought bridges
of stone… for service over the rivers.” He described that the stone bridge
of Quanzhou was even more splendid than the bridge of Fuzhou. He had a
detailed description of the stone bridge spanning the Luoyang River ten miles
to the north of Quanzhou.
Several of the Portuguese survivors of the 1549 incident wrote accounts
of their experiences. The first of the reports was published as early as 1555.
However, Galeote Pereira’s story is considered the most complete and is the
most well-known.
With the assistance of the Portuguese in Guangdong, many of the exiles
managed to make their way by bribe and stealth back to the seacoast and
where Portuguese ships and offshore bases were located.
Pereira was among these escapees and was in the Shangchuan Island, assist-
ing at the exhumation of the remains of Francis Xavier in mid-February 1553.
When Pereira first wrote, his account was unknown. While C.R. Boxer,
et al. (1953) surmised that Pereira might have noted down his recollec-
tions soon after his escape to safety, the earliest known manuscript dated
1561 is a copy made by Indian pupils in the Jesuit Saint Paul’s College
of Goa. Moreover, the print was sent to one of the Jesuits’ central offices
in Europe. While the original Portuguese text, entitled “Alguas cousas
sabidas da China….” [“Some things known about China….”] was not
published at the time. However, its slightly abridged Italian translation
appeared in Venice in 1565 in a book containing some other reports sent
by Jesuits from India.35
Richard Willes, a former English Jesuit, translated the report into English
from Italian texts. The English version was published in 1577 in the History of
Travel in the West and East Lines, under the title, “Certain reports of the province
China.” Pereira had a brief description of Quanzhou and other Chinese cities,
whose “streets are wonderful to behold” and which are decorated with numer-
ous “arches of triumph”, and the densely populated and intensively farmed
countryside. Pereira was impressed with well-paved roads and the bridges of
Fujian’s coastal road, built using huge stones.
Pereira recounted a vivid description of the city and the bridge of
“Chincheo,” which C.R. Boxer, et al. (1953) thinks that it refers here to
Quanzhou, although in other works, it also related to the nearby Zhangzhou.
In fact, the islet of Wuyu in Xiamen Bay and its adjacent area was under the
jurisdiction of Quanzhou Prefecture at that time.
When Pereira was in China, he was surprised that the word “China,”
which the Portuguese had learned in Southern and Southeastern Asia, was
not known by Chinese, and he was curious how Chinese called their land
and themselves. Pereira got the answer that the whole country was called
“Da Ming” [Great Ming], and its people, “Da Ming Ren,” [people of the
Great Ming].
The prosperity of Zayton collapsed after the chaos at the end of the Yuan
Dynasty and the follow-up conservative politics diminished the local ship-
building support. Zayton became a long-forgotten harbor in the related stories
and historical records. Even the local people do not know its glory and signif-
icance in maritime trade history.
When Westerners came to the southeast coast of China in the late nine-
teenth century, there was a heated dispute about the exact location of Zayton.
Some western scholars preferred to associate Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta’s
great port with the much more attractive treaty port at Xiamen with a Western
concession on a variety of pretexts.
Kuwabara Jistuzo (1871–1931) and other Japanese scholars tried to link
the historical Zayton to Quanzhou by a literature review.
In 1957, Wu Wenliang published the first edition of the Religious
Inscriptions of Quanzhou (泉州宗教石刻). The volume is widely recognized
as the first major academic publication in which archeological findings linked
the famous medieval port city of Zayton with the monuments and sites in
modern Quanzhou.
Wu Wenliang was inspired by Chen Wanli, who published research find-
ings after he visited Quanzhou several times and conducted field research on
site in 1926. Wu became a high school teacher and amateur collector after he
graduated from Amoy University.
Wu devoted the rest of his life to the stone inscription study in Quanzhou.
For more than two decades, he spent his free time searching for fragments of
carved stone in every corner of the city. The book included illustrations of
some two hundred stone items based on his archeological findings. The stone
items and inscriptions were collected from the local gravesites and ruined
monuments of the international religious communities existing in Quanzhou
during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. These unearthed historical
artifacts, including stone inscriptions in a variety of foreign languages, some
of which were carved with Chinese translation as well as decorative stone
carvings. In 1953, Wu Wenliang donated his private collection to the newly
founded Quanzhou Maritime Museum, where his collection is housed.
The second edition of Religious Inscriptions of Quanzhou (Wu, 2005),
published in May 2005, includes Wu Wenliang’s contribution to the first
edition, as well as further findings and research conducted by his son Wu
Youxiong.36 In this edition, stone items with Nestorian Christian inscriptions
were newly added.
The second edition is a well-illustrated catalog of 600 stone remains of
the religious communities in medieval Quanzhou. The items are sorted by
religion into seven sections, including Islam, Christianity, Manicheanism,
Hinduism, Buddhism, Taoism and Folk Religion-with inscriptions and other
carved stone fragments from Islamic monuments which constitute over half
of the items. Perhaps the most exciting discovery is the evidence of the rich
tradition of decorative carving that flourished in Quanzhou during the Yuan
Dynasty, which is depicted in the Islamic, Christian, Hindu and Buddhist
chapters in Wu’s works. Systematic research was conducted on the items in
the Islamic section. In addition to the commentary on every single stone item,
Wu Youxiong incorporates essays on the Islamic history of Quanzhou and rel-
evant extracts from old Chinese texts and creations. The Arabic inscription
has been transcribed and translated, and passages quoted from the Quran were
noted. It is a pity that the book does not make enough use of the same stone
inscriptions presented in Chen Dasheng’s Islamic Inscriptions of Quanzhou
(1984) as excellent collaborative work.
Most of the stone items were found at sites to the east and south of the
old city wall of Quanzhou. The Tonghuai Gate area is where the ruins of the
Ashab Mosque are located and includes the site of an old Moslem cemetery.
This area is of historical significance as it was once home to Pu Shougeng’s
family, the wealthiest Muslim merchant clan in Quanzhou during the Yuan
Dynasty, which has been well documented in historical sources.
Dozens of tombstones and grave monuments were unearthed during local
construction projects in the 1950s and initially stored at the Ashab Mosque
before being relocated to the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. Another signifi-
cant source of artifacts was the Islamic cemetery at Ling Shan, which is also
one of the sites dedicated to two of the Prophet’s followers.
The current location of most of the items is also given, though it is not
possible for many of the significant monuments and sites photographed in the
1930s and 1950s before it was destroyed, such as the corridors of the stone
archway (paifang) that stood at the outside of the East Gate.
The leading institutional home for the historical artifacts is the Quanzhou
Maritime Museum. Other museums that hold significant collections of stone
items include the Museum of History and Anthropology at Xiamen University
and the Quanzhou Studies Center of the Quanzhou Normal University where
Wu Youxiong used to work.
Further collections are housed in local museums near to archeological
sites in the Quanzhou district.
Section 6: The Legendary Story of Howqua

and the Legacies of Maritime Trade
The people in Quanzhou cultivated enterprising characteristics and devel-
oped an open culture of inclusiveness in their long maritime trade practices.
They realize the significance of maintaining long-term relationships with
their business partners. They show tolerance and respect to people of different
origins, and their religion and culture.
The coastal area of Quanzhou was called Jinjiang County (now Jinjiang
city) in the ancient time. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, the trade route to the
South China Sea was opened up from the Shihu, the quay of Quanzhou Bay,
and the representative maritime trader was Lin Luang.
During the Song and Yuan dynasties, the ancient port of Quanzhou,
known by Marco Polo as “the largest port in the East,” there emerged many
successful sea traders who were willing to take corporate and social respon-
sibility. The unpredictable maritime experience gave the coastal people a
unique perception of life and wealth. It became a tradition for these successful
businesspersons to be generous in charity.
In 1138, maritime merchant Huang Hu and a senior monk Zhupai and

Zhiyuan took the initiative to raise funds to build Anping Bridge—the world’s
longest stone bridge of that time. However, the construction of Anping Bridge
had not been completed before Huang Hu passed away in 1145. It was not
until 1151 that Huang Yi, son of Huang Hu, resumed the construction of
the bridge under the auspices of Zhao Lingjin, the governor of Quanzhou
Prefecture. The bridge was completed in 1152.
The other prosperous merchant Li Wu donated the funds to renovate the
Luoyang Bridge in 1431. This was a significant renovation after the construc-
tion of Luoyang Bridge by Cai Xiang, the governor of Quanzhou Prefecture,
in the Northern Song period (1053–1059). The bridge deck was raised in a
three-year renovation, which was lowered by the siltation of the river.
Maritime trade was prohibited during most of the time in the Ming and
Qing Dynasties. The coastal people of Jinjiang could only move their business
to Anping, at the outer port of Quanzhou Bay, or Xiamen Bay and Zhangzhou,
to make a living by smuggling. While others moved to Guangdong and
Hainan, besides the sea merchants of Jinjiang, landless peasants of other
neighboring counties under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou, such as Nan’an,
Hui’an, Yongchun and Anxi followed the mariners crossing the ocean to find
opportunities in Southeast Asia.
Many of the Southeast Asian Chinese and Taiwan residents could trace
their ancestry in Quanzhou. Although trade diaspora and Quanzhou commu-
nities are scattered around the world, people with the same lineage or cultural
background remain in close contact with relatives or friends thanks to the
assistance of local associations or chambers of commerce. Their cultural iden-
tity and the sense of belonging keep them close to those folks in their places
of origin in Quanzhou.
In places near the sea, commercial consciousness and the maritime tradi-
tion are passed down from generation to generation.
In the book When America First Met China by Eric Jay Dolin (2012), the
legendary story of Wu Howqua was a typical story of successful maritime trad-
ers from Quanzhou. He is one remarkable character whose story illuminates
the significance of win-win value and business ties in the maritime culture
context. Wu Bingjian did business under the name Howqua. Howqua was
known as the world’s wealthiest private businessman in the United States in
the early nineteenth century.
In 2001, the Wall Street Journal counted 50 of the wealthiest people in the
world in the past 1000 years, six of whom were Chinese.
The success of Howqua was deeply rooted in the maritime culture he was
brought up in. In the early period of Kangxi Emperor’s ruling, the Wu family
immigrated from Anhai harbor of Quanzhou Jinjiang to Canton, and they
may have gone to Guangzhou to seek a business opportunity. When the mar-
itime trade was banned in Quanzhou, local maritime merchants had to smug-
gle or immigrate to other places for business opportunities. The Wu family was
successfully engaged in overseas trade in Guangzhou in 1777. Their primary
business was selling raw silk and tea to British merchants. However, the Qing
government did not have a formal, intentional trade system to conduct trade
with foreign merchant ships. As a result, in 1686, the Guangdong Customs
recruited thirteen commercial firms to act as agents for overseas trade busi-
ness, commonly known as “Hong Merchants.” The numbers of the Hong
Merchants varied from time to time. In 1784, Wu Guoying, father of Wu
Howqua, was appointed by the Canton Customs as a Hong merchant, and Yee
Wo Trader was established as the trademark Howqua after the pet name of his
son Wu Bingjian. The business name has long been used by its descendants
and has become a resounding name in the international business community
in the early nineteenth century. Wu Howqua, 32, took over the trade business
in 1801, and the family’s legacy began to grow rapidly. In 1757, the Qianlong
Emperor only allowed one port to trade, and he abolished the other three
customs and left Guangdong open to the outside world. The monopolistic
trade business made Hong Merchants reach their peak, which had a signifi-
cant impact on the later economic development of China and even on world
trade. At that time, people in business from Europe, America and other coun-
tries and regions in Asia could only trade with Hong Merchants to import
Chinese tea, silk, ceramics and other goods.
American trade agents’ friendship with Wu Howqua is a legendary story
in the United States.
Although many Americans gave up tea as an unpatriotic beverage after
the Boston Tea Party in 1773 and turned to coffee, the majority still craved
it. Moreover, it was this overwhelming demand for tea that motivated the
newly independent United States, finally free from the monopolistic clutches
of Britain’s East India Company, to sail to China in search of it.
Howqua had successfully maintained a personal relationship with his
American trading partners—he would invite them to sumptuous banquets at
his estate.
Benjamin Chew Wilcocks accumulated much debt and could not afford
to go home. He stayed in Canton until 1827. When he explained this to
Howqua, the man forgave his indebtedness and told Benjamin he was free to
go back (Przecha, 2012).
One of the most admirable things about Wu Howqua is that he made
Astor the wealthiest man in the United States during that time. In 1801,
Wu Howqua had inherited the Yee Wo Trader and became a great merchant.
A young American merchant called Astor visited him and wanted to get into
the tea business with him. Aster chartered a ship, but he could only afford half
a ship’s cargo. Moreover, he would have taken himself as a hostage to buy the
other half load of tea on credit.
After hearing this, Wu was struck by the American boy’s bold, adventur-
ous spirit and gave him more than 70,000 silver dollars’ worth of goods on
credit. Who knew Astor was so unlucky that his freighter sank in a storm in
the Pacific Ocean? When Astor learned that, he came to tell Howqua that
he was ready to work for a lifetime to pay for this vast sum of money. Wu
Howqua took out his original loan, tore it to pieces, and gave him the funds
to go back to the United States. Wu Howqua said to Astor, “you are just bad
luck, but not a dishonest person. You can start over.” Astor did not dream that
Wu Howqua would be so generous. To be grateful, he kneeled to Wu Howqua,
with such courtesy to show respect for the Chinese businessman in front of
him. This noble act of Wu Howqua boosted his reputation in the United
States for half a century.
It was the tea trade with Howqua that fostered the first American million-
aires, including John Jacob Astor, Thomas Handasyd Perkins, and Stephen
Girard, and spurred an explosion in shipbuilding. At the same time, the need
for the speedy transportation of tea across the oceans to prevent spoilage
resulted in the design and construction of the “clipper” ship.37 The national
infrastructure of the United States benefited from the new millionaires in
the trade with China investing their money in canals, railroads and factories.
John Murray Forbes returned to Boston and became an early railroad inves-
tor and landowner (Larson, 2005). As with Jay Gould and E. H. Harriman,
Forbes was an essential figure in the building of America’s railroads. Forbes
wisely invested not only his wealth in America’s rapidly expanding railroads
but also that of his close friend Howqua’s (Martyris, 2015). It is said that
Franklin Roosevelt’s ancestors, the Delano family, traded with Howqua, and
the descendants from the two families still kept in touch well into the twen-
tieth century.
Of course, the massive wealth of the Wu family is also incredible.
According to their estimates in 1834, the family’s wealth reached 26 million
silver yuan (5 billion yuan today), making it the wealthiest family in the world
through the eyes of foreigners. Built on the shore of the Pearl River, the Wu
mansion is said to be comparable to the Grand View Garden in the famous
Chinese novel A Dream of Red Mansions. It is because Wu Howqua was fair
and generous, that people in business all support him to be the head of Hong
Traders. It is worth mentioning that Wu Howqua has not only high prestige
among Chinese people in the business circle but also has a high reputation
among foreign merchants.
Howqua was not the first or last successful businessman who could trace his
ancestral place in Quanzhou and other places of the southeastern coastal area
in Fujian. You can find many successful overseas Chinese people in the busi-
ness widely spread throughout Southeast Asia, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia,
Singapore, the Philippines, and other countries. When the maritime trade
was banned in the early and mid-eighteenth century, maritime traders fled
to Southeast Asia. Wherever they went, a Chinese community was set up.
They brought in the marine culture and way of life. The legacies of historic
maritime trade have deeply rooted in the way of life and the life values of local
people. The inclusiveness and open perspective of marine culture have helped
Quanzhou to reclaim its prosperity in the past decades. The maritime culture
and win-win value shared by coastal people in the southeast of China, and
those who acknowledge it is internal cohesion attract them to work together
in the participation of the inter-regional exchange.
Notes
1. Gladney, D. C. Contemporary Ethnic Identity of Muslim Descendants Along the Chinese
Maritime Silk Route.Retrieved from https://zh.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/silkroad/files/
knowledge-bank-article/contemporary_ethnic_identity_of_muslim_descendants.pdf
2. Ibn Battuta—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_Battuta.
3. Batuta, I. (2003). The Travels of Ibn Battutah (Vol. 84). Pan Macmillan.
4. Chaojun, L. I. (2019). China’s National Image in Western Travels in the Middle Ages.
Journal of Landscape Research, 11(1).
5. The Travels of Friar Odoric, Trans. Sir Henry Yule, William B. Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Cambridge, UK, 2002.
6. Sir Henry Yule, William B trans. (2002). The Travels of Friar Odoric, Eerdmans Publishing
Company, Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Cambridge, UK.
7. Cordier, H. (2018). Cathay and the Way Thither. Being a Collection of Medieval Notices of
China: New Edition. Volume II: Odoric of Pordenone. Hakluyt Society.
8. Odorico. & Yule, Henry. (2002). The travels of Friar Odoric. Grand Rapids, Mich: W.B.
Eerdmans Pub. Co.
9. Xu, X.& Chen, L. (2001) On the Correspondence of Fransciscans regarding Quanzhou in

the 13th-14th. Study on Maritime History.
10. Lanciotti, L. (1959). DA PERUGIA, VESCOVO DI CH’ÜAN-CHOU (ZAYTON).
Cina, (5), 93–98.
11. Maejima, S. (1960). Marco Polo’s Forerunners to the Court of Qubilai Khan. Orient,
1, 45–51.
12. Moule, A. C. (1917). The Minor Friars in China. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society,
49(1), 1–36.
13. Di Cosmo, N. (2005). Mongols and merchants on the Black Sea frontier in the thirteenth
and fourteenth centuries: Convergences and conflicts. Mongols, Turks and others. Eurasian
Nomads and the Sedentary World/Ed. by R. Amitai and M. Biran. Leyden, 391–424.
14. Kuhn, W. (2006). The Christian Missions to China under Mongol Occupation: Challenges
and Opportunities. Revista Hermenêutica, 6.
15. Malfatto, I. (2015). John of Marignolli and the Historiographical Project of Charles IV.
Acta Universitatis Carolinae Historia Universitatis Carolinae Pragensis, 55(1), 131–140.
16. Meinert, Joseph Georg, ed. (1820). Reise in das Morgenland v. J. 1339–1353,

Prague: Gottlieb Haase (in German), reprinted in Abhandlungen der Königlichen
Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wis-senschaften, Vol. VII, Prague: Gottlieb Haase, 1822.
(in German)
17. Colless, B. E. (1968). Giovanni de’Marignolli: An Italian Prelate at the Court of the
South-East Asian Queen of Sheba. Journal of Southeast Asian History, 9(2), 325–341.
18. Yule, Henry, ed. (1866). Cathay and the way thither: being a collection of medieval notices of
China (2 Volumes). London: Hakluyr Society.
19. Meinert, Joseph Georg, ed. (1820). Reise in das Morgenland v. J. 1339–1353,

Prague: Gottlieb Haase (in German), reprinted in Abhandlungen der Königlichen
Böhmischen Gesellschaft der Wis-senschaften, Vol. VII, Prague: Gottlieb Haase, 1822.
(in German).
20. Lieu, S. N. (1980). Nestorians and Manichaeans on the South China coast. Vigiliae
Christianae, pp. 80, 83.
21. Lieu, S. (2008). Manichaean Art and Architecture Along the Silk Road. In Art,

Architecture and Religion Along the Silk Roads (pp. 79–101).
22. Wu Wenliang (1957).Quanzhou zongjiao shike (Religious Stone Inscriptions at

Quanzhou), Beijing: Kexue chuban she[Science Press], 1957.
23. Hastings, J., Selbie, J. A., & Gray, L. H. (Eds.). (1912). Encyclopaedia of religion and ethics
(Vol. 5). Scribner.
24. Andrew Of Perugia—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Andrew_of_Perugia.
25. Religion in China: Wikis (The Full Wiki). (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.thefullwiki.
org/ Religion_in_China
26. Religion in China Essay—Free Papers and Essays Examples. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://
studytiger.com/essay-religion-in-china/
27. Manila Galleon—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Manila-Acapulco_Galleon_Trade.
28. Williams, Glyn (1999). The Prize of All the Oceans. New York: Viking. p. 4. ISBN
0-670-89197-5.
29. Guevarra Jr, R. P. (2007). Mexipino: A History of Multiethnic Identity and the Formation of the
Mexican and Filipino Communities of San Diego, 1900–1965. ProQuest.
30. China Trade Thrives in Latin America—Pakistan Defence. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://
defence.pk/pdf/threads/china-trade-thrives-in-latin-america.352149/.
31. Manila Galleon Trade, 1565 To 1815–Mandirigma.org. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
mandirigma. org/?p=232.
32. Charles C. Mann (2011). 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, Random
House Digital, pp. 123–163, ISBN 9780307596727.
33. Hang, X. (2017). Conflict and Commerce in Maritime East Asia: The Zheng Family
and the Shaping of the Modern World, c. 1620–1720. New York: Cambridge University
Press, 2017.
34. Galeote Pereira—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Galeote_Pereira
35. Boxer, Charles Ralph; Pereira, Galeote; Cruz, Gaspar da; Rada, Martin de (1953). South
China in the Sixteenth Century: Being the Narratives of Galeote Pereira, Fr. Gaspar da
Cruz, Fr. Martin de Rada . London: Hakluyt Society.
36. The Stones of Zayton Speak | China Heritage Quarterly. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://
www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/scholarship.php?searchterm=005_zayton.inc&
37. Martyris, N. (2015). How A Taste for Chinese Tea Minted America’s First Millionaires.
Retrieved fromhttps://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/10/06/446326848/how-a-taste-
for-chinese-tea-minted-americas-first-millionaires.
References
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Guevarra, Rudy P. (2007). Mexipino: A History of Multiethnic Identity and the Formation
of the Mexican and Filipino Communities of San Diego, 1900–1965. University of
California, Santa Barbara.
Hang, X. (2017). Conflict and Commerce in Maritime East Asia: The Zheng Family and the
Shaping of the Modern World, c. 1620–1720. New York: Cambridge University Press.
John Lauritz Larson, The Market Revolution in Early America: An Introduction, OAH
Magazine of History, Volume 19, Issue 3, May 2005, Pages 4–7.
Lieu, S. (2008). Manichaean Art and Architecture Along the Silk Road. In Art, Architecture
and Religion Along the Silk Roads (pp. 79–101).
Mann, Charles C. (2011). 1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created, Random
House Digital, pp. 123–163.
Przecha, D. (2012). James Smith and Benjamin Chew Wilcocks. Retrieved from http://www.
somosprimos.com/sp2012/spoct12/SmithFamily/Wilcocksbio.pdf.
Wu Wenliang (1957). Quanzhou zongjiao shike (Religous inscriptions of Quanzhou),
Beijing: Kexue Chubanshe, 1957 (1st ed.), 66pp., +94 black and white plates.
Wu W., revised by Wu, Y. (2005). Quanzhou zongjiao shike (Religous inscriptions of Quanzhou),
Beijing: kexue Chubanshe, 2005, 648pp., +975 black and white illustrations.
·4·
historical records about
quanzhou and maritime
exchange
Section 1: Routes of Dialog

The maritime trade routes linked the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia and other
parts of the Western Pacific Ocean throughout the Eastern Hemisphere were
not only crucial for trade and commerce but also the spread of religion, polit-
ical systems, and culture.
Maritime merchants and seafarers ventured onto the long voyages along
the maritime trade routes to partake in commodity exchange, and that was
taking place in cities along the routes. Knowledge about arts, literature, and
science, as well as crafts and technologies, were shared across the maritime
trade routes, and in this way, languages, religions, and cultures developed and
influenced each other. Maritime travelers and traders not only carried their
tradition and cultural knowledge but also assimilated that of the host societies
in which they found themselves.
With the development of the communication network in cross-cultural
trade, ideas, tools, and elements of many shared technologies were passed
around, and it also provided a way of movement of luxury and some relatively
rare materials.
Figure 4.1. Wind Prayer Inscription on Mount Jiurishan.

Perhaps the most lasting legacy of the pre-modern maritime trade “has
been their role in bringing cultures and peoples in contact with each other
and facilitating exchange between them.”1
On a practical level, maritime merchants had to learn the languages
and customs of the countries they visited to negotiate successfully in the
exchange. In addition to that, cultural interaction was a vital aspect of mate-
rial exchange.
Perhaps it goes without saying that there is no human group that could
invent by itself more than a small part of its cultural or technical heritage in
the pre-modern interregional exchange context.
Take the making of a book as an example. The page numbers are “Arabic,”
which means that the Europeans learned about them from the Arabs. In turn,
Arabs borrowed them from the Indians, who invented positional notation in
the first place.
In the past, a book would have been printed with woodblock printing,
which is believed to be originated in China, in the Han Dynasty (before 220
AD) and the woodblock printing method was brought into Europe in the
early fourteenth century. The Chinese inventor Bi Sheng made the movable
type of earthenware circa 1045. Around 1450, Johannes Gutenberg invented
Historical Records About Quanzhou and Maritime Exchange 115
movable metal type in Europe. This invention gradually made books less
expensive to produce and more widely available.
Trade and exchange across cultural lines have played a crucial role in
human history. The exchange has been the most important source of develop-
ment in art, science, and technology.
As early as the Yongjia period in the late Western Jin Dynasty (307–312),
Han ethical Chinese migrated to the southeast coast of China on a large scale.
Many of them settled down on land between two rivers, where it was named
Fengzhou and a city called Quanzhou on the other side of the river came into
being in 711. At the end of the ninth century, more immigrants came to the
southeastern coast of China because of the turbulence in north China.
The immigrants from the inner part of China brought new farming tech-
nology to the southeast coastal area. With the development of agriculture,
silk and ceramic manufacture, maritime trade became prosperous. Chinese
farmers were cultivating rice as early as 7500 BC,2 but they seldom ate beef as
food because cattle were not just essential farming tools but helpers in a tra-
ditional farming society. They may rely on cows for milk but rarely slaughter
their animals for meat. It is the same with Indian.
However, since the ninth century, the barren farmland in the hilly coastal
area of Fujian could not support more new immigrants from the inner part of
China. As a result, rice was shipped to Quanzhou from Canton, Champa and
other areas via sea routes.
According to Bray (1983), a variety of rice from Champa Kingdom
(now in Vietnam) ripened quickly and allowed farmers to harvest several
crops during a single growing season. Champa rice quickly became popular
throughout China.
Maritime trade brought not just exotic commodities but also rice, and
other food, the city of Quanzhou and its neighboring area benefited from
trade. The imported rice and new plants such as yam saved many people from
starving during the famine season. They learned to show respect to those for-
eign merchants who had beef as food and their different life values. Therefore,
the oversea merchants brought in not just new commodities and technology
but also foreign culture, even their lifestyle. Also, people from Southeast Asia,
the Indian Ocean, the Arab World as well as other European maritime traders
and explorers brought in a variety of cuisine, culture, and tradition.
With the development of local agriculture and maritime trade, the pros-
perity of the coastal area witnessed a growth of population in South Fujian.
The total population of Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, and Xinghua was in the
23rd year of the Zhiyuan period of the Yuan Dynasty (1290), and the people
engaged in navigation accounted for about 1/9 of the total population. Most
of them require young laborers.
The sailing to Southeast Asia may take two to three years or a long time
to traverse the vast ocean between Zayton and the Mideast and Africa. When
men went to the open sea for trade, women had to take responsibility in the
household. The various maritime activities in maritime trade profoundly
changed the way of life and family structures in South Fujian province.
Women were not just housewives at home, and they also became the right
vendors and businesswomen to raise the family when men were at the open
sea. The sharp images of seaside businesswomen not only frequently appeared
between the lines and sentences of literary works but also it is the customs and
traditions passed down from generation to generation in the coastal villages
around the Quanzhou bay and its neighboring area.
Their Hairpin flower rings and head-wraps are said to be borrowed from
Arab customs, and they wear a colorful exotic costume when they were fishing
along the coast or sell their harvests in the local markets.
The continuous presence of maritime merchants from diverse origins con-
tributed to the prosperity of the city and its diverse culture.
However, when the Yuan empire was overthrown by the uprising of peo-
ple in China in 1368, the successive rulers of the Ming Dynasty were conser-
vative. Consequently, the foreign maritime trade was interrupted by wars and
chaos at the end of the Yuan Dynasty. As a result, the harbor of Quanzhou was
declining when Admiral Zheng-He recruited seafarers for his treasure fleets in
Quanzhou. When the barren land on the hilly South Fujian could not support
all the people, maritime traders immigrated to other places along the China
coast. Their destination includes Zhengjiang in north, Canton, and Hainan
in the south in coastal China or cross the strait to Taiwan. Many of them went
to Southeast Asia to seek opportunities.
When Western navigators came to the Asia-Pacific region, private trade
between Quanzhou and Southeast Asia was still going on at a relatively small
scale throughout the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries even when the
Ming authority banned trade. The coastal people get used to making a living
in maritime trade. As maritime trade is one of the critical engagements of
coastal people, the legacies of maritime trade and diverse cultures have been
deeply rooted in the culture of Quanzhou.
In the early year of the 1990s, China was just open to the outside world.
When Dr. Doudou Diene visited Quanzhou as the head of the Maritime
Expedition team of UNESCO Integral Study of Silk Road: Road of Dialog, he

brought a vision and hope to the people of Quanzhou, who are working hard
to revive the historic harbor. As an essential part of humanity, cultural heri-
tage fosters community cohesion. Moreover, most essential aspects of cultural
identity are its contribution to the society by presenting a vision for the public
and promote the self-esteem and empowerment for everyone. Thus, cultural
identity and cultural heritage are very much as a public commonwealth and
deserve public support.
Culture is the complex of spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional
features that shape a society or social group. Culture includes not only liter-
ature and arts but also the beliefs, traditions, value system, modes of life, and
fundamental rights of the human. Theoretically, if we recognize the unique
and the specific value of the culture that enriches us, we must also acknowl-
edge the universal yearning for identity and meaning that binds us all in com-
mon humanity. So, in addition to being valuable at the level of community or
the state, culture is also a global public good.
Therefore, the inclusive maritime culture of Quanzhou cultivated in over-
seas trade has contributed to the revival of the city and its economic suc-
cess. Based on its connection with the overseas diaspora in Southeast Asia,
Quanzhou is featured with its cultural diversity as well as authentic Chinese
culture inherited from the immigrants from the inner part of China.
Section 2: Maritime Links of Zayton With

Southeast Asia and India
The maritime silk trade route toward west extended to India, and the Persian
Sea. During the pre-modern time, the success and timing of the maritime
trade, through the Indian Ocean, largely depended on monsoon winds. Hence,
the maritime silk trade between China and India is also called monsoon trade.
As silk was not only one of the leading products but also the way of payment
in the pre-modern maritime trade, it is also called Maritime Silk Trade.
The Maritime Silk Trade Route became one of the essential options for
the trading community of those times. The favorable wind conditions during
summer and winter seasons in Quanzhou were one of the reasons that it
became a starting point of China’s ancient marine trade. Before the ninth
century, Guangzhou was the main port of maritime trade in China. However,
Quanzhou replaced Guangzhou as the main port during the Song and Yuan
Dynasties (in the tenth to fourteenth centuries) and various countries of South
and South-East Asia whereas its eastern route passed through the Korean pen-
insula and Japan.
Chinese ships carrying silk and gold took the south marine route to reach
Kanchipuram in India after passing through Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia,
Myanmar, and other countries. Chinese traders exchanged their silk and
gold for particular products of these countries. On the return journey, these
Chinese traders used to take a different route going through Sri Lanka and
Malacca for trading their products.
Indian ports have been essential transshipment centers for trades between
China and the markets in the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea at least
since Han China (206 BC–220 AD). Chinese silk yarn that reached India was
transshipped to Rome through Indian ports. Maritime trades between Indian
ports and the coast of China have continued for centuries. The historical
period between the thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries marked a distinct
and vital phrase of Sino-India relations.
According to Tansen Sen (2011), the new phase was triggered by the
formation of private trade and shipping networks to southern Asia during the
Chinese Song Dynasty and the aggressive foreign policy of the Yuan which led
to the establishment of a government-supported maritime system.
Marco Polo, who visited China at the Yuan Dynasty, described the ships
that were transporting goods between China and India as ships having nailed
hulls and multiple masts and cabins and were able to carry 1860 tons’ load.
The maritime network to southern Asia culminated in the increased
number of Ming emissaries, including the fleets of the Admiral Zheng-He,
who frequently visited Indian ports in the fifteenth century.
It is said that during those times, many maritime traders from South India
used to come to China, especially to Quanzhou and Guangzhou.
With trading, the traders also brought with them traditional Indian art
and culture. Many even settled in Quanzhou for an extended period during
the Song and Yuan Dynasties between the tenth and fourteenth centuries.
During their stay, they not only built temples and popularize Indian cul-
ture but also influenced the local art and architecture. Historians say that the
earliest record of an Indian residing in Quanzhou dates to the sixth century.
With the establishment of the maritime network between Indian harbors
and the China coast, the transmission of Buddhism to China led to the devel-
opment of an interdependent and reciprocal relationship between Buddhist
monks and maritime merchants traveling between India and China.
According to Tansen Sen (2003), maritime merchants regularly assisted

the growing number of Buddhist monks traveling through maritime routes to
China, meeting the ever-increasing demand for ritual items, and meanwhile
actively financed religious institutions and preaching activities.
Buddhist monks and monasteries, in return, provided spiritual support
to the maritime merchants who traversed along the sea routes and helped
introduce new items in the stream of commodities traded between Indian
and China.
For example, the Buddhist teaching of saptaratna, which means Seven
Treasures or Jewels, was different in sutra in different historical periods, and
even saptaratna mentioned in the same sutra varied in different translated
versions. The widely spread of Buddhism in China created and sustained the
demand for commodities including pearls, lapis lazuli, and coral imported
from India.
This interdependent maritime network of trade and the transmission of
Buddhism facilitated the traveling of monks, merchants, and merchandize
between the coastal towns of India and China.3
A few kilometers from the Kaiyuan Temple stands striking several-me-
ter-high Shiva Lingams in the center of the riverfront Stone Bamboo Park.
It is one of the earliest relics of the presence of Indian maritime merchant
communities in Quanzhou.
According to Yang Weizhong (2015) and other Chinese researchers, the
earliest historical record on the visit of Indian monk to Quanzhou is in 561.
In 546, an Indian monk, Tipitakacariya Paramattha, also called Gunarata
(498–569 AD) came to China. He landed in Liang’an port at present-day
Quanzhou and stayed in a local temple and translated sutra from Sanskrit
until he left in 562.
Maritime trade and the transmission of Buddhist doctrines are among the
most significant sources of cultural influence on Southeast Asia in the first
millennium C.E. and the first half of the second millennium; the influence
region was what we generically refer to as the South China Sea.
There has also been much work done on the Tamil inscriptions discov-
ered in Southeast and East Asia, and the associated Tamil guilds.
The earliest one of the associations that have left a record was the
Manigramam, which appears to have been actively involved in transit trades
bypassing the Malacca Straits during a period of local political turmoil.
However, most of the thirteenth-century Tamil inscriptions there do not
appear to mention merchant associations, perhaps reflecting the sharp decline
in the economic power of these associations within South India during the
thirteenth century. With the development of the Chinese navigation tech-
nology and shipbuilding industry, they were gradually replaced by Chinese
merchants, who established trade posts in Southeast Asia.
According to John Guy’s research, Chinese merchant patrons also estab-
lished Buddhist temples and a stupa in Nagapattinam of Tamil Nadu during
the Pallava, and in 1725, European traveler Valentyn visited the tower and
recorded the pagoda. According to John Guy (1993), the brick pagoda, known
by Valentine as the “Chinese pagoda,” was in the shape of a Buddhist pagoda
of the Song and Yuan Dynasties (between the twelfth and thirteenth cen-
turies). The Chinese merchant community in Nagapattinam built the brick
pagoda.4
At the request of Walter Elliot, a British official who worked in South
India in 1846, the tower with a remaining height of 30 meters was surveyed
and mapped. In March 1856, five Buddhist statues were unearthed in the cel-
lar of the brick house next to the tower, four of which were bronze and one
ceramic. In 1867, the pagoda was demolished by Jesuit missionaries with the
approval of the British government (Guy, 1993).
In 1350, Wang Dayuan, a Chinese maritime explorer and the author of
Daoyi zhilüe [A Brief Account of Island Barbarians] also recorded a pagoda of a
mud-brick mixed structure erected on the plain of Patan, South India, under
which a stone inscription recorded in Chinese characters the year of comple-
tion by Chinese sea merchants.
Surrounded by red rocks on the plain of Patan, there stands a pagoda of a mud-brick
mixed structure. The tower measures several zhang’s heights (1 zhang=3.072m). The
stone tablet is engraved with Chinese characters, which says it was completed in
1267. It is said that Chinese traders here in Patan had the inscription carved on the
stone at that time, which has been preserved to the present day.5
In the same period in history, a lot of South Indian Tamil merchants came
to Zayton and settled down there. The historical relics and archeological
evidence revealed that Zayton used to be a home away from home of Tamil
merchants from South India. There were at least one or more Tamil Hindu
temples in Zayton.
Among ancient religious sculptures survived to the present day in
Quanzhou, an extensive collection of stone items with Hindu motifs were
under investigation by the researchers to find out whether local Chinese or
India artists carved them.
According to John Guy’s research, it was believed that these stone items
were from a disappeared Hindu temple in medieval Quanzhou.6
In 1956, a Tamil stele with a regnal year was discovered by Wu Wenliang,
a local amateur archeologist, in the old town of Quanzhou. The inscriptions
were written in 1281 AD and were inscribed in Tamil and Chinese.
N. Subrahmaniam is the first scholar who linked the stone sculptures dis-
covered in Quanzhou with the style of the Chola Dynasty in South India in
the paper published in The South India Research in 1978.7
The two stone pillars in Kaiyuan Temple are the worthiest of attention
in the study of medieval Hindu stone carvings in Quanzhou. Behind the
main hall “Mahavira Hall” of Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, there are two
columns and other stone carving fragments from a Shiva temple built in 1281
by the Tamil-speaking community in Quanzhou dedicated to Hindu God
Shiva.8 An earthquake in 1604 caused severe damage to Kaiyuan Temple.
When it was repaired in 1637, two Hindu style pillars were brought in and
relocated to Kaiyuan Temple. The sixteen circular relief sculptures on the
Hindu stone pillars, eight of which depict the legendary stories of Hinduism,
provide valuable clues for scholars studying the Hindu religious culture of
ancient Quanzhou.9
Compared each sculpture unearthed in Quanzhou to similar ones in South
India, David Yu (2007) provided compelling evidence to prove that the style
originated from those in South India during the Chola Dynasty and that these
stone items with Hindu motif were copies of the Chola style generated by
artists of local training.
With the structural differences in the columnar stones that played a
supporting role in temples in different historical periods of southern India,
researches on the two sets of columnar stones collected by the Quanzhou
Maritime Museum indicate that they belong to the Later Cholas (1100–1350)
and the Vijayanagara period (1350–1600) of Southern India.
They are just as the historical heritage of the Hindu cultural influence
found today throughout the Southeast Asia which owes much to the legacy
of the Cholas.
As it is shown in the historical relics, southern India developed exten-
sive maritime and commercial activity toward the end of the ninth century.
“The Cholas excelled in foreign trade and maritime activity, extending their
influence overseas to China and Southeast Asia.”10 According to Kulke &
Rothermund (2001), the South Indian guilds played an essential role in inter-
regional and overseas trade in Southeast Asia. According to Mukund (1999),
“The best known of these were the Manigramam and Ayyavole guilds” who
followed the conquering Chola armies.
Mukund (1999) also indicated that the encouragement by the Chola
court furthered the expansion of Tamil merchant associations, including the
Ayyavole and Manigramam guilds into Southeast Asia and China.
Therefore, some credit for the formation of the pre-modern maritime net-
work must also go to the Chola Dynasty and the Song Dynasty, both of which
played a crucial role in linking the markets of China to the rest of the world.
According to Tansen Sen (2003), the market structure and economic
policies of the Chola Dynasty were more conducive to a large scale, cross-re-
gional maritime trade than those enacted by the Chinese Song Dynasty.
A historical record of the Chola Dynasty gives its rationale for engage-
ment in maritime trades: “Make the merchants of distant foreign countries
who import elephants and good horses attach to yourself by providing them
with villages and decent dwellings in the city, by affording them daily audi-
ence, presents and allowing them profits. Then those articles will never go to
your enemies. (Sen, 2003)”
Several Chinese historical books in the Song Dynasty record that an
embassy from sent by Chola monarch Rajendra (1014–1044) reached the
Chinese court in 1015 and the tribute delegation came in 1077 again. Similar
records about the maritime connection between Zayton harbor and the Chola
were kept in Zhu Fanzhi, which was written by Zhao Rugua (1170–1228) in
1226 and Lingwai dai da (About Regions beyond the Mountain Passes) by
Zhou Qufei (1174–1189).
According to Nilakanta Sastri (1955), the Cholas maintained a healthy
relationship with the Chinese Song Dynasty.11 During the reign of Rajendra
Chola, I (i.e., 1016–1033) and Kulothunga Chola I (i.e., in 1077), commer-
cial and political diplomats were sent to China. This tribute trade was a highly
profitable trading venture, and they returned with copper coins in exchange
for articles of tribute, including glass and spices. Similar records could be
found in the historical documents of the Song Dynasty.
Under the leadership of Rajaraja and his son and successor Rajendra
(1014–1044), the expansionist conquests had expanded to the whole of South
India and overseas to northern Sri Lanka, the Maldives and even Sumatra.
As it was recorded by Nilakanta Sastri (1955), “The Chola kings were
avid builders and envisioned the Hindu temples in their kingdoms not only as
places of worship but also as economic and social centers,” providing primary
schooling for young children in the community.
Regarding its scale and grandeur, the temple founded by Rajaraja in

Thanjavur marked a significant change in the conception of the Hindu tem-
ple in South India. Its explicitly royal character also established a model fol-
lowed by the other Chola temples.
The Cholas left a lasting legacy. “Their patronage of art and their zeal in
building temples have resulted in some great works of architectural wonders.”
(Suguneswari, 2012) The Chola style introduced into Southeast Asia had a
profound influence on the architectural art of Southeast Asia.
The historical relics and a stone inscription found in Quanzhou bear tes-
timony to the close commercial and cultural exchange between South India
and Zayton.
The standing statue of Vishnu collected in the Quanzhou Maritime
Museum is beautifully sculpted and elegantly proportioned. Also, there is
other Hindu Tamil stone carving including Shiva, Linga, and Nataraja which
were discovered in the 1930s around the site of the deserted Tamil temple.12
Sculptures were on a modest scale, which was located on the sacred sites cel-
ebrated by the Shaiva nayanmar and the Vaishnava alvars. As it is described
in the historical records of the Chola Dynasty, the wandering poet-saints sang
their praises of Shiva and Vishnu in localized forms in passionate, poetic devo-
tion songs in the Tamil vernacular.
The stone carving with a blending Chinese touching was made of local
granite. Language mistakes in the inscription and a blending genre in stone
reveal that local artists might make the stone carving according to the draft
provided by Tamil merchants in Zayton.
John Guy (2001) published a similar conclusion after an on-site inspec-
tion in Quanzhou. John Guy’s paper was included in The Emporium of the
world: Maritime Quanzhou, 1000–1400 (2001, Brill) edited by Angela
Schottenhammer.13 Also, there are other stone carvings of Indian style kept
in Kaiyuan Temple.
Victor Mair (1989) and many scholars argued that Hanuman relief on
the fourth floor of the West Pagoda in Kaiyuan Temple is evidence showing
that Hanuman became incorporated into Chinese Buddhism during the Song
Dynasty and became the prototype of the legendary story of Sun Wukong, the
Monkey King assistant to Husan Tsang’s pilgrim tour to India.
According to Wang Liming (2016), “human-face animal figure” on the
74 embossed stone carvings on the front platform of Kaiyuan Temple was
relocated to the temple between 1594 and 1637. Known as the goddess of the
Kamadenu with human-face cattle in South India, the body of Kamadenu
will also be decorated as a lion. At least two scintillas were found in southern
India. In 1947, the other side, Kamadru, was carved in massive Hindu sculp-
tures near the south of a schoolyard.
Over 300 Hindu architectural and sculptural fragments have been iden-
tified in Quanzhou since they were first discovered in 1933 (Pearson, Min, &
Guo, 2002).
Today, most of the sculptures and statues with Hindu influence are exhib-
ited in the Quanzhou Maritime Museum. The sites of discoveries stretch across
more than a dozen locations in the old town. The most recent findings were in
the 1980s, and it is possible that there are other sites yet to be discovered. The
Quanzhou Maritime Museum has now opened a special exhibit showcasing
Quanzhou’s historical links with South India.
Since many similar stone fragments were found near the Tonghuai Gate
as part of the city wall rebuilt in the Ming Dynasty, it is likely that there was
a Hindu temple in the southeastern part of the city.
Historians believe that the temple is “one of a network of more than a
dozen Hindu temples or shrines, including two grand prominent temples,
built in Quanzhou and surrounding villages by a community of Tamil traders
who lived there.”14
The historical links between Quanzhou’s temples and Tamil were largely
forgotten until the 1930s when dozens of stones showing images of the god
Narasimha—the man-lion avatar of Hindu god Vishnu—were unearthed by
Wu Wenliang. Stone carvings include “Elephant statues and images narrating
mythological stories related to Vishnu and Shiva were also found, bearing a
style and pattern that was almost identical to what was evident in the temples
of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh from a similar period.”15 Although the
exact location of the preexisted Hindu temple in Quanzhou still could not be
identified, we could find local featured historic sites and monuments under
the influence of Hindu or Buddhism style in the old town of Quanzhou.
Due to the historical links between Quanzhou and South India, mainly
the frequent exchange in the thirteenth century, we still could find ancient
architectural remains in Quanzhou exhibit the extensive influence of Esoteric
Buddhism. There are also references for some other Buddhist monasteries
in Quanzhou. The twelfth-century work, the Zhufanzhi, describes that a
Buddhist temple called Baolinyuan was built in the tenth century. However,
in the present day, more details about the temple are not available.
These historical relics embedded cultural influence from India include the
Stupas on Luoyang Bridge and Kaiyuan Temple, built only in the period of the
Song Dynasty, witnessing the eastward spread of Esoteric Buddhism of India

via the maritime routes.
To win the support of the local people, missionaries in Zayton translated
the term dharma as Taoism, Buddhism and other religions’ missionaries tried
to be localized to fit into the local Chinese traditions. The continuous pres-
ence of maritime merchants with different religious backgrounds contributes
to the development of cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence in Zayton.
In addition to Buddhist statues, stone pillars inscribed with Sanskrit sutra and
the Mahavira Hall of Kaiyuan Temple; such influence is more extensively
demonstrated in a large population of local Buddhist and their way of life.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, folklore from the coastal areas of
the Indian Ocean spread to Quanzhou with trades, which brought new fea-
tures to Quanzhou society. The Indian Ocean folklore has had a profound
impact on folk art in Quanzhou due to long-term trades and interaction.
Section 3: Chan Buddhism’s Transmission

to Japan
The transmission history of Buddhism gives us a critical insight to understand
the interregional trade routes between South and East Asia. Buddhism played
an important role in encouraging the religious interactions between South
India, Sri Lanka, and East Asia. These interactions both took place along
Maritime Silk Trade Routes, and Silk Road crossed Asia during the middle of the
first millennium.
Buddhism’s Transmission to Japan
Buddhism was introduced in Japan in the eighth century during the Nara
period (710–794) and the Heian period (794–1192).16 Monks from Japan
braved the perils of sea travel to seek Buddhism doctrines in China, and
one had to endure the hardships of life in a foreign country, while Chinese
Buddhism masters made similar sacrifices to transmit the teachings of
Buddhism to Japan.
As early as the Tianbao period (742–756) of the Tang Dynasty, Master
Yujing, the monk of the Chao Gong Temple in Quanzhou followed Master
Jian Zhen (or Ganjin in Japanese) to promulgate Buddhism in Japan. In
11 years from 743 to 754, Jianzhen attempted to sail to Japan six times. In the
year 754, Jian Zhen finally landed in Japan. When Jianzhen finally succeeded
on his sixth attempt, he had lost his eyesight as a result of his hardship.
During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Buddhism became the faith
of all people from all classes in Japan. The widespread of Buddhism in Japan
was due in part to the many monks who brought Buddhism to the masses
from China. Among different schools of Buddhism widely spread in Japan,
Zen is the Japanese development of the school of Mahayana Buddhism that
originated in China as Chan Buddhism. Zen practitioners trace their beliefs
to the school of Mahayana Buddhism from India. However, its emphasis on
the possibility of sudden enlightenment and a close connection with nature
derive from Chinese Chan Buddhism.
Chan Buddhism, Called Zen in Japan, “was not introduced as a sepa-
rate school in Japan until the twelfth century during the Kamakura period
(1192–1333)”. Zen Buddhism developed by Chinese Chan Buddhism and
other Buddhist schools. According to Kraft (1992), the period during which
Chan Buddhism “took root in Japan lasted nearly two hundred years, from the
late twelfth century through the mid-fourteenth century.”
Chan Buddhism was the most popular localized school of Buddhism in
China. Chan Buddhism pays less interest in written texts, instead emphasized
intuition and sudden flashes of insight in their search for spiritual enlight-
enment. Like the concept of enlightenment, the same written character is
pronounced “Chan” in Chinese and “Zen” in Japanese, which means “medi-
tation,” emphasize individual meditative practice to achieve self-realization,
thereby, enlightenment.
“Not only did the same character refer equally to Chan and Zen,”17 but the
monks in Japan believed there being faithful to the tradition they inherited
from China. The frequent visit of Japanese monks for Chan in the Southern
Song (1127–1279) and Yuan (1260–1368) periods “make it difficult to con-
trast Chinese precedents with Japanese reformulations, but it is clear that
new interpretations were part of the transmission process.”18 For instance, ele-
ments that the Japanese identified with authentic Chan were common forms
of Buddhism in the Song Dynasty.
Moreover, both Chan or Zen acknowledge the concept of enlightenment
as something monolithic and unchanging, but the term is also regarded as “a
localized interpretation for a continuously evolving spiritual and its historical
tradition that varies considerably from one context to another.”19
Also, rather than rely on powerful deities or sutra, both Chan and Zen
stress the importance of the role of a mentor, with whom a disciple has a
heart-mind connection. The stress on the heart-mind relationship between

a mentor and his disciple allows the mentor to offer the student helpful assis-
tance in his or her spiritual development.
Buddha Statues and Dehua Porcelains
Regarding Buddhist imagery, Zen-related representations often are relatively

austere, encourage a contemplative attitude, and can be closely linked to
Chinese prototypes. When Zen Buddhism was popular in Japan in the Yuan
Dynasty (1271–1368), one of the main porcelain products of Dehua was the
Buddha statues.
At the time, the Japanese were fervent admirers of small ceramic Buddha
statues, celadons, Qingbai wares imported from China. The porcelain wares
made in Dehua and other places of China went to Japan, Korea, and Southeast
Asia via Fujian’s port of Quanzhou during the period of Song and Yuan. During
the Jiading period (1208–1225) of the Southern Song Dynasty, a Japanese
potter Katō Shirōzaemon (Toshiro) traveled across the sea to Dehua to learn
pottery making skills.
Katō Shirōzaemon is credited as the first to produce wares in Seto
after he studied the art of pottery in Dehua, Quanzhou in the 1220s.20
After several failed attempts at looking for the clay to produce wares in
various Japanese towns, finally, Shirōzaemon founded a successful kiln at
Seto. Other potters followed after that Seto became a renowned center for
ceramic production.
Seto Potters drew inspiration from Chinese ceramics, including green cel-
adon porcelains and dark brown wares. The earliest Seto ceramics may have
evolved from failed attempts to reproduce porcelains of Dehua.
During the Kamakura period, wares produced in Seto imitated the pottery
of the Song Dynasty in China. Later, in the Muromachi period (1337–1573),
Seto glazes were refined, and the styles developed there spread to other areas
in Japan such as modern Gifu Prefecture (Munsterberg, 1964).
Tea Ceremony
As a traditional ritual, the Japanese tea ceremony was greatly influenced by

Zen Buddhism. The first documented evidence of the introduction of tea to
Japan dates back to the ninth century when tea was introduced to Japan by
the Buddhist monk Eichū (永忠) on his return from China.
The public in Japan drank tea out of wooden bowls when tea was first
introduced to Japan in the early times. The introduction of pottery making
technology from Dehua of Quanzhou not only improved the pottery burn-
ing but also changed the way of life in Japan gradually when pottery wares
began to use in the tea ceremony. The natural appearance of the pottery fit the
esthetic of Zen and to change the esthetic values the Japanese viewed objects.
Around the end of the twelfth century in Japan, the process of tea prepa-
ration called “ten cha” (the same pronunciation in Quanzhou), in which pow-
dered matcha was placed into a bowl and added with hot water, and then the
tea and hot water were whipped together, was introduced to Japan by Eisai,21
a Japanese monk, on his return from China. The powdered green tea was first
used in religious rituals in Buddhist monasteries.22
By the thirteenth century, when the Kamakura Shogunate ruled Japan,
tea, and the luxuries associated with it became a kind of social status symbol
among the class of Samurai. There arose tea-tasting (tōcha, the same pronun-
ciation in Quanzhou) parties wherein contestants could win fantastic prizes
for guessing the best quality tea—that grown in Kyoto, deriving from the seeds
that Eisai brought from China.23
Influenced by Zen Buddhist traditions, the tea ceremony was established
to reflect the concept of wabi-suki, suki meaning “artistic inclination,” and
“wabi” meaning “forlorn,” which is derived from “wabi-sabi,” “the belief of
emphasizing simplicity, humility, and intense appreciation of the immedi-
ate experience.”24 The words wabi and sabi do not translate into other lan-
guages easily. Wabi initially meant simply “finding satisfaction in poverty.”
In Zen Buddhist’s context, Wabi referred to the loneliness of living in nature,
remote from society25; Around the fourteenth century, these meanings began
to change, taking on more positive connotations. Wabi now connotes rus-
tic simplicity, freshness or quietness, and can be applied to both natural and
human-made objects, or understated elegance.26
Ancient tea masters described wabisuki (a taste for all things wabi) as “put-
ting one’s whole heart to it and practice for it many times.” For example, Zen
practitioners believed cleaning is a wabi practice; every time we sweep, dust or
wash the floor, we are creating a clean space. Cleaning the environment is a
ritual means of cleansing the mind.
In traditional Japanese esthetics, wabi-sabi is a worldview centered on the
acceptance of transience and imperfection which is a concept derived from
the Buddhist teaching of the three marks of existence, specifically imperma-
nence, suffering and emptiness or absence of self-nature.
Just as a saying in Zen, “Ichi-go-ichi-e,” which means “The only chance in

one’s life” or “The only–the first and the last–meeting in life.” Tea masters preach
that every meeting is a once-in-a-lifetime occasion to enjoy good company.27
Based on the religious exchange during the medieval time between
Zayton and another coastal area in China, Zen has developed into a localized
Buddhism school in Japan context, which has a profound influence on the
local culture and Japanese ways of life.
The rising popularity of Zen Buddhism and the popularity of the tea cere-
mony profoundly affected the esthetic tastes and preferences of Japanese.
Chan and Zen both values intuitions instead of systematic, logical think-
ing and developed expressionistic and suggestive, rather than explicit and
descriptive painting styles, poetic forms as well as spiritual enlightenment to
improve one’s intuition.
Hundreds of years after the time of Shakyamuni in India, Buddhism devel-
oped a rich tradition of visual imagery for depicting divine beings. Buddhism
imagery and icons offer Buddhist messages or information through their hand
gestures.28 Familiar gestures include the ones for meditation, teaching, assuag-
ing fear, and wish-fulfilling.
The appearance of Buddhist imagery varies at different times and places.
The skill of the craftspeople, the materials used and local stylistic preferences,
and religious requirements may add regional characteristics to it (Honour, &
Fleming, 2005). Whereas Zen-related representations in Japan often are rela-
tively austere, encourage a contemplative attitude, and can be closely linked
to Chinese prototypes.
Several centuries after Zen was first introduced into Japan; it did not
become firmly established until the thirteenth century when the Samurai
class began to favor this school of thought.
According to Kenneth Kraft (1997), the last Japanese pilgrim to transmit
Chan Buddhism teachings, Daisetsu Sono (1313–1377), completed his travels
in China and returned to Japan in 1358. It is said that Daisetsu Sono visited
Kaiyuan Temple for Chan Doctrines in Quanzhou during his stay in Fujian,
China. The endpoints delineate a vital era of religious and cultural transmis-
sion that has decisively influenced the development of Japanese civilization.
Quanzhou Kaiyuan Temple is a major Buddhist temple in Southern
China, which was frequently visited by Japanese monks. In 1217, Keisei
Shonin came to Kaiyuan Temple in a returning merchant ship of Quanzhou.
Upon his return, he brought two collections of the sutra, including “Chongning
Wanshou Collection” and “Da Zang Jing,” both of which have been kept in
the library of Japan’s Imperial Household Ministry. Among the books Keisei
Shonin brought to Japan, there is a collection of Arabic poems then circulat-
ing among the Arab diaspora in Quanzhou.
As religious doctrines and ideas have a strong influence on social life,
economics, and ethics, as well as the relationship between religions, the study
of cultural factors in the maritime exchange between Zayton and Japan, in
addition to religion, cannot neglect the influences of the characteristics of
ways of thinking between two peoples. For example, most Chinese have char-
acteristic ways of thinking shared by the devotees of Confucianism, Taoism,
and Buddhism.
A foreign religion may wholly transform the ways of thinking of a people
or a nation, and at the same time, the ways of thinking peculiar to a group
of people have reciprocally changed the foreign religion itself. For example,
Chan is a localized school of Buddhism from India, and it was a new interpre-
tation of Buddhism in China.
Similarly, this eclecticism also occurs among the Japanese with Shintoism,
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Christianity, which shows the fact that in Japan
there is a tendency of localization under the influence of the characteristic of
Japan’s culture. Zen may be considered a new interpretation of Chan inher-
ited from the Chinese antecedents and the ways that Chan was conceived and
experienced by the Japanese.
Section 4: A City of Culture on the Southeast

Coast of China
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, with the development of maritime
trade, Quanzhou witnessed the prosperity of public and private education,
Quanzhou has become a place endowed with fine spirits, continuous cultural
well-being and abundant talented people, which had become a model port
city for its culture and education. Quanzhou was found on the land of ancient
Minyue since the third century, immigrants from the central part of China
moved to the South and settled down along the Jinjiang River. As the pop-
ulation was gradually growing, the Tang Dynasty established the system of
prefectures and counties and local officials carried out educational activities,
which resulted in the prosperity of private schools and folk people empha-
sized the importance of education and motivated young people to study.
The flourishing maritime trade promoted the people-to-people commu-

nication and the prosperity of education and culture in Quanzhou and its
neighboring area in the south coastal Fujian, which resulted in the inter-re-
gion cooperation and integration both in culture and economy. The southern
Fujian consists of Quanzhou and its neighboring port city including Xinghua
to the north and Zhangzhou to the south.
Zhu Xi and His Philosophy of Universal Order and

Human Nature
In the ninth century, the prosperity brought by trade stimulated the devel-
opment of culture, and the local elite shared this achievement. At this
time, Quanzhou’s traditional fields such as Taoism were revived, and the
Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism flourished.
As a new school of Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism is a moral, ethical,
and Chinese metaphysical philosophy that originated in the Tang Dynasty
(618–907).
Over the centuries after the Han Dynasty, the influence of Confucianism
had lost ground to Daoism and Buddhism gradually, so the Neo-Confucians
adapted Confucian principles to tackle the fundamental nature of reality.
Tang and Song Confucian writers aimed to establish a system that was
able to explain the universe and its relationship with a human being in a way
that could cope with the sophisticated Buddhist philosophy.
Neo-Confucianism combined Taoist and Buddhist ideas with existing
Confucian ideas to create a complete philosophical system that had ever
lived before. Neo-Confucianism was developed in the Song Dynasty in the
light of two converging realities, namely, the desire to prove the true moral
nature of the universe and to promote a sociopolitical revival through ethical
education. According to Robert Foster (2008), “Neo-Confucians developed
integrated social, political, and philosophical systems pointing toward the
individual’s obligation to find the appropriate role within these overlapping
systems and thereby contribute to universal harmony.”29
Neo-Confucianism developed as a renaissance of traditional Confucian
ideas, and as the assimilation of the views of Buddhism and religious Daoism.
Although the Neo-Confucianists criticized Buddhist metaphysics and super-
stition of Taoism, Neo-Confucianism did borrow Daoist and Buddhist termi-
nology and concepts. Many schools of Confucianism have, however, declared
their opposition to the Buddhist and Taoist belief systems, despite their impor-
tance and popularity in Chinese tradition.
Combining Confucian ethical thoughts with the philosophical ideas of
Taoist, Neo-Confucianism was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty
(960–1280 C.E.). It advocated Confucian ideas about society-such as social,
ecological, and political harmony. The significance of li (principle) in the
Neo-Confucian philosophy gave the renaissance movement its Chinese name
when it became prominent during the Song and Ming dynasties, which means
“the study of principle.”
One of the most influential advocates of Neo-Confucianism was Zhu Xi
(1130–1200). Born on October 18, 1130 in Fujian Province’s Youxi, Zhu Xi
worked as an official at Tongan County of Quanzhou Prefecture. In 1153,
Zhuxi’s first official position was as a registrar in the Quanzhou county of
Tong’an. He reformed local tax and criminal systems, improved the local
school, and created a formal code of conduct and ritual. In history, Zhuzi has
a significant contribution to has a profound influence on Quanzhou culture.
His new reinterpretation of Confucius has a profound impact on the societies
in China, most of East Asia and Southeast Asia.
In the eleventh and twelfth centuries, Confucian thinkers put forward the
core values of Neo-Confucianism. The study of classical Confucian texts and
its new rival interpretation and the role of Neo-Confucianism in society and
politics had been widely debated. They concentrated on explaining and com-
menting on critical Confucian Classics like the Mengzi, the Analects Lunyu,
the Great Learning Daxue, and the Doctrine of the Mean Zhongyong.
Neo-Confucianism in the period of the Song and Ming Dynasties absorbed
the positive factors of Buddhism and Taoism, and emphasized principle and
righteousness, which is the ethical and moral theory of Confucianism, and
put forward a series of very logical philosophical categories and theoretical
structures. Neo-Confucianism includes its ontology, the method of human-
ity as the basis of morality, the self-cultivation theory to cultivate conscious
desire. Besides, its philosophy of mind is the reflection of the nature of mental
phenomena, especially the relation of the brain to the body and the rest of the
physical world. In addition, the different level of self-realization theory, cov-
ering the self-cultivation to public service, all take ethics as the core content.
Moreover, by putting forward the moral proposition of “to suppress human’s
desire to save nature,” Neo-Confucianism incorporated ascetic thoughts
from Buddhism and Taoism and turned the rational desire into the core of
Neo-Confucianism.
In the twelfth century, Zhu Xi (1130–1200) reformed and stream-

lined traditional Confucianism. He is considered a great thinker of Neo-
Confucianism. It was his vision of the Confucian tradition that eventually
became the orthodoxy of national ideology and culture in the thirteenth
century. “Any scholars who hoped to attend the official public service exam-
ination and become “an official in Late Imperial China had to spend years
studying and memorizing the core texts and commentaries as collated and
written by Zhu Xi. Challenges to Zhu Xi’s orthodoxy arose in later periods,
particularly in the Ming Dynasty with Wang Yangming; but no alternative
entirely displaced Zhu Xi’s orthodox status within the imperial examination
system.”30
Due to intensive maritime exchange between Quanzhou and the Korean
peninsula during the Song Dynasties, Zhu Xi (1130–1200) has a significant
impact on the intellectual orthodoxies of East Asia, especially the Korean
peninsula, and Vietnam. Korean intellectuals are the followers of Zhuxi in
the Song Dynasty, and the ideas of Wang Yangming (1472–1529) dominated
Korea in the late Ming.31 Koreans insisted on maintaining their intellectual
orthodoxies inherited from the Neo-Confucianism represented by Zhuxi.
Confucianism in East Asia has a vast continuity—it has been widely spread to
Korea and Japan and rewritten over time. Confucianism has passed down to
the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, derives primarily from the school of
the Neo-Confucians, led by Zhu Xi. Researchers attribute the success of these
countries to the same tradition.32
The Confucius Temple of Quanzhou Witnessed the

Flourishing of the Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism
Located in the center of the old downtown, the Confucius Temple of Quanzhou
is the largest existing complex featuring architectural elements of the Song,
Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties in the southeast of China, which witnessed
the real prosperity of Quanzhou in economy and culture.
The architectural complex was first constructed from 976 to 984, and now
it is notable for its age and grand size.
A Confucius Temple was not just a shrine to commemorate Confucius
(551–479 BCE), a famous sage and social philosopher of China.
The architecture complex under the name of a Confucius Temple includes
an education institution and an imperial civil examination center. Along with
the imperial public examination and education system Confucius Temples
represent, the collected thoughts of Confucius have profoundly influenced

East Asia for more than a thousand years.
Confucian scholars espoused social virtues such as sincerity, righteous-
ness, personal and governmental ethics, and the importance of social relation-
ships. The values and collected thoughts of Confucianism “gained a following
as they were inherently compatible with traditional Chinese values rooted
in the concepts of filial piety, proper social hierarchy,”33 and ethical morals
including respect for the seniors and ancestors.
The values and moral-ethical thoughts of Confucian scholars eventually
developed into a philosophical system, known as Confucianism in the West,
which has since become an integral facet of China as well as East Asia’s cul-
tural fabric.
The imperial public examination in ancient China, based on criteria of
selecting scholar-officials and impartial standards of nine grades of official
rank, lasted more than 1300 years, from the Sui and Tang Dynasties to the
Qing Dynasty.34
The grand Confucius Temple in Quanzhou is but one of the many
Confucian educational architecture complexes that have been constructed in
Quanzhou in dedication to the ancient sage.
According to Hugh Clark’s in-depth analysis of several Quanzhou’s lin-
eages, their emergence was facilitated and accelerated by the booming mar-
itime economy. Many of these families and genealogies engaged in maritime
trade, agriculture, or manufacturing. As the merchants had low social esteem
at that time, they could offer the expensive private education for their chil-
dren, so that they could target the civil service examination.35
Quanzhou is referred to as the center of the imperial examination
by Professor John Chaffee. According to John Chaffee’s research (1980),
the proportion of Jinshi Scholars admitted by the Xinghua Municipal is
the highest in the whole country.36 Compared with that, Quanzhou ranks
among the top ten in the country regarding the total number of Jinshi
Scholars, although it is much less in per capita terms. In the Southern
Song Dynasty, the overall performance of the public service examination
in South Fujian made significant progress. In the Southern Song Dynasty,
Quanzhou and Zhangzhou outnumbered the Xinghuajun (now Putian).
The total number of scholars who won the title of Jinshi in the public
service examination in the South Fujian rose from 895 in the Northern
Song Dynasty to 1325 in the Southern Song Dynasty, with a growth rate
of 48% (Chaffee, 1980). The increase of Jin Shi’s surnames shows that
the social basis of the imperial civil service examination in the Southern
Song Dynasty has been broadened, all of which is due to the expansion of
regional prosperity.
Although the number of Jinshi in the public service examination may not
reveal the whole picture of social mobility and the channels for joining the
existing elite, there is no doubt that the elite in southern Fujian has extended
to the newly affluent. Clark (1991) made an in-depth analysis of some prom-
inent families in the south of Fujian and concluded that the prosperous mar-
itime trade was the main reason to promote and accelerate the birth of these
families. Many such families or clans are engaged in the marine business and
manual manufacturing, agricultural production. At the same time, they also
let their children receive an expensive education, hoping they will succeed in
the imperial civil service examination.
However, in the Yuan Dynasty, the scholar’s status was no longer so sacred
as that in the Song Dynasty. The abolition of the imperial civil examination
system disabled them to have the chance to be an official.
Indeed, from today’s perspective, the imperial examination system is out-
dated. However, it advocates fair competition and merit-based admission.
The spirit of opening the civil power to the public is no doubt more
advantageous compared to the old aristocracy, hierarchy and monarchy sys-
tems of the West.
In this sense, we can say that the modern civil service system was estab-
lished based on the improvement of the imperial examination.
The Confucius Temple of Quanzhou Prefecture
The Confucius Temple of Quanzhou is located at the Tumen Community,

Haibin Sub-district of Licheng District, Quanzhou, which was the most pros-
perous area in the center of the ancient city of Quanzhou.
Confucius Temple of Quanzhou was constructed from 976 to 984 (during
the Taiping Xingguo period of the Northern Song Dynasty). Continued
expansion and restoration over the centuries have added to the perfection
of the architectural layout and features of the temple. The existing structure
was mainly formed during the Song Dynasty. Dacheng Gate, Dacheng Hall,
Jinsheng Gate, and Yuzhen Gate still retain the stone foundation and plat-
form of the Song Dynasty, and their wooden structures were constructed in
the Qing Dynasty according to the original look. The center of the temple is
Dacheng Hall, a typical wooden structure style with double eaves and raised
beams and wings of the Song Dynasty.37 It is seven bays wide, 35.3 m, and
five bays deep, 22.7 m. The dougong (bracket sets) used the original Song
module structure, and 48 white stone pillars support the lower brackets. The
hall enshrines a portrait of Confucius, who is accompanied by his four most
essential disciples and twelve sages. Before the courtyard is the half-moon
shaped Panchi Pond, over which is the Yuan Dynasty Panqiao Bridge, which
is a beam-type stone bridge with an arched central section, soft lines, and
stone handrails.
Quanzhou’s Confucius Temple is southeast China’s most massive exist-
ing Confucius Temple complex with architectural styles of the Song, Yuan,
Ming and Qing Dynasties, with well-preserved Song Dynasty structural com-
ponents. This temple witnessed the prosperity of the cultural life of Quanzhou
during the prosperous period of the ancient maritime trade and the inclusive-
ness and diverse cultural traditions of ancient Quanzhou.
Section 5: The Persian and Arab Muslim

Diaspora in Quanzhou
The contact of mariners and traders from diverse origins is an integral element
in studying the East Asia and Indian Ocean maritime realm, and its historical
evolution.
Chinese porcelain wares, silk fabrics, and daily goods traveled to harbors
along the Maritime Silk Trade Routes, while jewelry and spices from the Arab
World were shipped to ports along the coastline of China, among which
Quanzhou, called Zayton in ancient times, stood out as the most significant
trade port of China.
The archeological evidence for the Indian Ocean trade and East Asia
network shows that there were maritime contacts between West Asia and East
Asia between the third and seventh centuries. Maritime trades brought many
treasures from the Sassanid Persia including glassware, tapestries, and musical
instruments, excavated in Korean tombs (Gyeongju, Korea) and preserved in
Shosoin (In Nara, Japan), which were probably transported from China to
Korea and Japan.38
The earliest foreign historical record about the significance of Quanzhou
as a trade port in China was documented in The Book of Roads and Kingdoms,
a ninth-century geography text by Ibn Khordadbeh, a Persian geographer who
came to China in the Tang Dynasty.39
The book maps the major trade routes of the time within and beyond the
Muslim world and describes distant trading regions such as China, Korea, and
Japan. From the south to the north of China coast, the trade ports were listed
as followed: Loukin (current in Vietnam), Khanfou (Guangzhou), Djanfou
(Quanzhou), and Kantou (Yangzhou).40
Maritime trade between China and the Arab World culminated between
the tenth and fourteenth centuries.
With the prosperity of overseas trade in the thirteenth century reached
its peak, many maritime traders and explorers came to Quanzhou, the most
prosperous harbor of the empire of Yuan.
Thanks to trade activities initiated by Muslim maritime merchants,
European, Indian, and Central Asian people came to settle in Quanzhou, run-
ning the business and building living quarters here. Quanzhou thus became
their second homeland on the China coast.
It is remarkable that Quanzhou still preserves a good wealth of histori-
cal monuments and sites that bear witness to trade contracts, immigration
activities and cultural exchanges between China and Western World in the
tenth to fourteenth centuries. They carry significant testimonies to East-West
exchanges in a substantial period of world navigation history.
Persian merchants came to China via maritime routes during the Sassanid
period (226–651) before the city of Quanzhou in coastal Fujian Province,
southeastern China rose to prominence as an international trading port in
the twelfth to fourteenth centuries AD (Park, 2012), the first communica-
tion between East and West Asia was believed to start as early as the first
millennium A.D. However, Chinese ceramics did not become regular export
merchandise to the middle East until maritime trade was thriving in the
early ninth century. Though China at that time was the only country in the
world making high-fired glazed ceramics. Contemporary archeological sites
in Quanzhou provide evidence that Western Asian turquoise jars had been
brought to China as utensils as early as the ninth century. It is believed that
Western Asian pots were brought to China in small quantities, which may
serve initially as shipping containers for foodstuffs consumed by Western
Asian navigators. A few of those jars may also go to local elites in coastal
China, who treasured the jars enough to include them in burials. It is inter-
esting that those jars did come in small quantities and may not have survived
to be found by archeologists.41 However, the Turquoise jars have been discov-
ered in two ninth-century sites in Quanzhou and Fuzhou, respectively in the
southeast coast of China. Hence, we may infer that the ninth-tenth centuries
marked the high point of these imports before maritime trade contributed
to the port of Quanzhou’s economic prosperity during the Song and Yuan
Dynasties.42
Three Persian blue jars were unearthed in a tomb of Min Kingdom. It
was believed that the pots were imported to Fujian on the southeast coast of
China around the ninth century or earlier according to the research on its
cobalt blue glaze and previous owner’s deceased year. Now one of the jars is
collected by Quanzhou Maritime Museum. Fragments of similar cobalt blue
pottery bottles were also discovered in the tomb of Wang Chao in the Huian
county of Quanzhou, a royal family member of Min Kingdom.
Besides the archeological findings in coastal China, local musical instru-
ments and linguistic evidence also bear testimony to concrete exchange
between Quanzhou and West Asia.
The Pipa (a four-stringed Chinese lute) in the performance of Nanyin folk
music inherited from the Tang Dynasty, and Persian or Arabian lute (barbāṭ
in Persian or ūd in Arabic) are quite similar to each other in shape and perfor-
mance feature, which indicates a specific culture connection between them.43
From the Arabic city name “Zayton (‫ ”)نوتيز‬to the pronunciation of
“Sābun” (soap) and other words in the local language of Quanzhou, as well as
the Chinese word for a ball, qiu, was said to originate from the Persian word,
gui, the name for the game of polo. Other linguistic links also reveal the con-
tacts between Zayton and the Persian and Arab world. Also, the common folk
etymology of satin is believed to be derived from “Zayton cloth.”44
The ancient, rare, appealing historical remains of Quanzhou embodies
its maritime cultural traditions and urban spirit that feature with openness,
diversity, and inclusion.
The Coming of Islam to Maritime Quanzhou
One of the significant changes to affect maritime Asia over the millennium
which extended from the eighth century to thirteenth centuries was the
arrival and gradual adoption of Islam through much of the archipelago.
The spread of the religion very much relied on the maritime trade net-
work which had existed between Southeast Asia and South Asia, and thus it
can genuinely be said that the spread of Islam constitutes part of the maritime
history of Asia.
Muslims take great pride in citing a Hadith from the Koran that says, “Seek
knowledge even as far as China (Varisco, 2012).”
During the time of the Tang, Song and Yuan Dynasty, Muslim merchants
from Central and West Asia traveled to Fujian by the Maritime Silk Route
to establish trade contacts with China. They settled down, married local
Chinese, and eventually formed a new ethnic group—Hui (Ke, 2001).
With the volume of maritime trade increased in the eleventh century,
more foreign traders came and settled in Quanzhou, and there is a substantial
Muslim community in the city where they built mosques and cemeteries.
Quanzhou was the world’s largest port in the Yuan Dynasty. Many for-
eign merchants lived in Quanzhou, mainly Arabs and Persians. At that time,
Islamic culture flourished.
Lin Nu (林駑), a Chinese scholar and merchant in the early Ming
Dynasty, visited Hormuz in Persia in 1376, converted to Islam upon marriage
to a Persian girl, and brought her back to Quanzhou45.Li Nu was the ancestor
of Li Zhi (李贄) (1527–1602), the philosopher, historian and writer in the
late Ming. This was recorded in the Lin and Li genealogy《林李宗谱》.
There were several Muslim communities in Quanzhou. Yunlu was one of
the several sites inhabited by Muslim Arabs in the Yuan Dynasty, which was
renowned for growing spice plants.
According to Li Guotong (2016) the Ashab Mosque of Quanzhou, as a
distinctive community center, bound its residents through religious, profes-
sional, and educational ties; it also linked the local mosque community to the
broader world of global commercial and religious networks.
A significant number of stone inscriptions and tombstones were discov-
ered in Quanzhou, which revealed the activities of Muslim communities in
Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
Researches revealed that Islam in Zayton was adapted to coexist with
already existent local traditions. Religious forms of Islam fit in well with
already established traditions. The adaptation of Islam to local traditions
seemed like a positive thing by Muslims on the southeast coast of China.
In the 1950s, the tombstone of Ahmed dated 1322 was unearthed in
Quanzhou, in which Persian recorded that Junior Ahmed was born in the city
of Zayton. The Persian-Chinese bilingual inscription provided direct material
evidence to link the Zayton with the modern Quanzhou.46
In the brief review of Quanzhou archeology, Pearson, Min, & Guo (2002)
noted the above stone inscription and others unearthed in Quanzhou provide
examples of acculturation.
According to Nuer (1982), “The Gravestone of Ahmad” contains an
inscription in Persian, Arabic, and Chinese indicating that the Ahmad family
lived in Zayton (Quanzhou) for generations, that the elder Ahmad married a
woman from Quanzhou, and that the younger generation became proficient
in Chinese. The Persian inscription shows the Chinese custom of indicating
the age and date of birth of the deceased, details which are often missing from
other Muslim legends.
The other stone inscription on “The Gravestone of Official Daluhuachi
of Yongchun County” indicates that the deceased was the county magistrate
of Yongchun County.47
Wu Wenliang stated that the Muslim tombs in Quanzhou are usually in a
box style or an altar shape (Wu Wenliang, 1957: 40).
However, one of Muslim’s tombs discovered in Quanzhou, which is dated to
1350, is a modified tomb type that combines the Muslim tomb and the indigenous
Fujian turtle-back tomb, showing the merging of Chinese and Islam traditions.48
Islamic religion and culture were allowed further growth in the Ming and
Qing Dynasties. However, the policies and political situation of the Ming
Dynasty were different from the Yuan Dynasty at the beginning of the Ming
Dynasty, and Muslims had to conceal their identity.
The policies and social attitude toward the foreigners and maritime trade
of the Imperial Ming tend to be conservative, which is unfavorable to the sus-
tainable development of Quanzhou Port and its Islamic communities, which
is closely related to the fate of Quanzhou Port, can only keep the defensive
and tend to weaken.
In fact, unlike its Yuan predecessors, the rulers of Ming and Qing promul-
gated policies that limited private maritime trade and foreign contacts among
Chinese subjects.
The Ming Dynasty was the beginning of the weakening of Islamic culture
and the starting point of the Sinicization of Muslim descendants.
Among the Hui Muslim families in Quanzhou during the Ming Dynasty,
Chen Dai Ding Hui and Baiqi Guo Hui are the two most famous groups. Both
of these two clans began to adopt Chinese names during the Ming period
(1368–1644).
Around 1350, a Muslim clan migrated to Chendai Town of Jinjiang to
escape ethnic violence at the end of the Yuan Dynasty.49 They began to use
the Chinese surname Ding, which is pronounced similar to the abbreviation
of their Arabic name. Moreover, in 1376, the other Muslim clan escaped
from Quanzhou to the remote Baiqi in Huian County near Quanzhou. They
changed their Arabic family name to Guo.
To conceal their identity as Arab or Persian Muslim descendants in the

conservative social atmosphere, the Muslims moved to Baiqi called them-
selves Hui people named Guo from the northwest of China.
From the genealogical data left by the Hui Muslim families in Quanzhou
in the Ming Dynasty, it was found that most of their ancestors were Arabs or
Persians.
Although the Islamic culture in the Quanzhou area of the Ming
Dynasty is weakened, it is still preserved and applied in the daily life of Hui
nationality.
In the Ming Dynasty, the only remaining Islamic sites in Quanzhou were
Masjid al-Ashab mosque and the Holy Tomb on the Lingshan hill. The his-
torical records revealed Muslims still took an active part in the renovation of
the above sites during the Ming period.
From the Hui Muslim’s actively participating in the renovation, we could
infer that they still attach great importance to Islam.
In the Ming period, the Hui Muslims in the Quanzhou area gradually inte-
grated into Chinese society in Quanzhou; They did not confine themselves to
religious marriage. Instead, they actively participated in the Sinicization pro-
cess, including active participation in the imperial examination, and estab-
lishing an ancestral hall like local people, all of which was the process of
struggling to live a life.
Without restrictions on marriage within the religion, the Hui Muslims
can grow stronger and more integrated into the local culture.
The establishment of ancestral Hall is the symbol of Sinicization of the
Muslim descendants in Quanzhou, and it is also an assimilation phenomenon
with the cultural integration and the fusion of various religions with local
culture has begun as early as the Song and Yuan Dynasties, which is evidenced
in the unearthed religious stone carvings and tombstones. Especially in the
conservative social context of Ming and Qing Dynasties, the descendants of
Persian and Arab Muslim in Quanzhou merged into the local society through
localization and made their customs, and the appearance seemed no differ-
ence with the local people, which was a flexible way to maintain their ances-
tral religion (Islam) and their Islamic culture.
Nowadays, the descendants of Persian and Arab Muslims in Quanzhou
have become part of the local community, and some of them have become the
local business elite, such as the founders of the top Chinese sports and leisure
apparel brand Anta and Xteps.
The Lingshan Muslim Tombs
In the early seventh century, the Arabs had sailed to Guangzhou, Quanzhou,
and Yangzhou on the southeastern coast of China. Based on oral tradition, it
is said that the tombs belong to the third and fourth Muslim saints who went
to Quanzhou early in the seventh century (Pearson, Min, & Guo, 2002). In
the Ming Dynasty, HE-Qiaoyuan also noted in the Min Shu (Record of Fujian
Province) “There are four great saints among (Muhammad’s) apprentices who
came to China during the Wude period of the Tang Dynasty (618–626) and
preached Islam in China. The first saint preached in Guangzhou. The second
one preached in Yangzhou. The third and fourth preached in Quanzhou.”
The graveyard is open to the south, while on the other three sides there
is a semicircular pillared colonnade. According to the architectural style of
the pillared colonnade, they were judged as the shuttle column of the Tang
Dynasty. The two graves in a row are protected by a Chinese style pavilion
erected in 1962. At the site, there are five steles, dating from the Yuan to
Ming Dynasties, noting the construction and refurbishing of the graves.
The Ashab Mosque, Quanzhou
Imitating a mosque in Damascus, Syria, the Ashab Mosque was initially

constructed in 1009, the oldest Arab style mosque of its kind in China. The
mosque covers an area of 2,500 square meters (0.62 acres) and features a gate
tower, the Fengtian Altar, and the Mingshan Chamber.
In 1310, Ihamed B. Muhammed Gudeish, a famous pilgrim from Shiraz
funded the rebuilding of the mosque. The buildings are mostly original stone
structures of the Song Dynasty except the Mingshan Chamber built in the
Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Facing the south, the gate tower is made of diabase and white granite and
consists of four conjoined archways. The dome of the gateway is carved with
lotus relief, symbolizing respect for sanctity and purity. Each lotus carving is
surrounded by a web of sunk panels, which adds a local feature to the sculp-
tures. A platform on the top of the gate tower allows worshippers to watch the
moon and decide when Ramadan begins.
According to the stone inscription of the Ashab Mosque, the gate tower
was built between 1009 and 1110 and rebuilt between 1310 and 1311. The
second stone inscription, in Chinese, was built in the wall, and the text is
based on the historical records of the early construction and restoration of the
temple, written in 1350 by Wu Jian. The actual stele and its inscription were
engraved in 1507. There are also stone inscriptions with the excerpts from the
Quran built in the gate structure.
To the east of the gate, two stone tablets record the reconstruction of
the mosque in the Yuan (1271–1368) and the Ming (1368–1644) dynasties.
Another stone tablet is located just facing the entrance, engraved with the
imperial edict of Zhu Di—the third emperor of the Ming Dynasty. He spread
this proclamation to protect the mosque and the followers of Islam in China.
Islamic Tombstones and Inscriptions
In addition to the mosques surviving to the present day, the fragments of

architectural stone carvings, tombstones and the stone inscription collected
from ancient Islamic cemeteries have been well preserved in the Quanzhou
Maritime Museum and several other local museums.
Zhungwei and Chen Dasheng identified seven mosques (Zhungwei, Chen
Dasheng, 1980) that ever existed in the city using fragments of stone or carved
inscriptions.
These mosques were built by believers in different parts of Western Asia
and were severely damaged during the decade of 1357–1366 (Fujian Provincial
Museum, Quanzhou, 1991b:384).
In 1979, the archeological excavation of the Ashab Mosque found the
ruins of the Song Dynasty (Zhungwei, Chen Dasheng, 1980:5) at 2 meters
below the ground.
Ashab Mosque. Ashab Mosque is the only surviving mosque. (Chen Dasheng, 1984)
The Qingjing Mosque. Through the Chinese inscription of a stone stele

about the restoration of the Qingjing Mosque, the location of the second
mosque, the Qingjing Mosque, could be identified in the neighboring area of
the South City Gate of Quanzhou in the Southern Song Dynasty. The first
sponsor of the mosque came from Siraf, on the Persian Gulf.
Yemen Mosque. The third mosques called Yemen Mosque, located in the
Jintoubu community outside the Tumen Gate (Also as Tong Huai Gate), built
in the Song Dynasty. In 1940, when the Tong Huai Gate was demolished, a
diabase stone with Arabic characters was unearthed. One side of the stela is
the citation of the Quran, and the other is a donation inscription stating that
the donor was from Yemen.
Zhungweiji and Chen Dasheng proposed that the stone be the lintel of
the primary gate in the Yemen Mosque (Zhungwei, Chen Dasheng, 1980: 7).
The style of the inscription was Kufa or archaic so that Zhungwei and Chen
Dasheng concluded that the mosque was built before the twelfth century.
Mohammed Mosque. Another lintel engraved with donation inscrip-
tions was unearthed at the site of the South Gate, which belonged to the
Mohammed Mosque. The construction date and the date of the destruction
of the mosque are unclear. However, the inscription on the lintel shows that
the fourth mosque was located near the South Gate and is destroyed at the
end of the Yuan.
The inscription on the lintel says that in 1322, Naxide rebuilt the mosque. (Chen
Dasheng, 1984:26)
East Gate Mosque. Moreover, two fragments were found from the same
stone lintel with both sides engraved with Arabic inscriptions. It is considered
belonging to the fifth mosque in the Tongtou village outside the East Gate
where it was found. More evidence was discovered in the same place, includ-
ing more than 20 pieces of Islamic tombstones and twelve tombs built with
granite. (Zhungwei, Chen Dasheng, 1980:9).
The Sixth Mosque. At the end of the north gate of the Mingshan Chamber,
a sixth engraved lintel is found, which appears to belong to a nameless mosque
of the same size as the Ashab Mosque. The location of this unknown mosque
is unclear.
Of the 149 gravestones examined by Chen Dasheng, 58 were of unknown
locations. Thirty-six came from the Renfeng Gate area.
Twelve were from the wall of the Tonghuai Gate and vicinity area, and
eight from the collection kept in the Mingshantang of the Ashab Mosque,
where they were presumably placed for safekeeping.
As the sites of ancient cemeteries clustered near the neighboring area
of the city gates but not concentrating at one point within the city wall, it
suggests that the Muslim communities were located outside of these gates, as
foreign merchants were forbidden to live within the city wall at that time.
The Seventh Mosque. During the restoration of the Asahab mosque and
Mingshan Chamber (built in 1567) in 1983, eight gravestones buried in the
mosque or incorporated into its wall were found, and two pieces of carved
lintel fragments (one of which might belong to the seventh mosque) were
re-discovered.
The most notable one was the tombstone of the son of the Persian prime
minister, whose father was killed in 1312. The son came to Quanzhou with
Persian traders, where he spent the rest of his life. Two other tombstones, the
third, and the fourth belonged to two persons from Tabriz, while the sixth,
dated in 1271, is the tombstone of the Khan from Khorazm. An undated
memorial, the sixth stone inscription, belonged to a woman from Nabrus in
the Eastern Mediterranean (Wu, Wang Yaodong, Huangqiulun, 1986).
From the above archeological findings, there were seven mosques in
Quanzhou in history, indicating that there were probably seven or more
Muslim communities with a sizable Muslim population in or around the
ancient city of Zayton in Quanzhou at that time.
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english/ culture/65049.htm.
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Journal of Historical Archeology, 6 (1), 23–59.
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whatsonxiamen.com/xiamen-info-596.html.
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·5·
trade and immigration along
maritime trade   routes
Section 1: Trade Diasporas at Zayton

The early deal or barter provided a living for people of varied, however sim-
ilar civilization. When straightforward barters developed into sophisticated
intentional trade, a brand new social-economic class of people, the merchants
came into being.
When profit and wealth became the foremost objective for those engaged
in trade, merchandisers had to maneuver physically from their home commu-
nity and go to live as aliens in another township, typically not a fringe town,
but a trade post or the urban center of a port city which is vital within the
economic life of the host community.
Therefore, trade communities of merchants were established at the trans-
portation hub or a crucial harbor on the maritime trade routes. At this stage,
a distinction appeared between the marine merchants who settled in the host
community and those who continued to traverse between the homeland and
host community.
According to Philip D. Curtin (1984), these merchandizers who might
have begun with original settlement abroad tended to set up a whole series
of trade settlements in alien towns. The result was an interrelated net of
Figure 5.1. Luoyang Bridge: A Symbol of Home for Overseas Chinese Diaspora.

commercial communities forming a trade network or trade diaspora. There,

the foreign merchants could settle down and pick up the local language, the
customs and the business ways of their host. These overseas merchants may
then function as cross-cultural brokers, helping and inspiring trade between
the host society and other people of their origin who moved along the trade
routes.
The trade diaspora and network the maritime merchants established
between the tenth and fourteenth centuries are the ushers of Great Discovery,
and it ultimately led to the globalization of today’s economy.
Zayton was a crucial harbor and world emporium in the East during the
prime time of the sailing boats. The strategic position of Zayton attracted
many foreign maritime merchants and settled down here. By the end of the
twelfth century, there was at least one alley in the city inhabited by many
international traders, known as the Fanren Lane, and also many foreigners
lived with locals in other urban areas.
Some trade diasporas were established along the river at the inlet or
around the harbor. Nowadays, sites of maritime merchant settlement still
could be found in Quanzhou. Most of the residents in several coastal settle-
ments are the descendants of marine merchants from the Middle East and
the Arab world. The sites of the mosque, Muslim necropolis and Buddhism
temples, as well as large numbers of stone inscriptions extant in the present
day, tell us the story of prosperous maritime trade in history.
Trade and Immigration Along Maritime Trade Routes 151
Trade diasporas in Zayton were the result of the maritime trade that
attracted the settlement of foreign merchants from different countries around
the harbor or the city gate along the riverbank where they sold their mer-
chandises. Yule quoted that Andrew of Perugia, bishop of Zayton, and John of
Marignoli refer to a Genoese community at the magnificent harbor of Zayton,
“Muslims from central Asia no doubt was more numerous than Franks.”
According to So & Su (2000), the density of the city’s population reflects
the vital role of commerce in the local economy. In the inscription of the city
walls rebuilt in 1120, Lu Shou, then governor of Quanzhou prefecture, wrote,
“There are 80 magnificent communities in the city with a total population
of 500,000.” The parallel prose in the late Southern Song Dynasty recorded
“more than 100,000 families”. According to the first article, the urban popu-
lation was between 50,000 and 100,000 households. The second record sup-
ported this view.
In the mid-thirteenth century, nearly half of the 97,000 households in
the county lived in urban areas, part of which might be engaged in non-agri-
cultural occupations. Due to the prosperity of the maritime economy, in the
cities of the Song Dynasty, Quanzhou typically has a high population density.
A considerable number of historical monuments and sites in Quanzhou
surviving to the present day testify the great existing prosperity of maritime
trade and also the inclusiveness of diverse cultures. Maritime culture and tra-
dition were passed down from generation to generation. The legacy of mari-
time trade is still part of the life of the city, which makes Quanzhou a powerful
engine of economic growth in Southeast China, just like what it used to be in
maritime history.
In conclusion, the trade diasporas and their continued presence in Zayton
contributed to the cultural diversity and the development of maritime trade.
The trade diasporas left an inheritance in the form of cultural heritage and
minorities in foreign lands, even though these minorities no longer devoted
themselves to long-distance trade.
Section 2: The Historical Links Between

Sri Lanka and Zayton
Lankan Prince and the Chinese Bonds
In a small back-street alley between a mosque and a Taoist temple, I met an

elegant lady who introduced herself as the Ceylon Princess. My curiosity was
sparked when she told me a story about her ancestor from Ceylon and histor-
ical maritime trade with Quanzhou, and I willed to find the underlying story
of this astounding tale.
It was with much warmth that Xushi Yin’e, the Sino-Lankan lady, is
fondly nicknamed as Ceylon Princess by the local people and the frequent
Lankan visitors. However, she still very much belongs to where she was born,
Quanzhou.
Long before the discovery of ancestral gravestones in Shijia tomb, Mount
Qingyuan, in Fujian in 1996, her grandma used to tell her about the story
of her family and their “Lankan ancestor from the other side of the sea,” to
which she did not pay much attention back then.
Despite the discovery and subsequent excavation of ancestral gravestones
in Mount Qingyuan, in Quanzhou way back in 1996, Xushi kept her identity
a secret.
The legendary story was known to the public until a journalist dug up the
story during further investigations and informed the public about the identity
of the Ceylon Princess, who was indeed the nineteenth generation descen-
dant of the Royal Prince from ancient Ceylon.
The legendary story of the Ceylon Prince and his descendants in Quanzhou
reached the land across the sea, the native place of the aristocrat.
The archives were thoroughly searched, and the extensive study revealed
that Xushi Yiné had strong and legitimate ties to Ceylon, and the para-
dise island and the heartfelt words uttered by her grandmother resonated
within her.
The Chinese archives revealed that the Ceylon Prince was believed to be
a son of Parâkramabâhu VI from ancient Ceylon. In 2002, a team of archeol-
ogists from Sri Lanka visited the city of Quanzhou, and the ensuing investiga-
tions laid claim to the authenticity of the findings.1
Historical documents recorded that in 1416 and 1421, King Parâkramabâhu
VI of Kotte, Sri Lanka (or Xilan as referred to by ancient Chinese) had come
to the Chinese Ming Court. The volumes of the Journal of Royal Asiatic
History further state that in 1433, King Parâkramabâhu VI also sent envoys to
China. In 1459, the prince visited China among the envoys, and he remained
in the prosperous port city of Quanzhou for the rest of his life under the local
family name ‘Shi,’ after marrying a local woman.
In the year 1463, there was a rebellion in the hilly country, and Sena
Sammatha Wikramabahu became King of Senkadagala. When the King died
in 1467, his grandson Jayabahu became King. However, the kingdom was
followed by much political turmoil. The stability of King Parâkramabâhu VI’s

ruling would not exist anymore, and the chaos lasts for centuries.2
According to the family record of the Shi family, their ancestor is said to
have arrived in China in 1459 and had an audience with the Ming Emperor.
After eight years of learning in Beijing, the young prince decided to stay in
the port city of Quanzhou to avoid the political turmoil of his homeland in
the year 1467. After that, he married a local lady and took on the Chinese
family name “Shi.”
The legendary story of the Ceylon descendants in Quanzhou has sparked
great interest within the Chinese public and scholars from Sri Lanka.
Subsequently, extensive research into the historical relationship between
China and Sri Lanka has come to public attention.
The relationship between China, specifically Quanzhou city spans cen-
turies due to its strategical location as a crucial harbor at the east end of the
Maritime Silk Trade Routes, with Sri Lanka being its center, which connected
the East and the West from China to the Mediterranean Sea.
In recent years, Xushi Yin’e frequently travels between Sri Lanka and
China. She creates a strong bonding between the two countries due to her
affinity and strong ties to both lands. She had five successive visits to Sri
Lanka in 2002, 2015, 2017, 2018 and 2019. One of her visits was in March
2017 as a member of a Chinese delegation, who visited upon the invitation of
John Amaratunga, the Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs.
Xushi Yin’e active participating in the cultural exchange between two
countries further strengthened the bond between her and Sri Lanka as it
enabled her to visit her ancestral place situated in Kotte.
The Reviving of the Glorious Trade Routes Between

Sri Lanka and China
Rochelle Gunarathne, a Sri Lanka freelance journalist, wrote a feature report

on the historical links between Quanzhou and Sri Lanka, “The rekindled rela-
tionship between Quanzhou and Sri Lanka paves the way for renewed hope as
the onset of the New Silk Route Initiative that encompasses over 50 countries
including Sri Lanka”.3
In 2018, Quanzhou was on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage,
and hopefully, it would be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2020. In
the past decade, Quanzhou has successfully developed into a dynamic private
economy zone in coastal China.
Quanzhou’s successful revival story shows how historical heritage looms

large both in promoting heritage tourism and in terms of conferring opportu-
nities for sustainable development. An essential example of the latter is its role
as a pilot city of China’s proposed New Silk Road Initiative (Also as the Belt and
Road Initiative) over more economically important cities. The new developmen-
tal opportunities for Quanzhou are likely based on its links to a large overseas
Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia during its history. This strategic and ambi-
tious initiative was launched by Chinese President Xi Jinping to promote the
maritime infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along
the historic trade routes. Both Quanzhou and Sri Lanka are two focal points on
both the traditional Maritime Silk Trade Routes and the New Silk Road Initiative.
Strong Bonds Across the Ocean
During her latest recent visit to the island, Xushiyin’er, “the Ceylon Princess”
had an audience with Ranil Wickramasinghe, the Sri Lankan Prime Minister,
John Amarathunga, Minister of Tourism and Christian Religious Affairs,
and many other dignitaries, who recognized her contribution to promoting
the people-to-people communication between Ceylon and China. Rochelle
Gunaratne (2017) wrote in a featured report about the story of “Ceylon
Princess”, “She is adamant about remaining as a goodwill ambassador to solid-
ify the ties between Sri Lanka and China, rekindling the dreams and hopes of
her forefathers.”
Fascinating stories about a Lankan prince and the artifacts associated
with the historical monuments and sites in the ancient maritime trade have
become a part of the history of the city, which have been included in the nom-
ination of the historical monument and sites of Quanzhou on the tentative
list of UNESCO World Heritage in 2018.
At present, the stone inscriptions related to the Ceylon Prince and his
family are kept at the Quanzhou Maritime Museum, a specialized museum for
Chinese maritime trade history. Ceylon, the ancient name of Sri Lanka and
the unique design of the Kotte Kingdom in the fifteenth century still could
be found on the site of Xushi’s family graveyard, the graveyard where a son
of Parâkramabâhu VI and his descendants are believed to have been buried.
Parâkramabâhu VI was the ruler of the Kotte Kingdom from around the sec-
ond decade in the fifteenth century to 1459.
The legendary story of the Prince of Ceylon is a witness of the culture and
commercial exchange been China and Ceylon harking to a bygone era.
Also, the historical link between Sri Lanka and China is also testified by
other historical monuments and sites both in China and Sri Lanka. One of the
most precious pillars is the Galle Trilingual Inscription erected by Zheng-He
in 1409 to commemorate the second visit to Galle of Sri Lanka.
Tansen (2006) notes some stone inscription along the South Indian
Ocean coast that has been inscribed in Arabic and South Indian languages,
such as the Galle stele left by Zheng-He on Sri Lanka with trilingual inscrip-
tions in Chinese, Tamil and Persian.
According to extensive research, the date of the inscription equates to
15 February 1409, indicating that it was inscribed in Nanjing before the fleet
set out.
The trilingual tablet was brought to Galle by the feet of Admiral Zheng-He
on the third voyage and the second visit to Ceylon in 1409. The stone tablet
inscription was carved in three languages, Chinese, Tamil and Persian. The
legend recorded the offerings made by Admiral Zheng-He and others to the
temple on Adams Peak, a mountain in Sri Lanka. The Chinese portion gives
praise to the Buddha and records lavish offerings in his honor. The Admiral
also invoked the blessings of Hindu deities here for a peaceful world built
on trade.
The tablet was found by an engineer, S. H. Thomlin, in 1911 in Galle.
Now the tablet is preserved in the Colombo National Museum. The com-
pelling story of the Ceylon Prince and other monuments and sites associated
with maritime trade bear testimony of the frequent cultural and economic
exchange between China and Sri Lanka, which was present from days gone by.
Section 3: Su Shi’s Report on Quanzhou’s

Private Maritime Trade
Trade With Korea
According to Shanhaijing (Classic of Mountains and Seas), an anonymous

writer recorded many ancient groups of people (or tribes) in Neolithic China,
including people living along the coast of Fujian who took the sea as the field.
Coastal marine activities have been a part of the life of the inhabitants of the
southeast coastal area since Neolithic times.
Quanzhou is located on the southeast coast of China, with a large popula-
tion and insufficient land. Thanks to the long coastline, there are many ports,
and local authorities promoted maritime trade according to local conditions.
After more than 300 years of overseas trade practice in the Tang and the Five
Dynasties, the southern Fujian merchants, represented by the sea merchants in
Quanzhou, have accumulated rich experience in navigation and foreign trade,
and maritime trade has naturally become the primary way to make a living.
Quanzhou is endowed with a long coastline and many harbors. Local
coastal residents enjoyed free maritime trade with maritime traders from the
other part of the ocean. When maritime trade became more and more flour-
ishing in the Song Dynasty, the Superintendence of Maritime Trade in Fujian,
called Shibosi in Chinese, was set up by the Imperial Court to regulate mari-
time activities. Shibosi remained in Quanzhou until the year 1472 when it was
transferred to Fuzhou. For nearly 400 years, Shibosi, as the Fujian Provincial
Superintendence of Maritime Trade, managed the overseas trade and tax-re-
lated affairs of the Quanzhou ports.
During the presence of Shibosi in Quanzhou in the Song period, smug-
gling at sea was accused by the name of “tax dodging” or “tax evasion,” which
refers to the behavior of overseas trade operators to evade or try to reduce the
amount of importing tax payable (Chen Lihua, 2015).
Private maritime trade was prohibited since the Song Dynasty and smug-
gling at sea would be punished. However, the coastal people at South Fujian
had to depend on maritime trade for a living. Private trade was still going on,
even at the risk of a severe penalty when stricter bans were imposed on sea
trade during the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
At the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, Korea was the primary
smuggling destination of Quanzhou’s maritime traders. Korean Dynasty uni-
fied the Korean peninsula in 936. However, Koryo was invaded by Khitan in
993, and canonized by Khitan in 996, and changed to the name of Khitan. As
a result, the formal diplomatic relations between the Song Dynasty and Koryo
were interrupted.
The merchant ship was prohibited from trading with Koryo for quite a
long time. However, these bans had not entirely discouraged private traders.
According to the Korea history and Chinese records, almost every year in the
early Song Dynasty, Chinese merchants and sailors smuggled into Korea, most
of whom were maritime merchants from Quanzhou.
In the records of 135 visits of Chinese merchant ships in the History of
Koryo, 26 out of 108 merchants had registered their place of birth. Among
half of the registration, twelve out of 26, revealed that they were from
Quanzhou. The sample data is just the tip of an iceberg, because the records
in the Koryo history is about the activities of sea merchants met by the King
of Koryo, and many other traders, including sea merchants from Quanzhou,
were undocumented.
In addition to business and trade, some Chinese intellectuals also went
with merchant ships to Koryo in search of their career as officials. For exam-
ple, Ouyang Zheng, a native of Quanzhou, went to Koryo in 1015 and was
appointed as an official by the Koryo Court the following year.
In 1059, Xiao Zongming, Huang Wenjing and other maritime merchants
from Quanzhou went to Koryo for trade. Their talents were recognized in
Koryo and were persuaded to stay and hold an official position.
In 1088, Liu Zai, a native of Quanzhou, came to Koryo in a merchant ship
and he was appointed as an official because of his talent for poetry and prose.
As early as the Renzong period of the Song Dynasty (1022–1062), litchi
from the middle of Fujian was exported to Silla, Japan, Ryukyus in East Asia,
the Arab World in the South” (Cai Xiang, On Litchi, the third Volume).
Ocean-Going sail ships had opened up and sailed along routes in Northeast
Asia, the western Pacific Ocean, and the Southwest Indian Ocean.
At that time, the volume of goods imported and exported from Quanzhou
harbor caught up with the scale of Guangzhou. With more crew members and
frequent visits of ships, maritime merchants from Quanzhou almost monopo-
lized the trade with Koryo. Hundreds of people stranded in the Royal City of
Koryo and some of them had been appointed as officials in the Koryo Court.
In the early years of the Xining period (1068–1077) during the Song
Dynasty, Fu Xuan, a merchant from Zayton harbor were sent to Koryo by the
Song Imperial Court to restore the social relations between the two countries
that had been suspended for some time. Then Quanzhou sea merchants not
only engaged in trade with Koryo but also actively participated in religious
and cultural exchanges. They helped with books purchase as well as the order-
ing of Buddhist sutras printing blocks.
However, before the establishment of the Maritime Trade Management
Department in Quanzhou (1087), Quanzhou merchant ships had to make a
detour to Guangzhou to obtain official approval to go overseas as they were
still subject to the approval of Shibosi there. The detour to Guangzhou often
caused a delay in navigation and failed to catch the favorable monsoon period,
which would add many risks to traveling. Therefore, Quanzhou maritime mer-
chants would instead run the risk of being seized smuggling.
All historical records proved the fact that the trade prohibition Act has
little effect on the private trade in Quanzhou and the maritime smuggling to
Koryo continued.
In the second year of Yuanfeng (1079), the Court lifted the ban on trav-
eling to and from Koryo, but it had to go through the registration procedure
with the Shibosi, Maritime Trade Management Department in Mingzhou har-
bor and get the approval for the traveling to Koryo or Japan. Otherwise, the
violation act would be accused of smuggling.
It is well noted that the Act to regulate the unauthorized maritime trade
activities with Koryo, Silla, Dengzhou, Laizhou and the illegal maritime oper-
ations with the above places would be accused of smuggling with the sentence
of two-year in prison.
As the ban on the maritime trade with Korea had been lifted at that
time, the Court still reiterated the strict law to regulate naval activities which
revealed that numerous sea merchants did not abide by the registration regu-
lation for their maritime trade with Koryo.
Regarding the frequent maritime activities of Quanzhou Seafarers to
and from Koryo, Su Shi, a renowned official of the Northern Song Dynasty,
repeatedly reported to the Imperial Court: “Fujian businessmen are especially
good at maritime trade with Koryo and make great profits from that. Maritime
merchants such as Xu Zai are many”, and “Numerous seafarers from Quanzhou
came to Koryo for trade.”
At the same time, there seems to have been a substantial increase in
the smuggling or private trade with Koryo, which flourished even when the
restrictions of the Song Imperial Court were severe.
The above conclusion was also proved by the Record of The History of
the Song Dynasty. “There are hundreds of Chinese in the Koryo King’s city,
and many maritime merchants from Fujian came for business. When the mer-
chants came to Koryo, they would be screened and tested in secret. Talents
would be offered an official position and even retained for a lifetime.”
In fact, most of the Min people in Koryo mentioned in the History of the
Song Dynasty are from Quanzhou.
The above information revealed that more Quanzhou merchants went to
Korea after the trade prohibition to Koryo was lifted in 1079, and the Koryo
Court well received maritime merchants from the Song China.
Section 4: The Immigrant From Zayton to

Southeast Asia
With the prosperity of Quanzhou Port, the immigration from Quanzhou to
Southeast Asia by merchant ships was increasing. Historical records and
archeological evidence show that Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and

other places in Southeast Asia are the most popular destination during the
Northern Song Dynasty.
A sidelight on the extent of Quanzhou’s maritime commercial connec-
tions in the thirteenth century is provided by the finding of an inscribed tomb-
stone in the Muslim cemetery in Bandar Sari Begawan, Brunei, belonging to
Pu Gong, who had the official rank of Pan Yuan in Quanzhou Prefecture.
Inscription on a tombstone shows that it was made by Pu Ying and Pujia ded-
icated to his father.
It is the earliest dated Chinese inscription so far known in maritime
Southeast Asia, which bears testimony of the close links between Quanzhou
and Southeast Asia. According to research, the stone inscription was carved
in Quanzhou and then shipped to Brunei. It was believed that the other
gravestone belonging to the Sultan of Brunei was also engraved in Quanzhou
around 1301. It is identical to the writing style to the tombstone of Fatima
Naina Ahmad, who died in Quanzhou in 1301.4
This archeological finding suggests that those looking for business oppor-
tunities or moving to Southeast Asia’s overseas Chinese diaspora still have
close ties to their contacts in Quanzhou.
According to Songhuiyao, the historical record of the Northern Song
Dynasty, the maritime merchants of Zayton harbors who traversed along the
South China Sea route usually stayed in the foreign lands for the winter or
stay there for several years since the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty.”
Some married local women and had their children. The second generation
born in Southeast Asia were called “native Tang people.”
Also, local scholars and resigned officials took the merchant ships to
Southeast Asia. These intellectuals joined in the community building with the
residents and contributed to the spread of Chinese civilization in Southeast
Asia. During the Northern Song Dynasty, some craftspeople in Quanzhou
also settled in Indonesia. Lanli, northwest of Sumatra Island, was an essential
port for shipping repair, cargo distribution and transportation center for the
sailing ships from Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, which became the diaspora of
merchants and craftspeople from Quanzhou. During the period from Yongxi
to Chunhua in the Northern Song Dynasty (984–994), Li Gongyun from the
Anhai harbor of Jinjiang went with his father Lee Chunwan to do business in
Vietnam and settled there
Most of the people in Quanzhou emigrated to the Philippines, Indonesia,
Malaysia and Singapore. They chose the influence of the traditional habits of
“Folks of one village come together” and “Folks of a clan live together in a
community.” The early overseas Chinese in Vietnam were mostly Guangdong,
Hainan, etc. There were very few written records about the immigration
from Quanzhou to Cochin (Now Vietnam) earlier before the Ming and Qing
Dynasties, except for the historical records about Li Gongyun and Chen
Rijiong (Also as Trần Cảnh in Vietnamese),who immigrated from Anhai har-
bor of Quanzhou and became Emperors of Vietnam.5
Li Gongyun Throned and Established the Lý Dynasty in

Cochin in 1010
In 1009, Li Gongyun had risen to the commander of the palace guard.

According to Mengxibitan, a Chinese historical record, Li Gongyun suc-
ceeded Lê Long Đĩnh of the Early Lê Dynasty after the Emperor passed away
in 1009.
In 1010, Li Gongyun throned and established the Lý Dynasty (1010~1125).
Li paid tribute to the Song Dynasty and was canonized as the King of Cochin.
Li followed the political, economic, and cultural system of the Song Dynasty
and established a prosperous state with a stable monarchy of a centralized
administration.
As their territory and population expanded, the Lý Emperors looked to
China as a model for organizing a stable, centrally administered state. The
Lý Emperors were devout Buddhists; however, the influence of Confucianism
from China was on the rise, with the establishment of the first academic insti-
tution in Vietnam in 1070 to educate people. Also, the first imperial exam-
ination was held in 1075. Minor officials were chosen by examination but not
from noble families, and civil service training, an examination institute and
an imperial academy were set up in 1076. In 1089 a fixed hierarchy of state
officials was established, with nine degrees of civil and military scholar-of-
ficials. Examinations for public service were made compulsory, and literary
competitions were held to determine the grades of officials. Politically, they
looked to China and established a system of administration based on the rule
of law rather than on autocratic principles.
Chen Rijiong Established the Tra n Dynasty
Trade between the Lý Dynasty and Song China in the border areas flourished.
Chen Zhishui (Also as Trần Cảnh in Vietnamese) (1193–1259) was from
the Chencuo Village in the adjacent area of Anhai harbor, Jinjiang county
of Quanzhou prefecture. According to the Qing manuscripts “Xishan Zhazhi,”
Chen Zhishui went to Vietnam for overseas trade.
As a new immigrant in a foreign land, one may need many supporters and
advocates to build a dynasty. It can be speculated that with the prosperity of
the maritime trade in Anhai harbor, overseas Chinese diasporas were estab-
lished in Southeast Asia. Anhai is part of the ancient harbor cluster of Zayton;
the overseas trade became prosperous with the development of Zayton.
In 1224, Huệ Tông, the Emperor of the Lý Dynasty, did not have a son as
the heir. Huệ Tông gave the throne to the second daughter Princess Chiêu
Thánh, and Chiêu Thánh became the first empress of Vietnam Empress
Lý Chiêu Hoàng. On 21 October 1225, Lý Chiêu Hoàng gave the throne
to her husband, Trần Cảnh (1193–1259). The rule of Lý was transferred
to Trần when the Lý Dynasty collapsed, and Trần Dynasty was officially
established.6
Overseas Chinese Diasporas in Southeast Asia
At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, the number of people who
immigrated from Quanzhou to Southeast Asia was increasing. At the end
of the Song Dynasty, when wars broke out in Quanzhou, people fled to
Southeast Asia. They either started a new career in Champa or relocated
to Cochi, Cambodia, Thailand, the Philippines, Java and other places in
Southeast Asia.
Those who looked for business opportunities or moved to Southeast Asia’s
overseas Chinese diaspora still has close ties to their hometown in Quanzhou.
As many merchants did not bring their families, they had to separate them-
selves from their wives and children to make a living abroad. Regardless of the
ups and downs of their maritime business, they may miss their families when
they are thousands of miles away from home. It usually takes two years or more
to complete a round trip down to Southeast Asia.
The story of Gusao Tower at the top of Shihu Port in Quanzhou is a
representative of the sad tale of separated families. The story is about a
young woman who married an overseas merchant, waiting for her hus-
band’s early return every day on the tower atop the hill near the harbor.
The story of the Gusao Tower has been widely circulated in Southeast
Asia. For a long time, it has represented the nostalgia for the hometown
of overseas merchants and their longing for their family reunion, which
makes the Gusao Tower a monument of the historic maritime trade, and
also a symbol of South Fujian.
Section 5: The Rise of Zayton in the Song

and Yuan Dynasties
Facing the East China Sea, Quanzhou enjoys a long and twisting coastline
with its three bays and twelve historical harbors, providing favorable condi-
tions for the prosperity of overseas trade in ancient Quanzhou.
The Strategic Position of Quanzhou
Quanzhou is strategically located in the middle of the west bank of Taiwan

Straits, and it is endowed with best harbors for the sailing boats as the city and
ports are well protected by the central mountains of Taiwan across the Straits.
Moreover, it is situated in the midway between the capital of the Southern
Song and the most flourishing harbor of Canton on the South China coast,
which is easy access to the hinterland and oversea markets.
Immigration From the Inner Part of China to the

Southeast Coast
In the late Tang and the unrest period of Five Dynasties, more and more new
immigrants from the central part of China immigrated to the southeast coast
and brought in the farming and manufacturing new technology and business
patterns. Although the immigrants from Central Plains brought in advanced
agricultural and manufactural technology, the population pressure with bar-
ren land was a robust internal momentum to turn to the sea and vigorously
develop commercial trade.
In the Tang-Song interregnum (907–960) and the Song Dynasty,
Quanzhou played a crucial role in the transshipment of goods from Southeast
Asia and beyond into the hinterland of China and also to Japan and Korea
peninsula. The transshipping trade brought wealth to the city.
Quanzhou outsourced its subsistence base in the eleventh and twelfth
centuries, importing food from other regions of China. Farmers then began to
produce high-value crops such as lychee, sugarcane and cotton, or leave the
land to become involved in overseas trade and the production of ceramics and
metal goods.
Regional Economic Integration Facilitated by the

Construction of Road and Bridge Network
Billy K. L. So (2000) argued that the maritime trade in Quanzhou at the
height of its development in the twelfth century was by no means merely a
transshipment trade of luxury imports. Large quantities of agricultural prod-
ucts and manufactured items were exports. The manufacture and export
capacity cross various sections, in integration with the cross-regional and
long-distance transshipment trade, play a vital role in making Quanzhou a
commercial center at the national level7.
Business opportunities and market demands are the main driving force of
regional integration, and regional integration is the response to the development
of maritime trade under the stimulation of such market demand; commodity
production is mainly oriented to the regional marine trade center—Quanzhou.
Various business and personnel exchanges lead to the transfer of local dia-
lects and folklore. In the first few decades of the Southern Song Dynasty bridge
construction was most flourishing and is closely linked to the development of
maritime trade. Due to the enormous wealth accumulated in maritime trade,
ambitious people in business need reliable and convenient internal transpor-
tation to pursue more profits, which resulted in a boom of bridge building in
the middle of the twelfth century.
Hugh Clark (1991) studied the bridge data of eight counties in South
Fujian and concluded that the bridge construction in Southern Song Dynasty
mainly centered on Quanzhou city or in the neighboring counties which indi-
cates an internal transportation network that is essential to the movement of
people and the transportation of goods throughout Minnan. Meanwhile, the
prosperous marine economy has played a crucial role in financing commercial
or non-commercial bridge construction.
An Analysis From the Political Economy Perspective
Quanzhou’s relation to its maritime market and the industries in its hinter-
land was dynamic, involving radically different economic structures in various
periods from its rise in the tenth and eleventh centuries to its decline in the
late fourteenth and early fifteenth centuries.
Regarding the factors that led to the rise of the Quanzhou region, there
are so many interconnected factors and points of view. We hope to gain clarity
by introducing the concept of political economy, which may be explained by
“an analysis of social relations based on unequal access to wealth and power.”8
The trade dynamism of medieval maritime networks depended on cosmo-

politan port cities, especially hubs such as Hormuz (Persia), Kilwa (Tanzania),
Cambay (northwest India), Calicut (southwest India), Melaka (Malaya), and
Quanzhou (also as Zayton) in southern China. The above-named port cities
all became vibrant centers of international commerce and culture drawing
populations from various societies. It is noteworthy that a veritable business
revolution took place in the Song Dynasty. The roots lie in the remarkable
increase in productivity in China’s economy. The steady development of tech-
nology improves the production of traditional industries. The rapid growth
of economic activity has also increased the volume of trade, and China has
for the first time seen major commercial rather than executive-centric cities.
Especially in the Song Dynasty, the volume of overseas trade far exceeded
any previous period. Indeed, at that time, Chinese cities, such as Quanzhou,
Guangzhou and so on, are commercial-centric cities, and their urban pattern,
of course, is commercial rather than administrative.
Regarding the factors that led to the rise of the Quanzhou region, Hugh
Clark (1991) cited the challenge created by a high population and limited
agricultural land as the motivation for maritime trade and the role of the
international community in stimulating transshipment on the other. He doc-
umented the steady demographic expansion of the Quanzhou from Tang to
the Song-Yuan period, coupled with the growth of networks of maritime set-
tlements and communication.
Richard Pearson（2002）shared similar opinions with Hugh Clark that
there is a “push” from excess labor and high productivity in Quanzhou and
its hinterland linked to a “pull” from foreign merchants and overseas market
opportunities. In the trade realm, Schottenhammer (2012) provides a clue
to analysis the rise of Quanzhou from the perspective of its historical role in
diplomatic and trading relations between successive Chinese states and the
polities of East Asia (mainly maritime) and Southeast Asia, the South China
Sea (now usually called Nanhai). From the political economy perspective and
maritime paradigm, a better conclusion about the rise and fall of Quanzhou
could be reached by analyzing the historical role of Quanzhou’s ocean-going
junks and its trade relationships with harbors in Korea, Japan, Luzon, South
China seas, India and beyond from the tenth to the seventeenth centuries.
The maritime trade policies and practices of Quanzhou during the Tang
and the Five Dynasties were by far the most flexible and pro-market, and that
is true with the Song Dynasties. However, the Song growth was unsustain-
able because of the mismanagement of the Southern Song’s military defense
and the money-hungry financial situation. The Ming had a weak market and
declining oversea trade due to conservative policies and state discrimination
against foreign merchants, and thus a sharp decline in the Qing due to a ban
on maritime activities.
Researchers who use both Marxist and cultural-ecological research para-
digms argue that the control of regional production systems formed the basis
for political evolution, while scholars influenced by substantive economics
have emphasized the role long-distance exchange systems played in the emer-
gence of a centralized political authority.9
In the past view on long-distance trade, in luxury goods, is seen as an epi-
phenomenon, something that people engage in only when other needs are
satisfied, in the latter view, the stimulus for the increased development of food
and staples comes from the social and economic arena of long-distance trade.10
Kenneth Hirth (1996) noted that production and exchange are used
together by elites to accumulate resources and exercise control over their
respective populations.
Bill So (2000) stated the local authorities of the Min-state regime in
Fujian Province facilitated a maritime trade to meet its financial require-
ments, which laid a solid foundation for prosperity.
The development of trade in the early Song Dynasty made it step into the
threshold of success, and in the late eleventh century, the legitimacy of pri-
vate maritime business in Quanzhou was recognized by the Song Dynasty and
Shibosi, the Maritime Trade Superintendence was established in Quanzhou.
The rapid development of marine trade after the establishment of Shibosi
brought Quanzhou into the golden period of prosperity in the Song Dynasty,
and the peak of its success was symbolized by the fact that the royal family
members of the Song Court were relocated in Quanzhou.
The Research Framework for the Study of Premodern

Southeast Asia Trade
Whitmore (1978) suggests a framework for the study of premodern Southeast

Asia trade by looking at the patterns of penetration from outside the region.
Wade (2003) analyzed the Song Pattern from the perspective of East Asia
Maritime Realm. He argued that the maritime growth of the Song Dynasty
was inevitable. He sums up the two periods as the Song Pattern being com-
mercially desirable but politically and militarily damaging, while the Ming
pattern was politically and militarily motivated but commercially disastrous.11
The Duplication of the Prosperity of Coastal China—An

Example of Quanzhou Immigrant.
Whether the maritime commerce played a significant role in the evolution of

the politics of Southeast Asia remains a debated point.
The ninth and tenth centuries were a boom period for trade both between
Southeast Asia and China and for ceramics trade between the Middle East
and China through Southeast Asia ports.
The maritime merchants, who traversed between the South China Sea
route southeast coast of China stayed there for the winter or wait for several
years since the middle of the Northern Song Dynasty. Some married local
women and established trade diasporas.
Momoki (1998) argues that the Lý Dynasty (Renamed as Đại Việt in
1054, literally Great Viet), the forerunner of modern Vietnam, founded in
1010 by Li Gongyun, an immigrant from Jinjiang of Quanzhou, was no longer
a central trading center in the South China Sea by the time it gained indepen-
dence from China in the early eleventh century. Nevertheless, the subsequent
development of Đại Việt continued to depend more on the control of trade
networks and export commodities than on peasants and agrarian produce.
From the thirteenth to fifteenth centuries, the Emperor of Đại Việt
undertook large-scale hydraulic works on the Red River Delta and founded a
Chinese-style bureaucracy.
The Sinicization in the bureaucracy system not only increased the area’s
agricultural potential but also fostered the development of new export com-
modities, including ceramics. Its strength renewed, the Great Viet crushed
the rival polity of Champa and proceeded to seize prosperous ports in modern
central Vietnam, thus re-establishing itself as the pre-eminent force in the
region’s maritime trade. Li Gonyun and other Emperors of the Lý Dynasty
followed the Confucian Orthodox and economic pattern of coastal China and
its institutions. As a result, the integration of Confucian values with maritime
culture and trade shaped what Vietnam is.
Moving into later centuries, commerce and trade form the core of
Anthony Reid’s thesis in Southeast Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450–
1680 (Reid, 1988). He argues that Southeast Asia played a crucial role in the
sustained boom of the “long sixteenth century” which affected Europe and
much of Asia. Firstly, it is the source of the spices, and secondly, because it
was through the Southeast Asia ports—“the leading regional centers of eco-
nomic life, political power, and cultural creativity”12—that this trade flowed.
He sees this as giving rise to changes in urbanism, commerce, religious orga-

nizations and state structures and ushering in the “early modern” period in
the Ming Dynasty.
The Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) constituted a crucial period in Chinese
maritime history, both because of the marine prohibitions the Ming rulers
initially instituted and because the early Ming Emperor Yong-le dispatched
Admiral Zheng-He on repeated voyages to Southeast Asia and the Indian
Ocean. With the development of Chinese maritime technologies, its domi-
nant role in the sea has a significant impact on the maritime trade patterns,
markets, urbanization of the coastal region, and migration overseas. However,
the conservative naval policies and poor business patterns result in the decline
of China’s sea power, also the maritime prosperity of Quanzhou and other
Chinese port cities.
It is a tragedy that the conquest of Qing and interrupted the marine devel-
opment of coastal China. Moreover, the confrontation and tension between
Zheng Chenggong and the Qing Imperial also ruined the vision of Zheng
Chenggong to make Quanzhou and other port cities along the China coast a
maritime trade network, and finally missed the opportunities in the competi-
tion with the Western colonists in global maritime trade.
The importance of overseas trade during the Song Dynasties is underlined
in the various essays in Hugh Clark (1982)13 and Schottenhammer (2000),14
which examine the world maritime emporium of Quanzhou, as well as the
monograph on South Fujian by So (2000).15
Regarding the prosperity in history or the vigorous development of the
private sector economy in Quanzhou today, the study of this legendary histor-
ical city is fascinating.
The historical city of Quanzhou still retains a large cluster of red brick and
stone architecture inherited from the Song and Yuan dynasties, with exotic
mosques and a large antique dwelling with unique local style in South Fujian
(also as Minnan in local language) and modern buildings with the method
of Nanyang. The integration of the essence of the marine culture with local
Chinese culture resulted in the unique perception of ocean life and created
the values and traditions of South Fujian.
Notes
1. Gunaratne, R. (2017).Ceylon Princess the Chinese Connection | Chelleshock.org. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.chelleshock.org/ceylon-princess-the-chinese-connection/.
2. Parakramabahu Vi of Kotte—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/

wiki/Parakramab%C3%A2hu_VI.
3. Gunaratne, R. (2017).Ceylon Princess the Chinese Connection | Chelleshock.org. (n.d.).
Retrieved from http://www.chelleshock.org/ceylon-princess-the-chinese-connection/.
4. Nuer (1982). The Tombstone of Ahmad in Quanzhou and the research on the name of
“Zaiton.” Journal of Fujian Normal University, Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition,
No. 3, 1982.
5. Whitmore, J. K. (2010). Brush and Ship: The Southern Chinese Diaspora and Literati
in Đại Việt during the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries. Chinese Southern Diaspora
Studies, 4.
6. Lý Dynasty—Wikipedia. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/
wiki/L%C3%BD_dynasty.
7. So, B. K. L., & Su, J. (2000). Prosperity, region, and institutions in maritime China: the
South Fukien pattern, 946-1368 (Vol. 195). Harvard Univ Asia Center.Retrieved from
https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1tg5j67.
8. Stavrianos, L. (1998). Global history: from prehistory to the 21st century. Pearson
Schweiz Ag.
9. Schottenhammer, A. (2001). The Emporium of the world: maritime Quanzhou,
1000–1400. Brill.
10. Kenneth Hirth (1996), “Political Economy and Archeology: Perspectives on Exchange
and Production,” Journal of Archeological Research 4(3) (1996)203–209.
11. Geo Wade (2003). The Pre-Modern East Asian Maritime Realm: An Overview of

European-Language Studies. Retrieved from http://www.ari.nus.edu.sg/wps/wps03_016.
pdf.
12. Elson, R. (1995). Southeast-Asia in the Age of Commerce 1450-1680-Volume 2,

Expansion and Criss-Reid, A.
13. Clark, H. R. (1982). Quanzhou (Fujian) during the Tang-Song Interregnum, 879–978.
Toung Pao, 68(1/3), 132–149.
14. Schottenhammer, A. (2000). A Critique on Prosperity, Region, and Institutions in Maritime
China: the South Fukien Pattern, 946–1368. by Billy K.L. So. Business History Review, 76(1),
496–223.
15. Billy K. L. So (2000) Prosperity, Region, And Institutions in Maritime China... (n.d.).
Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1tg5j67.
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Third to the Thirteenth Century. Penguin Group.
Curtin, Philip D. (1984), Cross-cultural Trade in World History, Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, p. 2.
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·6·
the prosperity of ancient
maritime quanzhou and its
enlightenment
Section 1: Maritime Silk Trade Routes—The

Usher of Globalization
In the current global economy, everyone is well-versed with the various
ways of buying goods from other countries—wines from France, salmon from
Finland, shirts from India, cars from Japan and Korea, almost anything else, at
competitive prices, from China.
Nowadays, people take the availability of imported products made in for-
eign countries and global exchanges for granted. Long-distance commerce has
not always been easy in the past, although inter-regional trade—the move-
ment of goods from one geographic region to another—has played a signifi-
cant role in cultural and economic exchange since prehistoric times. Over the
last millennium, merchants transported only the most precious items—silk,
gold and other precious metals and jewels, spices, porcelains, among other
things—via ancient, extended continental and maritime trade routes, includ-
ing the famed Silk Road traversing Central Asia and the Maritime Silk Trade
Routes (Also called Maritime Ceramic Trade Routes or Maritime Spices Trade
Route).
Figure 6.1. An Aerial View of the Old Town of Quanzhou.

Source: ©Wu Yunxuan
Ferdinand Freiherr von Richthofen (better known as Baron von

Richthofen in English) was a German traveler, geographer and scientist, who
is renowned for coining the terms “Dei Seidenstraße” and “Dei Seidenstraßen,”
meaning “Silk Road (s)” or “Silk Route (s)” respectively in 1877. Also, French
Orientalist Edouard Chavannes (1865–1918) first mentioned the Sea Silk
Road in 1913.
“Silk Road,” deriving its poetic name from the flourishing Chinese silk
trade, is a series of trade and cultural transmission routes through the Asian
continent, connecting the West and the East across the continent or vast seas
during various eras. Currently, the term is used to refer to all the directions of
Eurasia, according to which China’s trade with the West was going.
By and large, the routes can be divided into two types: The Overland Silk
Road and the Maritime Silk Routes. The Overland Silk Road originated in the
first century B.C. around the Chinese Han Dynasty. During the peak of the
Tang Dynasty (618–907), the Maritime Silk Routes were formed in the Qin
(221–206 B.C.) and Han dynasties (206 B.C.–220 AD), developed from the
Three Kingdoms period (220–280 AD) to the Sui dynasty (581–618 CE),
and flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties. From the middle of the Tang
Dynasty (618–907) to the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) Dynasties,
the Western Xia, Mongolia, Ottoman Empire successively severed the land
channel between China and Europe, and imposed a high tax rate on the trad-
ers, which significantly inhibited the land trade. To transport silk, porcelain,
spices and other goods to Europe for the business of high profit, merchants
Prosperity of Ancient Maritime Quanzhou 173
had to switch to the waterway. With the focus of Silk Road gradually shifting
from land to sea, Maritime Silk Routes and especially the South China Sea Silk
Routes experienced accelerated growth.
The maritime trade routes constantly changed throughout history.
During the Chinese Tang Dynasty (618–907), the sea route from China to
Arabia started in Guangzhou, via Vietnamese waters, the Strait of Malacca,
Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf all the way to Basra.
With the thriving overseas trade in the Song and Yuan Dynasty, the sailing
scope was expanded, and many other routes were developed. One represen-
tative line was from Quanzhou to Persia, via Java, Bay of Bengal and South
Asian continent.
From the tenth to fourteenth centuries, a vast network of maritime trans-
portation and trade routes, using monsoon winds (or trade winds) to usher
navigation, not only connected countries and regions surrounding the vast
Western Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean but also promoted cultural and
commercial exchanges between the East and the West. This maritime trade
network is known today as the ancient Maritime Silk Trade Routes.1
Because of Admiral Zheng-He’s seven voyages to the Western Seas,
Maritime Silk Trade Routes came to the prime time in the Ming Dynasty.
The South Asian countries that had been visited by the fleets of Admiral
Zheng-He include Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, the
Philippines and Indonesia, the Philippines and so forth. The fleets of Admiral
Zheng-He went as far as Africa and reached the coast of Tanganyika and the
coastal archipelago of Zanzibar. Besides the navigation sponsored by the impe-
rial court, private trading on the sea also flourished during this period.
The Maritime Silk Trade Routes intimately connected China and Southeast
Asia in different historical periods. The navigation brought them not only real
exchange but also cultural interaction. Along the maritime trade routes, these
two regions realized cultural exchange with each other, and at the same time,
they absorbed outstanding civilizations from ancient Indian and Arab areas.
In the following colonial period, both China and Southeast Asia experienced
struggle, assimilation and integration between native and foreign cultures in
varying degrees. As a result, they formed their specific hybrid and symbiotic
cultural characteristics.
By the sixteenth century, Asian commerce with Europe had primarily
shifted to maritime trade routes, which were cheaper and faster. After the
shifting emphasis of the Silk Road through Asian regions to the maritime
routes, as well as the Age of Discovery that was a historical period of European
exploration in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, the global movement

significantly expanded.
Many people consider globalization a modern phenomenon. However,
the global exchange has a deep historical origin. In the past, people used
to travel to other continents for trade, religion, culture and many reasons.
The premodern maritime trade created the first step and contributed in one
way or another in building the concept that is now known as “globaliza-
tion.” According to Thomas Friedman (2005), this is the third stage of global
development.
The first stage of global development started with Columbus’s discovery of
the New World and ran from 1492 to about 1800. Driven by nationalism and
religion, the lengthy process was characterized by how much industrial power
countries could produce and apply.
In the sixteenth to nineteenth centuries, with the colonial rule of
European countries and the impacts of modern civilization, the maritime
rights were gradually turned over to European countries. Although affected
by colonization, the coastal trade among Asian countries was not interrupted,
which can be regarded as “Modern Maritime Silk Routes.” In a broad sense,
Maritime Silk Routes persist even today and have become a symbol that is cen-
tral to commercial and cultural interaction among Asian continents.
According to Friedman (2005), “Globalization 2.0,” the second stage of
global development expands from about 1800 to 2000, disrupted by the Great
Depression and World War I & II. This second stage of globalization was
primarily shaped by the emerging power of substantial multinational corpora-
tions when European mercantile stock companies expanded for new markets,
cheap labor and raw materials.
The third stage of global development continued with subsequent
advances in sea and rail transportation at lower shipping costs. Proximity
improved by connecting individuals through electronic interconnectivity and
high technology.
The third stage of globalization began around 2000 when modern com-
munication with increases in global electronic interconnectivity was intro-
duced to allow people to communicate as never before.
In the first stage of globalization, nations dominated global expansion.
The second stage of globalization was driven by the emergence of multina-
tional corporations, which pushed global development. Nowadays, we are in
the third stage of global growth, the information revolution including sig-
nificant IT information technology and software advances have allowed an
unprecedented number of people worldwide to work together with unlimited

potential2.
Regarding the vision for globalization, China is reviving the traditional
Silk Road trade routes that ran between its borders with Asian neighbors
and other parts of the World. The initiatives proposed to make the new
infrastructural investment to build up to two new trade corridors, one over-
land and the other by sea, to revive the historical links between China and
people in Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and African countries.
Western media called the initiative proposed by China to revive historical
Silk Road and its vision for global development, the New Silk Road Initiative
for short.
The New Silk Road Initiative will connect China with Southeast Asia,
Central Asia, Europe, Africa and other parts of the world by road, railways
and navigation routes in the hope that the improved connectivity will
increase jobs and business opportunities, promote the dialog and cooperation,
and establish a balanced global partnership for common development and a
healthier global economy.
The Internet has improved the proximity of individual communication.
Moreover, the connectivity will be better improved by more investment in
the airport, railway and other infrastructural facilities to enhance mobility
for individuals and facilitate the flow of goods, capital, and services. The glo-
balization featured by improved connectivity and mobility will break down
regional boundaries across the world by enabling easy interaction and global
partnership between people of various origins.
Coincidentally, the United States and China have both developed com-
peting visions for reviving ancient trade routes connecting Asia and Europe.
The U.S. diplomatic strategy focuses on Afghanistan, while China hopes to
integrate Central and South Asia economically.
According to Broadman (2006), the acceleration of trade and investment
in developing countries is one of the most significant features of recent events
in the global economy. Chinese New Silk Road Initiative makes a difference
by better planning and quick in action in the acceleration of trade and infra-
structure investment between developing countries along the Silk Road while
the United States was planning a similar project but didn’t put in operation.
The New Silk Road Initiative proposed by the Chinese President is believed
to have been driven by his knowledge of ancient Chinese culture and trade
connections with the outside world. When Quanzhou was a world emporium,
a crucial harbor and trade center in the medieval age, it was home to several
ancient mosques, shrines and temples built by Arab and Tamil communities
in Quanzhou during the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1279–1368) periods.
The continuous presence of the maritime merchants of diverse origins in
Quanzhou helped to establish trading contacts between China and the other
part of the world and contributed to the shared values of peaceful coexistence
and win-win.
Between 1985 and 2002, Xi had personally taken an interest in the
Quanzhou Maritime Museum and had perused through the ancient histori-
cal records, artifacts and exhibits at the museum. Xi even secured substantial
government grants for the museum. His interest in China’s maritime history
could have been the driver for his vision of the future. Given his knowledge
of ancient maritime trade and cultural connections between China and the
outside world, Xi may gain inspiration to propose a win-win initiative in the
light of historical exchanges and mutual learning among people of different
civilizations in the medieval Quanzhou and the regional prosperity people of
different origins and religions created together.
China’s New Silk Road Initiative (the Belt and Road Initiative, aka “New Silk
Road Initiative”) is about linking the world together to foster a more efficient
trading environment. It is conceived as a two-pronged effort. The first focuses
on overland infrastructure development through Central Asia—the “Silk
Road Economic Belt”—while the second foresees the expansion of maritime
shipping routes through the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, African coast
and the Mediterranean—the “Maritime Silk Routes.”
It is a well-established fact that in the seven expedition voyages the
fleet of Admiral Zheng-He visited more than thirty countries to create rap-
port and foster trade and exchange. They went as far as Africa: How many
Chinese colonies were founded there afterward? Or anywhere else? None.
Now the Chinese come back to Africa. This time they do not bring silk
and porcelain. They bring here the vision and goodwill of Chinese people.
In the light of historical links, Chinese entities take seriously the social
responsibilities of the rural and urban Tanzanian communities in which they
operate and sincerely offer to train vastly skilled Tanzanian managers and
executives; and in turn, recruit them for Chinese operations in Tanzania
(Munalula & Matildah, 2016). Building infrastructure in a nation, helping
to facilitate trade and to create jobs through it can make friends. In return, it
will also help open up various markets to large Chinese businesses that want
to expand internationally. By working in this manner, Chinese investment
helps to build Tanzania’s future infrastructure and economic base. China
and Tanzania will cultivate an even more profound significance for their
relationship based on the mutual benefit and win-win legacies of historical
Maritime Silk Routes.
The New Silk Road Initiative is not just a Sinocentric vision, but a shared
value for dialog and common development that harks back to historical Silk
Roads. It is an open-ended game-changing plan to promote dialog and con-
nectivity and bring win-win globalization to a new stage based on mutual
benefit and cooperation.
Section 2: A Speech Delivered at the

Multaqa Forum, the Second Meeting
of UNESCO Silk Roads Online Platform
Conference on June 12, 2016
Respected colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
We come together today from nations, both near and far, to participate in
this international forum hosted by UNESCO to engage in an open and frank
“free flow of ideas,” reflecting the cultural perspectives we each represent.
The inclusive and open process of the forum will no doubt test the capac-
ity of this assembly to reach the consensus as the most effective manner to
leverage UNESCO’s Silk Road Online platform in order is to foster a more
meaningful understanding and a broader appreciation for the rich cultural
heritage of the Silk Road to the peoples of the world.
The relevance of the Silk Road trade routes to the development of polit-
ical, cultural and economic relations between the regions, nations and peo-
ples interconnected by the Silk Routes is well established by primary source
literature.
Merchants and traders who plied the Silk Road represented a vast diversity
of ethnicities, races and national origins. Success on the Silk Road was depen-
dent and proportional to the breadth and depth of mutual understanding,
friendly interpersonal relations and the degree of respect and trust a merchant
could cultivate and inspire in his counterparts in the villages towns and cities
he visited along the Silk Road.
All humanity shares one planet and, thus, a common destiny. We live
today in a nuclear age defined by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-
tion. The sword of Damocles hangs from a tenuous thread over the planet
and threatens the survival of humanity. Our collective destiny may well be
determined by the capacity of our leaders to comprehend, and their commit-

ment to heed, the lessons that history informs.
I have traveled a long distance from my home in the historic port city of
Zayton, situated on the southeastern coast of the Chinese Mainland, to join
you. Here in Valencia, Spain. I chose to accept the invitation to participate in
this UNESCO organized forum at Valencia because I am firmly committed to
the belief that, in the spirit of the historic Silk Road, we can work together to
achieve win-win results by peaceful dialog and joint development.
Passenger and cargo airports, seaports, highways and railways are being
built that will unite the world and promote mutual understanding and peace-
ful relations among Peoples and Nations of our World. The lesson and promise
of the Silk Road Trade Routes are that peace and shared prosperity are possible
even among Peoples of diverse, or even seemingly opposing, worldviews, race,
ethnicity or creeds.
Globalization does not by definition imply a zero-sum model in which one
party gains at the expense of the other party. To successfully compete in our
globalized economy, it does not mean that workers’ wages must become a race
to the bottom. Nor does globalization oblige countries to abandon policies
that would protect the environment from lowering production costs.
The heritage of the Silk Road trade routes provides empirical evidence
that enhanced global connectivity, transportation, communications and com-
mercial exchange, in the word “globalization,” does not need to portend the
impoverishment of the working and middle classes and a world defined by
armed conflict. The heritage of the Silk Road demonstrates that globalization
can foster greater mutual understanding, strategic alliances premised on non-
intervention and full regard for national sovereignty, which permits the con-
struction of enduring peaceful relations between nations and Peoples.
Valencia is in the west end of Silk Routes while, Quanzhou, the old Zayton,
the historic harbor city where I live, are in the east end. We share the threads
of silk, and we are proud of our past and committed to the future.
I visited the House of the Silk Traders, the fifteenth-century Gothic Silk
Exchange building, which was listed as UNESCO World Heritage in 1996.
It is a piece of Valencian history with beautiful architecture that gives us an
insight into how business was done hundreds of years ago.
In the courtyard of the House of the Silk Traders, I found several Chinese
mandarin orange trees, which may have been brought to Valencia from
China’s coast.
I was impressed when I saw the great hall where the silk exchange was
made. When I closed my eyes, I could imagine the hallway crowded with the
sellers and buyers of silk. Probably silk from Zayton and other places in China
was traded here.
Valencia is a city of silk. I have not told half of what I saw.
Spain was not only the gateway to the Mediterranean area but also
Latin America and other parts of the world. In the sixteenth to seven-
teenth centuries, Silk, ceramics and other commercial goods were shipped
by merchants from the wharf at Moon Port and Zayton harbor, then on the
Maritime Silk Routes from the southeast coast of China to the Philippines,
Latin America, Spain and other European markets, opening the door to the
World’s first great era of Globalization. The result was an unprecedented
level of intercultural communication and commerce across oceans and
continents, nations and cultures, which led to the sharing of technology
advancement
To revive the historic Silk Road, the New Silk Road Initiative proposed by
President Xi Jinping in 2014, has a win-win strategic significance for both
China and the Association of Southeast Asia Nations as well as other coun-
tries and regions involved.
Like the historical route centuries ago, the New Silk Road Initiative will
bring tangible benefits to neighbors along the routes and will be a new driving
force for the prosperity of the entire region.
Quanzhou, as the crucial harbor along the historic Maritime Silk Routes,
will take an active part in the New Silk Road Initiative. The Maritime Silk Road
International Arts Festival is held every other year. It seeks to promote exchange
and cooperation on a spontaneous, mutually beneficial, and win-win basis to
facilitate comprehensive partnerships among cities including the trade, edu-
cation, culture and tourism. Within the framework of the second meeting of
UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform, we would like to propose a Host Cities
Coalition for UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform to be set up to promote the
dialog and cultural exchange as follows:
• To exchange more personal visits between cities along the Silk Road
and strengthen support for cultural exchange activities, the Silk Road
Cities Coalition is committed to expanding the scope of cooperation on
cultural heritage protection and city promotion programs for raising
awareness of cultural diversity.
• To build mechanisms to ensure the regular or frequent meetings of Silk

Road Cities Coalition representatives, the Silk Road Cities Coalition shall
develop a common strategy and approach that enhances international
exchange and cooperation by sharing best practices, as well as thor-
ough research in promoting culture and tourism among these cities.
• To actively create opportunities for educators, scholars, artists, press,
and tourists to visit each other’s cities at appropriate times, the mutual
cultural exchange programs will be held for the young generation across
the member of the Silk Road Cities Coalition should be designed to
enhance people-to-people exchanges and bonding.
• To support the image, tourism and business promotion of Silk Road
Cities Coalition member in each other’s localities, we shall join efforts
to increase each other’s visibility in the cities’ online promotion cam-
paigns for the common enhancement of popularity, profile and reputa-
tion of the Alliance member cities.
• To commemorate the history of peaceful dialog and exchange, the city
of Quanzhou is planning to apply in 2018 for world heritage recognition
for its maritime relics. Moreover, under the guidance of the Quanzhou
Consensus and the Quanzhou Initiative, the Maritime-Continental
Silk Road City Business Council Coalition (Abbreviated as SRCBC)
was founded in Quanzhou on Nonmember 8th, 2015. SRCBC aims to
strengthen exchanges and cooperation on economy, trade, commerce
and investment among the cities along the maritime and continental
Silk Road.
In 2015, we met in Xi’an. In 2016, we meet in Valencia.

We have met at the focal points of the Silk Road on land and Silk Routes
at sea. Now, we have UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform which provides
an excellent platform for us to work together to promote the dialog, coop-
eration and development of nations and regions along the New Silk Road
Initiative in a spirit of mutual understanding and respect. More impor-
tantly, we hope UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform will also open to those
who agree to the cooperative philosophy and coexistence legacies of the
Silk Road.
My friends and colleagues! Let me say congratulations to all of you. If we
have achieved anything, it is due to the work that you do, and your dedication.
We look forward to meeting you in Quanzhou for the third Maritime Silk
Routes International Arts Festival in 2017.
Section 3: How Does Zayton, a Medieval

Harbor on the Maritime Silk Routes Inspire
the World?—A Speech at Beijing University
on June 4th, 2017 (Abbreviated Version)
Win-Win Business Concept and Inclusiveness for
Diverse Civilization
A ten-year project entitled “Integrated study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog,”

was launched by UNESCO in 1988 to “highlight the complex cultural inter-
actions arising from the encounters between East and West and helping to
shape the rich common heritage of the Eurasian peoples.”
In recognition of the peaceful coexistence and inclusive maritime
Quanzhou represents in the historic maritime exchange, Quanzhou was
selected as one of the focal points of the UNESCO Maritime Route
Expedition for the Integral Study of Silk Roads, Roads of Dialog （1988–1997）.
The UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition team led by Dr. Doudou Diene
came to Quanzhou for a six-day on-site inspection. Dr. Doudou Diene, the
coordinator of the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition comments in his
speech that the fieldwork at Quanzhou was one of the highlights of these
collaborations. Based on previous researches, the most plausible explanation
of Zayton’s prosperity is that by synthesizing Chinese and Western Values to
create its system of values, Zayton welcomed medieval travelers and traders of
different origins, which indicates the embracing of the Confucian idea of “all
under the heaven.”
Universalism can be defined as the belief in the universal application
of specific knowledge, worldview and value-view.3 The traditional Chinese
win-win concepts “the world is for all” and “harmony in diversity” hint at a
Chinese universalism, embraced by the whole world and encompassing both
Asian- and Western-style universalism—an “all-encompassing universalism.”
The heritage of Quanzhou (Zayton) bears testimony to the fact that peo-
ple of different—or even seemingly opposing—worldviews, races, ethnicity or
creeds share the win-win concept and peaceful coexistence.
Hugh Clark (1991) argued that “Between the twelfth and fourteenth cen-
turies when the ties between Quanzhou and the so-called ‘South Seas’ reached
their fullest development; those networks held an unprecedented economic
and cultural importance.” And “The rich resource base generated by this
window of prosperity combines with the finite time it covered to structure
a well-defined and thus manageable, narrative of growth, fluorescence and

decline that is a microcosm of the medieval economic revolution.”
Let us take a close look at the historical maritime connection between
Coastal China and the other parts of the world started in the Qin and Han
Dynasties (221 B.C.–220 A.D.). The inter-regional maritime trade grew in
the Three Kingdoms period and the Sui Dynasty (220–618). When Coastal
China was open to the outside world, it flourished in the Tang, Song Dynasties
(618–1279) and the Yuan Dynasty (1115~1368) before it fell into decline in
the Ming and Qing Dynasties (1368–1911) due to the conservative policies
of maritime trade banning.
Quanzhou was an important trading port in the Song and Yuan dynasties.
It was a very active commercial market and the center of distribution of trade
goods. During its prime time, the whole society of Quanzhou in the Song
Dynasty had a consensus on the concept of Cooperative and Win-Win Marine
Business Viewpoint. And it continued in the following Yuan Dynasty. In the
Middle Ages, Quanzhou had many favorable factors for economic devel-
opment, among which the cooperative and win-win value was particularly
prominent throughout urban development in the Song Dynasty.
Since the Middle Ages, the degree of commercialization of Quanzhou
society has been terrific. Business values of win-win cooperation have become
a common understanding in society, which is entirely accepted by a wide
range of acceptance from the individuals to the officials.
It is precisely this kind of value accepted by the whole society that pro-
motes the development of Quanzhou’s commerce and provides an endogenous
motive force for the economic take-off.
Civilization Exchanges Across Oceans
From China to East Asia, Southeast Asia, Persian Gulf and Europe, the
ever-extending maritime trade routes brought business and trade convenience
to the countries and peoples along its route, while enriching the culture of
local societies.
In the premodern maritime history before the Western colonization, ordi-
nary people in the hundreds of thousands were on the move in search of busi-
ness opportunities, survival and a better life. Ships in the tens of thousands
set sail from ports of the Persian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Asia and head for a
destination port across the ocean. Commodities produced on one continent
were reshaping ways of life on another.
Overseas Chinese Diasporas established by Chinese maritime merchants

and immigrants were scattered all over Southeast Asia. Hardworking overseas
Chinese in Southeast Asia contributed to the development of the host com-
munity while they still kept a close connection with their ancestral places.
Close cultural ties, kinship and regular business contact lead to partnership
and joint development and the reviving of the historical city of Quanzhou.
A vast number of cultural sites and ancient relics of international communities
survive to the present day in Quanzhou. Among these are Qingjing Mosque,
Kaiyuan temple, the Site of Cizao Kilns, the Shihu pier and so on. Quanzhou
and its diverse cultural relics remind those who see it today of China not only
as an anxious and unpredictable regional power but also as a skilled partner
making connections through trade.
In conclusion, we could take the New Silk Road Initiative as an occasion to
explore the age in pursuit of peaceful dialog and joint development. It is an
age of exceptional creativity, and change, even mountains, and seas cannot
distance people with shared aspirations. New vistas are opening, old horizons
faltering, accepted truths giving way to controversial new ideas.
Section 4: The Legacies of Premodern

Maritime Trade Routes: A Peaceful Way
Forward for Win-Win and Coexistence (A
Speech Delivered in Fez on Feb. 22, 2018)
Good morning! It is my great honor to be invited to speak here.
I have traveled a great distance from my home in the historic port city of
Quanzhou, situated on the southeastern coast of the Chinese Mainland, to
join you here in Fez, Morocco. I chose to accept the invitation to participate
in this forum organized by the Wisdom House because I am firmly committed
to the belief that, in the spirit of the historic Silk Road, we can work together
to achieve win-win results by peaceful dialog and common development.
The value we share could date back to 1347 or earlier, when Ibn Battuta,
the great Moroccan traveler arrived in Quanzhou, the city where I live, which
was also known as Zayton in the medieval times.
Many Chinese read the Arabian Nights and know the story of Ibn Battuta.
I was flattered that local Moroccan friends called me a brother or Ibn Battuta
from Quanzhou, though I may not be the first citizen from Quanzhou to visit
Fez of Morocco. I am the first visitor from Quanzhou to have the privilege
to read the original manuscript of Ibn Battuta in the oldest library and
Qarawiyine University in the world.
In 2016, I was honored to be invited to participate in an event with other
UNESCO Silk Road Online Platform participants in the Morocco Embassy in
Valencia. I was overwhelmed by the warm hospitality of the host. Also, I rec-
ognized that it is also the way we treat our guests in Quanzhou. We must share
some historic connection in culture and shared values in the long maritime
trade in history.
From the tenth to fourteenth centuries, there were maritime traders and
travelers in the old Zayton of Quanzhou from Morocco and other parts of the
Arabian world. Quanzhou was a home away from home for those maritime
merchants from Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and other
parts of the world. The diverse culture and win-win value we share in the
historical maritime trade have deeply rooted in our culture and still have a
profound impact on the revival of Quanzhou, and other cities in China and
beyond.
Confucius, the Commonwealth of Great Unity
While the perfect order called the Great Way prevails, the world is like a common-
wealth shared by all. Virtuous and worthy people are elected to public office while
capable people hold posts and contribute to employment in the society.—Confucius
Confucius envisioned the commonwealth shared by all and developed from

the notion of “all under heaven” (tianxia) in the Neo-Confucius philosophy.
As new enlightenment from the historical legacies, Chinese traditional val-
ues, including harmony in diversity, has been applied to the peaceful way
forward in the win-win initiative for free trade and globalization.
All humanity shares one planet and, thus, a common destiny. We live
today in a nuclear age defined by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruc-
tion. The sword of Damocles hangs from a tenuous thread over the planet and
threatens the survival of humanity. Our collective destiny may well be deter-
mined by the capacity of our leaders to comprehend, and their commitment
to heed, the lessons that history informs. Today the choice is either one world
or no world.
Thus, there is a popular move under the name of the New Silk Road
Initiative afoot to look approvingly at the idea of “all under heaven (One
World)” as a form of Chinese universal value.
The Maldives, an Indian Ocean country famous for its beautiful vacation
resorts, is one of the first countries to embrace China’s Belt and Road (B&R)
Initiative and has gained momentum in bilateral ties development with China
in recent years. Also, Nepal wishes to enhance cross-border railway connec-
tivity, infrastructure development, trade, investment and tourism cooperation
with China under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative. The Belt and
Road Initiative also brings China and Italy together for mutual benefits.4
Peter Frankopan, a well-known historian at Oxford University comments
in his book The Silk Roads: A New History of the World “that the Belt and Road
Initiative is proposed as a common cause for the whole world and it is a golden
opportunity for deep cooperation.” He said in an interview, “the language of
the Belt and Road Initiative talks about cooperation and collaboration. China is
not just acting for itself; they are also factoring in other countries’ benefits too.
That seems to be a positive and enlightened way of dealing with the world
around you.”
The heritage of the Maritime Silk Routes in Quanzhou provides empirical
evidence that enhanced global connectivity, transportation, communications
and commercial exchange transportation, communications and commercial
exchange, in a word “globalization,” does not need to portend the impover-
ishment of the working and middle classes and a world defined by armed con-
flict. The heritage of the Silk Road demonstrates that globalization can foster
greater mutual understanding, strategic alliances premised on noninterven-
tion and full regard for national sovereignty, which permits the construction
of enduring peaceful relations between nations and peoples.
The enlightenment of Silk Road legacy is that peace and shared prosper-
ity is possible even among Peoples of diverse, or even seemingly opposing,
worldviews, race, ethnicity or creeds. Globalization does not imply a zero-sum
model in which one party gains at the cost of the other party. Globalization
does not mean that workers’ wages must become a race to the bottom for a
nation to successfully compete in our globalized economy. Nor does globaliza-
tion oblige countries to abandon policies that would protect the environment
from lowering production costs.
As it is discussed above, the traditional Chinese win-win concept views
the World as for all and “harmony in diversity” hint at a Chinese universal-
ism. This is a universalism that would embrace and encompass Western-style
universalism—“an all-encompassing universalism.”
Because Chinese ontology precedes Western ontology in offering up
the concept of coexistence, it is capable of incorporating even Western
values. One of the most successful companies in China is called Alibaba.

The founder and CEO, Jackie Ma, may also have gained inspiration from
Arabian Nights.
The most plausible explanation of Zayton’s prosperity and Chinese suc-
cess is that by synthesizing Chinese and Western Values to complete a renova-
tion of values, China will be able to indicate the all-encompassingness of the
idea of “all under heaven (One World).”
Quanzhou is the best manifestation of the harmony of diversity and coex-
istence. To name a few, they include a crucial Confucius Temple in Southeast
Coastal China, a titanic Taoist Statue, a magnificent Mosque from the elev-
enth century, and the only Mani Statue in the world.
In the light of win-win legacies, the city of Quanzhou is reviving, which
has a booming private sector with thousands of small and medium enterprises
as well as dozens of famous lifestyle brands like Anta, X-step, and Peak, etc.
Since the recognition of the UNESCO Maritime Route Expedition team
in 1991, scholars like Dr. Diene, Mr. Gou Zhan, Mr. Zheng Guozhen have been
making continuous efforts to the preservation of heritage sites in Quanzhou,5
to the promotion of diverse values the sites present: peaceful coexistence and
unity in diversity.
The ancient Silk Road had starting points and finishing points, but the
New Silk Road Initiative is open-minded. It originates from the enlightenment
of the historical legacies of mutual respect and coexistence of diverse cultures
and religions. It is about collaboration with other countries and peoples. It is
about seeking win-win solutions for the challenges that we human beings as a
whole are facing. It has no boundaries.
The Belt and Road Initiative describes a vision for a better world and
expresses a positive view of the future. Thomas Friedman said, “Pessimists are
usually right, and optimists are usually wrong, but all the great changes have
been accomplished by optimists.”
Section 5: Quanzhou as an Icon of Chinese

Maritime Culture in the U.S. Exhibition
From 2013 to 2014, I participated in the preparatory work of the Take Me
There: China Exhibition with Indianapolis Children’s Museum. The follow-
ing questions were frequently asked during my work as a community culture
consultant.
How to introduce the 5000-year Chinese culture directly to young

American visitors?
What icons can be used to represent the port city of Quanzhou, the
Southern Fujian and maritime China?
The folk people living in Southern Fujian (Also as Minnan in Chinese)
were immigrants from inner China a millennium ago, under the historical
context that the people along the south and southeast China coast were always
on the move. In the process of immigration and emigration, the Minnan peo-
ple have kept the entire clan culture in China. Just as Dr. Lin Yutang wrote in
his work, My Country and My People in December 1935, “the family system is
the root of Chinese society.”
Minnan people immigrated from the inner part of China to the southeast
coast in ancient times. Gorgeous heritage has been created, shaped and main-
tained by generations. The legacy of the Minnan community passed on is not
only material wealth but also a spiritual and intangible inheritance.
With the development of maritime trade, the Minnan people have widely
populated on the southeast coast of China and Southeast Asia and formed
numerous Minnan communities both at home and abroad. Frequent economic
and cultural interactions among different regions have led to the consistent
vitality of Minnan dialect and Minnan culture throughout the centuries. In
recent years, the increasingly keen attention paid to the protection of histor-
ical and cultural heritage, the active participation of the public fostered the
traditional cultural identity of the younger generation.
According to our research, the Minnan culture could represent traditional
and modern Chinese culture to be presented on the Take Me There： China
exhibition held in Indianapolis Children Museum, which includes communi-
ties, spiritual support systems, cuisine, arts and leisure.
In Southern Fujian, Nanyin Opera and Chinese traditional architectural
craftsmanship for timber-framed structures (conventional Minman dwellings)
have been included in the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List. The
technique of the watertight bulkhead of Chinese junks has also been inscribed
on the UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent
Safeguarding. Also, the traditional puppetry successor program has been
added to the UNESCO List of Excellent Conservation Practice of Intangible
Cultural Heritage6.
After my introduction, Dr. Jeffrey H. Patchen, president and CEO of the
Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and Dr. Bruce Liu, the community adviser
of the Take Me There: China exhibition showed great interest in Coastal China

and decided to choose a feature family in Quanzhou.
During the on-site inspection, Charity Counts, the Museum expert
noticed that a clan name on a traditional ancestral hall represented the origin
of a clan or family. When the Han Chinese immigrated to Southern Fujian,
they engraved their clan name on Menbian (door header) of their houses and
the ancestral hall of their group to highlight the strength of their clan and
enhance cohesion, which bears testimony that the primary population of
the residents in Minnan is descendants of immigrants from the central part
of China.
In the past centuries, the folk people of Quanzhou crossed the ocean
along the maritime trade routes, widely scattered in Hong Kong, Macao and
Taiwan, and went as far as to Luzon Island and other port cities in Southeast
Asia. Even nowadays, they still could trace their family roots back hundreds of
years. US experts were amazed by the well-kept Chinese family trees. The tre-
mendous effort made by the designers of the museum’s exhibition to dig into
the related information was awe-inspiring. After consulting much literature,
they got to know the cultural diversity and inclusiveness in Quanzhou and
discovered that Chinese people’s true folk belief is ancestor worship.
The ancestral hall is a place to worship ancestors or sages, which can also
be used as a family social place. As it was described in the travelog of Western
travelers such as Marco Polo, the Chinese still worship their ancestors, even
if they convert to other religions. It should not merely be called idolatry from
the perspective of a Christian.
Along with the development of maritime silk trade and harbor facilities,
diverse religions were brought into the Minnan community with the mer-
chants coming together in Quanzhou from various origins, and their inclu-
siveness and peaceful coexistence in the city contributed to the development
of the diverse culture and the shared value of the many ethnic groups in the
city. The shared value of inclusiveness and peaceful coexistence is well pre-
sented in the diversity of historical religious sites and monuments.
After an in-depth discussion of the polytheistic religion and the tradi-
tional beliefs of the Chinese people, the experts of the museum’s exhibition
team accepted my views on the ideas of Chinese. As Chinese people are grate-
ful for those who contribute to society and clan, they worship them as per-
sonified gods in temples or ancestral halls. Just like sculptures on American
university campuses, the personified gods are the role models to educate the
younger generations, which has a positive social significance and it may be
well explained by Freud’s theory of the Id, Ego and Superego. They accepted
my point of view and wanted to present a multicultural scene of harmony in
diversity in the city.
It is hard to imagine that they can find precisely the same Minnan incense,
candlestick and other articles in the United States. It is said that the statue of
the land master and its wooden niche were borrowed from the local American
Chinese family from Taiwan only a few days before the opening of the cer-
emony. The land master of authentic Minnan-style could only be found in
the families from Southern Fujian or Taiwan as people from both coasts of
the Taiwan Straits share the same ancestry. As Minnan culture originated
from the inland of China, Chinese visitors all have a sense of familiarity and
homeliness.
For those overseas travelers, what is their imagery hometown, and what
kind of scene of nostalgia is the most touching?
There is a song in my mind, which could evoke the nostalgia of folk people
living abroad. It is a folk song popular in both Taiwan and Southern Fujian,
which I was acquainted with as a child. “In my hometown, there is a row of
houses built with bricks, and they look ordinary. From time to time, it comes
to my dream at night. That is my hometown. There live a folk of nice people,
always wearing a smile on the face. This is the scene that inspires me most, a
few rows of houses built with bricks. Moreover, it looks ordinary, and one day,
I will return to my hometown with honor.”
Hence, a similar sense was set in the central part of the large exhibition
hall at the museum. Under the banyan tree, a Minnan-style teahouse and a
small square in front of ancient dwellings are home scenes that can be under-
stood by overseas Chinese. The American children who visited the exhibition
preferred to strike the drums and bells with a drumstick under the banyan tree.
Despite the loud noise the kids made, American parents were always smiling
and kept them attended.
On the small square under the banyan tree, the Sichuan opera and a large
pot tea show were very attractive. Chinese traditional martial arts in the show
always drew the attention of a broad audience, more accessible and eye-catch-
ing than Beijing opera performance. What boys liked to watch most were
Shaolin martial arts and Sichuan opera. Folk entertainers who performed
Sichuan dramas always put their clown faces close to the children, turning
their red faces into black and white faces in an instant so that the children
watched with joy and surprises and giggled from time to time. Girls liked to go
to the Beijing opera stage and try on a variety of costumes for a selfie photo.
Immersion experience design is so unique that child participants can always

find their favorite projects.
The Chinese restaurant opposite the teahouse is said to have Chinese-
style utensils purchased and laid out under the direction of a local restau-
rant. The children visitors could take all kinds of plastic toy food and work as
Chinese chefs with a typical Chinese iron pot. The parents waited patiently
at the table outdoors. Dishes were served on plates by their children, and
the parents took up chopsticks to taste them, wearing an admiring expres-
sion on their faces. The leisure and entertainment experience area was always
crowded, just like Disneyland. I saw the scene that a Chinese mother failed to
get a ticket of Shaolin martial arts training for her child and asked the staff on
site about the next turn
The primary audience of the next exhibition was American families and
their children. The museum design team adopted the Chinese icons and
cultural elements that could best represent China. Of course, the American
interpretation is added in, introducing the Chinese culture in an American
way. The immersion project is designed with a highly interactive experience.
This is the typical North American teaching idea. Museums and libraries are
extensions of primary and secondary schools, and they play an essential role
as a part of public service.
Through the perspective of a Chinese child, the design team of the
Museum was planning to introduce a typical modern Chinese family and their
living environment, entertainment and their way of life, as well as the rela-
tionship between people and the environment. From the above perspective,
Chinese culture has been successfully introduced to the public in the United
States, especially the children, as we know the target audience’s expectations
and their preferred way of learning. According to our work experience in the
design team, the most effective way to present the Chinese culture and values
to international visitors is to implement Chinese culture and Minnan ele-
ments in a way that Americans understand.
As is commonly assumed, international visitors in Quanzhou would like
Gao Jia Opera or Nan Yin as much as they like Beijing Opera, the truth is that
they love marionette puppets more. We have a false impression that American
people would like our favorite food, including bamboo shoots, fried oysters
and rice batter, and other Quanzhou delicacies. The truth is that they might
love seafood noodles best. The museum’s experts have visited Quanzhou six
times; I made a close observation after I made many recommendations.
It is an essential question about how Americans understand the Chinese

culture and what impresses them most. Gradually I found out that they had a
criterion in the design of the exhibition, and they had operational guidance
first. The exhibition project was designed as an interactive immersion project
according to children’s cognitive and psychological features. Also, it should
meet the safety standards of children. Of course, the cost budget should also
be considered.
On an opening day, there is a sign at the entrance. The meaning of the
slogan is that when we understand the way people live under different cul-
tures, we have to accept that there is nothing wrong with other beliefs and
values, but they are just different from us.
It must be realized that not all elements of Chinese culture can be well
understood by young visitors, though they may show their appreciation and
respect out of courtesy. Therefore, what I am interested in is what parts of
Chinese culture can make them understand, accept and be impressed.
In the Terracotta Warriors exhibition, American visitors were not just
amazed at the perfect artistry or the long history. However, they were more
concerned with the personalization and authenticity of the facial expressions
of the terracotta warriors, saying that they must be certain people’s real facial
expressions. They watched the eyes of the terracotta warriors intently as if
they were trying to read through time the feelings of the craftspeople who
made those Terracotta Warriors.
As Casiel, a philosopher says, “art is presenting human emotion out for peo-
ple to appreciate, transforming human emotion into visible or audible form.”
Maybe this is the empathy in the humanistic spirit of the Western culture.
Having sympathy and being able to understand the inner feelings of other
individual members of society is to distinguish human beings from animals.
The westerners believe that without the spirit of the humanities, the art form
is nothing more than whimsical. Therefore, both cultural and artistic presen-
tations should be related to human beings or human emotions.
At the entrance of the teahouse, two girl students of TCSE (Teaching
Chinese as a Second Language) from Sun Yat-sen University worked as vol-
unteers there. One played the zither, and the other taught calligraphy with a
thick brush on the floor, and the visiting Americans followed her with great
interest in writing Chinese calligraphy on the floor. Moreover, parents sat
around the teahouse with their children and learned to make Kungfu Tea
according to the video instructions on the wall.
In ancient times, the Zayton Port of Quanzhou exported tea to Western

society through the historic maritime routes and contributed to the world the
word “tea” which is the pronunciation of the Minnan dialect and passes down
generation after generation to the present day.
Therefore, the teahouse is the most critical item on the museum’s display
list. Experts from the museum’s design team visited Tieguanyin and Oolong
teashops in Quanzhou and took videos and photos of the tea ceremony. The
production team designed the teahouse according to the video and pictures
of the Minnan-style teahouse. Besides, the unique Minnan-style tea set pur-
chased in Quanzhou, the teahouse also displayed green tea, black tea, white
tea and other items collected from all over the country.
For an outsider, to tell the difference between a tea set used in the south
and that of the north of China as well as a variety of tea is as hard to distin-
guish as between Blue Mountain and latte coffee. To have a good illustration,
we chose the beautiful tea set of Kungfu Tea and Minnan-style teahouse as
a typical Chinese teahouse replicated in the exhibition hall of the Museum.
It is an excellent practice to make the design plan more intuitive by pre-
senting representative examples to highlight the focus of displays. Also, simi-
lar items were shown at the same time to include almost everything.
In addition to the long Teapot Tea show, the teahouse also has a silk fabric
experience area, which allowed children to feel the texture of the silk fabric.
It may be too complicated for the young visitors to learn the lengthy descrip-
tions of the exhibits, so the design team omitted the information I wrote about
the difference between silk and satin, and the history information about the
English word “satin” and its place of origin in the Zayton harbor of Quanzhou.
In contrast to the bustle of the leisure and entertainment areas, the three
houses of Southern Fujian style built in the residential areas are relatively
quiet. One large house is a traditional one of Southern Fujian style, while the
other two are modern houses, representing homes in the rural areas and urban
areas respectively, both of which are 1:1 emulated building.
At the first step into the traditional house, the visitor will see the ances-
tral tablets and old photos hanging on the wall of the ancestral hall in a sol-
emn atmosphere, respectable and intimidating. The decoration on the wall is
also a motto of a Minnan family, which is explained in English as “To Eat the
bitterness”—To endure hardship is the way to overcome the difficulties.
To make the children feel a little close, photos of Wang Yijie, a child from
a family selected as the representative of the China-themed exhibition, were
hung at the door, with the Chinese Pinyin and English words “Welcome” and
“Please come in” as well as the exact location of the building shown on the
map of China.
During the preview period, the museum also updated the location of
Taiwan on the map to show the bonds between Quanzhou and Taiwan as well
as the subordinate relationship between Luoyang Town and Quanzhou City
according to the opinions of the advisory group and the American Chinese
visitors.
The interactive immersion project successfully attracts visitors to Minnan
houses. One could pick up a Chinese name and find out what lovely animal
represented his or her constellation in Chinese culture. The other two mod-
ern dwellings were well replicated from their counterparts in Quanzhou. In
the rural home, there were three culture immersion projects. One was the
Chinese zodiac sign; the others were learning to cook as Grandma’s good assis-
tant and trying to eat with chopsticks. There were pictures of the Quanzhou
family presented on the wall of the living room, as well as the illustration
showing how to use chopsticks and various props on the table.
The kitchen experience project is to help Grandma cook. Soup noodle
is recommended as the favorite food in Quanzhou (also known as Lu noodles
as it originated from Shandong in North China and loved by people across
the Taiwan Straits). Before soup noodle was picked as Chinese featured god,
experts from the museum went to Quanzhou to experience oyster frying, bam-
boo shoots, frozen bamboo shoots, meat buns and other Quanzhou delica-
cies. They chose the homemade Soup Noodles with Seafood as the featured
food, probably because noodles are more common food throughout China and
widely spread around the world. Moreover, when the people in the neighbor-
ing Zhangzhou and Tainan still stick to the traditional way of making noodles,
the local seafood noodles or beef noodles in Quanzhou have been featured
with local flavor and another oversea ingredient from maritime trade.
Furthermore, noodles are also easy to make. However, the ingredients and
taste vary slightly from place to place. Anyway, soup noodle is easy for chil-
dren to make.
As the Chinese restaurant experience project attracted a long line of par-
ticipants, the children who did not want to wait all came into the kitchen
of the Quanzhou residence, and stood in front of the cooker and played the
cooking games of making noodles. Adults sat on the sofa in the living room
and took a look at the family photo album on the coffee table.
The house of the city family was well furnished. The flat panel television in
the sitting room was presenting a documentary movie recorded in Quanzhou.
Wang Yijie (also called Jackie in English), a child from the Chinese family,
was introducing his school, city environment, leisure life and family values of
a typical Quanzhou family.
Calligraphy works on the wall were also a way to show Quanzhou’s family
values of education, generosity, sharing, participating in volunteering work,
etc. The books, Olympic mascots and gold coins collected from Quanzhou
families were shown in bookcases in Jackie’s room. In the closet, there was the
school uniform of Quanzhou school, as well as the local brands such as Anta
and Peak, made in Quanzhou. His father accompanied an American boy in
Peak sportswear in the living room. They wore Chinese brand clothes to visit
and could say the name of Quanzhou correctly.
According to Ms. Ye Ming, chair of the Indy China Center, a total popu-
lation of 15,000 Chinese live in Indianapolis City, many of whom have signed
up the voluntary work for the China-themed exhibition in the coming three
and a half years. The number of registered Chinese volunteers has reached
ten thousand. The local Chinese community organized Dragon Dance, Lion
Dance and other traditional Chinese performances to support the opening of
the exhibition. The local Chinese spent their spare time participating in the
volunteer activities in the Museum. Their active participation in voluntary
work was admirable.
Marcus DiPaola, a U.S. correspondent of Xinhua News Agency, invited
me to the ancestral hall of a Minnan house for an interview. He asked why a
family in Quanzhou had been chosen as the prototype of the Chinese theme
exhibition. I told him that Quanzhou, as the starting point of the historic
Maritime Silk Trade Routes, could trace its roots in the inner part of China and
also assimilated diverse cultures, and thus a blending of Chinese culture with
the inclusion of marine civilization could best represent today’s China. He
quoted my opinion in his report literally
At the entrance of a traditional house, there was an introduction of dif-
ferent kinds of religious beliefs common to Chinese people; and the layout of
its ancestral hall is almost the same as that of an old house in Luoyang Street,
Quanzhou. Esther Hsiao, a journalist from World Daily based in California,
reported that it was a small community from a corner of a Chinese city to an
American museum. Also, according to her report, the whole Chinese themed
exhibition was primarily arranged according to Chinese city planning and
interspersed with Chinese culture elements including the grand house of
Southern Fujian style, Chinese restaurant, tea house, calligraphy shop, super-
market, panda protection center, and Sichuan opera. In my conversation with
Charity, Cathy and Sidney, members of the museum’s design team, they said
their designing philosophy was to be authentic and accurate to life and asked
me whether the exhibition design was similar to the local house in Quanzhou
and the Minnan traditional residence. After hearing my affirmative reply,
Cathy felt delighted, saying that it was the highest compliment to their work.
To celebrate the opening of this China-themed exhibition, she specially dyed
her hair down in the colors of China Red and Tuhao Gold, and when I saw
her serious work attitude, I was about to give her a big hug.
I was invited to revisit the Museum in 2016 with the representatives of
the featured family. My experience in this cross-cultural event tells us that the
audience or readers are trying to interpret what they see with their schemata,
so different people have different interpretations, and that in most cases we
could only get part of the facts. It is possible that individuals from different
cultural backgrounds with different values have different interpretations of
the world and their experiences. Cross-cultural communication is a success
only when a member of one culture understands a message from a member of
another culture.
The museum design team was introduced to the diverse cultural her-
itage and values of Minnan, and they finally chose the real-life scenes of
ordinary people and selectively presented what they could understand. Our
most acclaimed historical and cultural heritage, such as Qingyuan Mountain,
Luoyang Ancient Bridge, Nanyin and the marionette show, and other tan-
gible or intangible legacies, is an incarnation of the tradition and ancient
wisdom. In the exhibition, the heritage information was presented via a short
clip or the family album to decorate the background of a family gathering of
daily activities as a cultural setting.
However, the way of life and traditional values of Southern Fujian were
repeatedly presented through video clips, and calligraphy works in the mod-
ern apartment or folk houses exhibition hall, such as attaching importance to
education, sports, and tea, as well as the idea of generous sharing.
Jennifer Holland, one of the two experts of the Museum, did three years
of research before they “took the trip of lifetime-all in the name of the work”7
to Quanzhou. They know that Quanzhou was a world emporium and port city
in Coastal China with diverse cultures during 1000–1400, which was medie-
val Chinese Shanghai in a literature review. Jennifer and Jason were sent to
Quanzhou to document A Day in the Life of the Wang family to prepare for the
open of Take Me There: China Exhibit. The photography and videography they
compiled help the Museum to recreate the homes of Jackie’s mom and dad,
grandma and great-grandma. During their visit to Quanzhou, they appreciated

the dynamic city with a long tradition, which could best represent the typical
town in China. Quanzhou impressed them most by the enthusiasm and gen-
erosity of its people they met. So, to say, the experts trusted and accepted the
Quanzhou people and their families before they received the city and culture.
Jennifer and Jason were overwhelmed by the hospitality of the people
they met in Quanzhou. They were welcomed by the Dragon Dance when
they visited Luoyang Bridge. They would recreate what they experienced in
Quanzhou in the exhibit for visitors to explore “in painstaking detail.” What
do the people in Quanzhou value most? Let me show you more from the lens
of Jennifer and Jason. When Jennifer went back to Indianapolis, she wrote in
an article. “I learned life lessons from an 11-year-old and bonded with a family
half-way across the globe” Jennifer believed that the most rewarding part of
all was being part of the team bringing the Chinese family’s incredible story
to life from thousands of museum visitors through the Take Me There: China
Exhibit. What caught in the eyes of Jennifer and Jason when they explore the
culture of Coastal China in Quanzhou?
When I strolled in the Exhibit of the Museum, I found the keywords of
Chinese family values were presented in red papers in the Exhibition.
Being a part of the teamwork of this great exhibit in promoting the peo-
ple-to-people communication between China and U.S., the most rewarding
part is that I have a better understanding of the merit of our Chinese culture
and its universal values. In a society full of humanistic spirit, individuals are
the most spiritual carrier of learning, and the cultural identity and social cohe-
sion of local people are the most important cultural elements. One may have
a better understanding of the shared value in Minnan culture from a study of
their history and tradition.
It may not be Qingyuan Mountain, Lao Tze Rock, Luoyang Bridge or other
historical relics that impress visitors and make them like the city and its cul-
ture, but the scene where a single citizen wears a smile under the clock tower
of Zhongshan Road and gives visitors a warm greeting when hurrying past.
When the deputy curator of the museum was asked why they chose the
Quanzhou family and the city of Quanzhou as the prototype of the exhibition,
she said that they first met a family in Quanzhou through the recommenda-
tion of a friend of the museum and eventually chose the Quanzhou family.
Quanzhou happens to be the city where the family lives.
The answer is the best compliment to Quanzhou. As Ernest Rotherford,
the German scholar from Neustadt an der Weinstraße, the sister city
of Quanzhou, wrote in the preface of his book “Quanzhou: Up Close and

Personal.”
A city’s cultural significance does not reside in its area nor the population, but solely
on how its citizens view their past and future and how they come to recognize and
cherish them, and vice versa.
When I needed to look up the original text of this sentence, I wrote to a

journalist I newly met in Quanzhou. He took the time to help me find it and
sent it to me in time, even though he was on his business trip. I was deeply
impressed by the enthusiasm and love of the local people to the city where
they live. As mentioned in the book “City of Light,” the people of Zayton
believed that “As they are people of faith, they are not only guided by their
consciousness but also being watched by God from the above.” The calligra-
phy works written on the exhibition wall of the museum present the merits we
care about including honesty, generosity and other values shared by the peo-
ple in Quanzhou and other places in China. They are the essential principles
of life we pass down generation after generation in China.
As the descendants of the immigrants from inner China and the seafarers
in Coastal China, the people on the southern coast of Fujian had to strive
to live on the barren land. The only thing they could depend on is it is their
strong faith, hard work and the community they trust.
I was deeply moved by the documentary of Cai Guoqiang’s firework art-
works “Bound to rise: Up the Ladder,” which reminds me of the dreams of every
child in Quanzhou, “Dare to dream and dare to win!” Maybe others will laugh
at your idea with an ironic comment, “Why don’t you soar in the sky?” It said
that this firework art project took Cai twenty years until he could finally pres-
ent it in the dawn sky at his grandmother’s birthplace, a remote island off the
coast. It is not just about art. It is about the love and commitment to a family
and the pursuit of a man’s dream! As the people in the Minnan community or
other places in Coastal China believed that there is no shortcut to success, but
only hard work and perseverance are keys to success. It is the value shared in
Quanzhou and all other Minnan communities across the world.
Cai’s artwork gave me much inspiration. I think the cultural connota-
tion of our city is not among the red bricks and tiles in the ancient houses of
Minnan or the age-old history stories, but in the dignity of the people embod-
ied in the icons of Southern Fujian. The local talents also presented it in their
artworks. When you stroll in the old town of Quanzhou, you will be impressed
by the old buildings and historical relics, like the swallowtail ridges of Minnan
houses, the East and West Towers and the Luoyang Bridge. Every corner has
a good story.
Section 6: The Legacies of Maritime Trade

and Its Enlightenment
The coastal administrative district of Quanzhou Prefecture is called Jinjiang
city, which is in the south coastal area from the south bank of Jinjiang River
to the coast.
Under the adverse circumstances of far more people only with barren
land, it has become a tradition of the coastal people in Quanzhou growing in
the marine culture to sail across the sea and start-up business overseas. The
theme of the song In Hard work We Trust means “no pain; no gain” is wide-
spread in Southern Fujian regions with the meaningful lyrics that say, “success
comes from 30% luck together with 70% hard work”.
The people in the coastal Jinjiang area inherited most of the open-
minded, pioneering and winning spirit of the maritime culture. The people in
Jinjiang city create 9% of its industrial output value with 5% of the Province’s
land. In the past decade, Jinjiang has long been one of the county-level cities,
which enjoys the fastest economic growth and the strongest overall strength
in Fujian Province and ranks top ten among the Top 100 County-level Cities
in China.
Since the reform and opening up, people in Jinjiang have carried forward
the pioneering and winning spirits and tradition of their forefathers in historic
maritime trade, with significant efforts to start-up businesses from scratch and
explore a unique way of economic success.
Primarily, the real economy has always played a prominent role in the eco-
nomic pattern of Jinjiang. From the start-up of enterprises to industrial trans-
formation and upgrading driven by innovation and revitalization of existing
enterprises, entrepreneurs in Jinjiang always consider the real economy as a
fundamental goal and continues to tap into the market.
The legacy of its maritime culture is embodied in both its people and enter-
prises. Moreover, sound business ethics and integrity, which is deeply rooted in
the local maritime trade culture, have ensured the cutting-edge performance
of enterprises in Jinjiang ahead in the industry during the past three decades.
“Heng’ an,” which grew from a pure manufacturing workshop to a listed
company in Hong Kong, has implemented rules about paying suppliers on
time. Xu Lianjie, the group’s Chief Executive Officer and founder of Heng’an—
the country’s the largest manufacturer of household tissue paper and sanitary
products, said that there is a rule in the company, “Never delay payments to
suppliers and never lie about quality to consumers.” “If the contract requires
payment in 90 days, we have to make the payment no later than that or we
will lose our credit and integrity,” he said. “The only guarantee we have to
keep our millions of loyal consumers is by providing good quality products
consistently with no false advertising.”8
Mr. Ding Shuipo, the Founder and CEO of Xtep International Holdings
Limited, said the entrepreneurship of the Minnan community is deeply rooted
in its maritime culture. The coastal area is dynamic, challenging, and vul-
nerable to environmental change. The living condition of the coastal people
has an impact on resource utilization by its communities, which is dynamic
and highly dependent on the availability of its surrounding resources. When
people worked in the same boat, they learned to work as a team. It became a
tradition that the coastal people in Southern Fujian had a maritime character
incorporated with people from other countries in the world. Facing the literal
storms and the perils of the open seas, meant fighting for survival and keeping
one’s head above the water at all times. The maritime trade fosters competi-
tiveness and fair gaming. That is why you would see more entrepreneurs that
are successful in Quanzhou than any other part of China.
With increasingly strong resilience, the enterprises of Jinjiang manage to
pull through every hardship and maintain vitality and prosperity for a long
time. In the light of old wisdom and legacies from the ancient maritime trade,
the historical city of Quanzhou is reviving. Famous lifestyle brands like Anta,
X-step mentioned above are among others in a booming private sector with
thousands of small and medium enterprises.
Section 7: The Local and Global Vision for

Minnan Community
Quanzhou, a historic port city on the southern coast of Fujian Province,
boasts an illustrious history spanning more than four hundred years. Marco
Polo, Ibn Battuta and other medieval travelers who visited the city in its hey-
day proclaimed it to be one of the crucial ports in the world. However, its
importance waned as succeeding dynasties discouraged and then prohibited
maritime trade. This decline spawned migration to Taiwan and neighboring
Southeast Asia in pursuit of opportunities and a better life.9 The much-di-

minished city’s revival began only with China’s progressive open policy that
was established in 1978. This revival also carried costs, despite haphazard
development, which was eventually replaced by a dynamic private sector
investment and the expansion of its listed corporations to reap agglomeration
benefits from the stock market. Even at this stage, the transition of the devel-
opment pattern poses a challenge as the city attempts to upgrade production
through technology innovation and promote heritage tourism. Even at this
stage, the change of the development pattern poses a challenge as the city
tries to improve output through technology innovation and encourage her-
itage tourism. However, Chung-wah Chow, a CNN column writer, reported
Quanzhou as “China’s forgotten historic port” and “this is China at its most authen-
tic” in 2012. The report claimed, “Quanzhou has plenty of heritage sites and
authentic culture relics but no armies of tourists.” “It is off the radar even for
Chinese travelers-most head to Fujian’s tourism magnet Xiamen, 90 kilome-
ters to the southwest.”
In 2018, Quanzhou was on the tentative list of UNESCO World heritage,
and hopefully, it would be inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2020. In
recent years, Quanzhou began to attract the tourist’s attention. Quanzhou’s
successful revival story shows how historical heritage looms large both in pro-
moting heritage tourism and in terms of conferring benefits. An important
example of the latter is its choice as a pilot city of China’s proposed Belt and
Road Initiative over more economically important cities. This choice is likely
based on its links to a vast overseas Chinese diaspora in Southeast Asia during
its history (Li, Wang, & Cheong, 2016). Hugh Clark (1991) claimed that it
was Quanzhou’s failure to perpetuate its position through later centuries that
made the present study possible, while comparable studies of other ports are
less feasible if not impossible. The port sank back into the finalized obscurity
after its last burst of prominence under the Mongols in the early fourteenth
century, and the resulting somnolence left untouched the historical heritage.
The Vision for Minnan Community

Nowadays, the merchants and entrepreneurs of Minnan ancestry are an
active business group in the global business market. Most of those business-
persons with Chinese descent in Southeast Asia and East Asia could trace
their ancestral roots to Quanzhou, or other parts of Coastal China. They were
descendants of the Chinese maritime traders and immigrants in Southeast

Asia, East Asia or other parts of the world. Many of them had become citizens
of other countries, but their bonds with the ancestral places and their cultural
identity remain strong. This group of business persons contributes to the eco-
nomic growth of their host community by making good use of their cultural
identity and network with China.
Minnan culture is deeply rooted in their win-win value for coexistence
and unique perception of life and the ocean, which has been cultivated in the
maritime exchange with diverse civilizations.
Minnan literally means Southern Fujian. In geographic terms, Minnan
includes three principal cities in Southern Fujian. Minnan community is
mainly distributed in Quanzhou, Zhangzhou and Xiamen in Southern Fujian,
China and those areas where a group of Minnan dialect speakers lives. Their
cultural identity and the sense of belonging to the Minnan community have
been developed in the thousand-year maritime trade between Southern Fujian
and East Asia, Southeast Asia and beyond.
Quanzhou, previously named Dongan County, was established in 260 (the
third year of the Yongan period of Wu Kingdom) Wu Yongan three years
(260 years), Zhangzhou was established between Quanzhou and Chaochow in
686 (the second year of Chuigong period of the Tang Dynasty).
Xiamen Checkpoint was established in 1387 (the twentieth year of the
Hongwu period). It was under the jurisdiction of Quanzhou until it became
the Western concession after 1840.
From the tenth to fourteenth centuries (the Song and Yuan dynasties
associated with cultural diversity), Minnan culture was well developed with
the prosperity of Quanzhou and its maritime trade-oriented economy.
Before the Han Chinese immigrated from the inner part of China to the
southeast coast in the third century, the indigenous inhabitants in Southern
Fujian were Minyue people. Sites of the Neolithic Age at the fourth millen-
nium B.C. revealed that the indigenous inhabitants, called Minyue people,
began to live on the land and they were good at making and riding canoes.
They crossed rivers and seas to fish and led a life with primitive farming such
as gathering, hunting and fishing along the coast.
During the late third century to the ninth century of ancient China, there
was constant warfare occurring in the Central Plain of China. The massive
migration of northern Han Chinese entered the Fujian region. They brought
the ancient Chinese spoken in the Central Plain of China from the prehis-
toric era to the third century into Fujian. The Han Chinese living among Yue
inhabitants and the blending of language and culture then gradually evolved
into the Quanzhou dialect and Minnan culture.
Known as Zaytun in the ancient time, Quanzhou harbor marked by the
beautiful and iconic Liusheng pagoda and Wanshou Pagoda built in the
twelfth century was instrumental in making Quanzhou a critical maritime
trade center throughout the centuries.
Together with Alexandria of Egypt, Quanzhou in Southern Fujian was
considered being the largest harbor in the world at that time. Due to the
Haijin policy, a ban on maritime activities was imposed on Coastal China
during the Ming and Qing Dynasties. The crucial role of Quanzhou as a port of
call in maritime trade was gradually replaced by Yuegang Harbor, Zhangzhou,
and Xiamen.
The Minnan Dialect. As a cornerstone of culture, Minnan dialect is a
blending of ancient Chinese language and ancient Yue language, which still
preserves many authentic old Chinese vocabulary and pronunciations from
the central part of China.
Minnan dialect also borrowed many loanwords from other languages, and
they are still in use. For example, the Quanzhou local word “kamati (literally
means tomato)” is brought in from the Philippines language. It can be learned
that the Quanzhou tomato is imported from the Philippines or other parts of
Southeast Asia. The words of foreign origin bear testimony to the commercial
and cultural exchanges between Quanzhou and its overseas markets.
This dialect of Chinese in Southern Fujian is one of the most difficult
ones to master. Minnan dialect is widely used and well preserved in the style
of music, opera and puppet shows the Minnan people participate in, rather
than a regional accent or dialect;
Known as the living fossil of music, the Nanyin classical music is sung in
Quanzhou dialect. Nanyin originated in the Tang Dynasty and developed in
the Song Dynasty, and it has well preserved the authentic features of ancient
Chinese music, which has high artistic and academic value.
The traditional red-brick houses in Southern Fujian is featured with bright-col-
ored redbrick, gray stone, and swallow-tailed ridge, creating a unique scenery.
A mixture of brick and stone in the wall, which makes a pretty pattern by
building stone blocks into a brick wall, is the typical architectural style seen
on traditional buildings. It is said that the featured redbrick walls with stones
inserted came from the city rebuilding on the rubble after the severe earth-
quakes in 1604 and 1607. The old bricks and stone blocks were recycled and
used in city reconstruction. The red brick embodied the optimistic and perse-
vering character of coastal people in Southern Fujian.
To this day, the redbrick building blocks are well preserved in Quanzhou.
The ancient house group of Cai Family is one of the representatives of red-
brick buildings in Southern Fujian.
Traditionally, the hometown of overseas Chinese refers to the south of
Fujian, including Xiamen, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou, among others. With
the immigrants of the Southern Chinese peasants from Fujian to Southeast
Asia countries, the interflow of different cultures has a significant influence on
the local architecture style of Quanzhou in modern times. With the support
of remittance from overseas Chinese, many new developments have occurred
in the provincial city construction from the 1920s to 1960s. New buildings do
not just adhere to one pattern but become a combination of different styles.
The veranda style fits well with the local subtropical environment and is
much popular in the development of city construction.
The Spread of Minnan Communities Throughout

Southeast Asia
During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Minnan communities continued to
expand with the immigrants to Chaoshan, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and
as far as the Southeast Asia countries. With the development of private trade,
some Minnan folk moved to Southeast Asia countries for more opportunities.
The advanced production technology and life appliance was brought in and
shared with residents, which made significant contributions to the local civil
development. For example, Mazu temples and Confucius institutions were
built in Vietnam and other parts of Southeast Asia.
Along with the colonization of Southeast Asia by Western countries and
the expansion of immigration from the coast of Southeast China to Southeast
Asia, more overseas Chinese communities emerged in areas of Southeast Asia
such as Manila, Singapore, Penang, and kept expanding into other areas.
The immigrants from Fujian to Southeast Asia had held a close contact with
the folks in their hometowns by remittance and letters, the primary means
of maintaining relations and thus, an international market came into being,
linking overseas Chinese communities in Southeast Asia with their home-
towns and by providing courier services like dispatch and payment of remit-
tance and mail.
Qiaopi refers to remittance receipts in the form of family letters from over-
seas Chinese to their families in Coastal China. Literally, Pi means letter in
Minnan dialect. Qiaopi means the overseas Chinese’s Remittance and Mails.
Qiaopi correspondence connected the overseas Chinese and their hometown,
which bears testimony of the people-to-people communication between
Minnan and its community overseas.
During times of distress and hardship, the overseas Chinese in Southeast
Asia sent Qiaopi remittance to their hometown in southeast Fujian to support
their family and offer charity at large scale.
With the expansion of Minnan communities in Southeast Asia, the over-
seas Chinese founded huigan, an organization for Brokers and Guild, which
became “essential institutions of and for merchants who wanted to improve
their competitive position as outsiders in regions where they were not so
familiar with the local environment.”10 The huiguan also served as locations
for the meeting like-minded people from the same home regions and cherish-
ing local customs.
Hence, the overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia were linked with their
hometown in southeast Fujian by culture and identity. The communication
that comes with sharing the same language promotes connections and roots
to ancestors and cultural histories.
Diaspora and Oversea Hokkien Community
The overseas Chinese from Southern Fujian and other parts of Fujian called
their local dialect as Hokkien language, also as Minnan dialect. Minnanor
Hokkien literally means Southern Fujian. Minnan people are always on
the move in their history. In the process of immigration and emigration,
the Minnan people still retained the whole clan culture in Coastal China
or Southeast Asia long after their ancestors immigrated from the inner part
of China.
Every Clan Name Records the Migration History of a Clan. A clan name on
the traditional ancestral hall of Minnan communities represents the origin of
a clan or family. When the Han Chinese immigrated from the Central Plain
of China to Southern Fujian, they always engraved the clan name on the
Menbian of their houses and the ancestral hall of their clan to highlight the
strength of their clan and enhanced cohesion. The clan records show that the
main population of the residents in Minnan are descendants of immigrants
from the central part of China.
Ancestral Hall and Family Books Symbolize the Clan. The ancestral hall
is a place to worship ancestors or sages, which can also be used as a family
social place. Nowadays, one still could find ancestral halls and family altars in
Minnan communities.
Genealogy is a family pedigree, which records the inheritance of affilia-
tion, and it is precious family documents and folk materials. The family books
of every clan in Minnan communities could help them to trace back their
family’s immigration history from the central part of China.
The Minnan Clans in the Cross-regional Trade Network. There existed a
cross-regional network between Minnan and Southeast Asia. The overseas
Chinese businesspersons were linked with their counterparts in Southern
Fujian with the same culture and identity. The profound links of the social
network have existed for hundreds of years. Therefore, you will find the
Hokkien dialect, the customs of Singapore and other overseas Chinese com-
munities are quite similar to that of Minnan.
Diverse Religions and Peaceful Coexistence. Along with the development of
maritime silk trade and ports, diverse religions were brought into the Minnan
community with the merchants coming together in Quanzhou from across
many regions of the world, and their continual presence in the city contrib-
uted to the development of peaceful coexistence between the many ethnic
and religious groups in the city. The diverse culture of Minnan is illustrated
by the diversity of historic religious sites and monuments.
Confucianism and Mazu worship were popular in the Minnan commu-
nity. With overseas Chinese emigrants, Confucianism and Mazu worship was
widely spread in Southeast Asia. One finds close links between their ances-
tral temples in Quanzhou, Southern Fujian and its overseas counterparts in
Singapore and Malaysia.
Since ancient times, the people in Quanzhou practiced martial arts as part
of its tradition. The practice of martial arts was widely spread in Quanzhou
and overseas Chinese communities in the period of the Qing Dynasty. Shaolin
Kong Fu and Wuzu Boxing are famous martial arts that spread to Hong Kong
and Macao and Southeast Asia. Nowadays, martial art is a cultural link
between the practitioners in Quanzhou and overseas fans in Southeast Asia.
Diverse Culture and Unique Cultural Heritage
The people in Southern Fujian are proud of their history, diverse culture
and unique heritage. Dehua white porcelain is well known for its excellent
quality and crystal texture on a fusion of glaze and body, which is tradition-
ally referred to as “ivory white” and “milk-white.” The distinctive charac-
teristic of Dehua porcelain is made with the minimal amount of iron oxide
in it, allowing it to be fired in an oxidizing atmosphere to a warm white or
pale ivory color. The white porcelain of Dehua played a significant role in
the ceramic development history, which was known as Blanc de Chine in the
European market.
Blanc de Chine. It is a type of Chinese white porcelain produced at
Dehua in Quanzhou Prefecture from the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644) to the
present day. Large quantities arrived in Europe as Chinese export porce-
lain in the early eighteenth century, and it was copied at Meissen and else-
where. The coastal area in the South Fujian was traditionally one of the
leading ceramic exporting centers in China. Over 180 kiln sites have been
identified, extending in the historical range from the Song Dynasty to the
present.11
Dehua was known as one of three great ceramic towns in China, and this
mountainous county of Quanzhou Prefecture is a manufacturing center fea-
tured with porcelain carvings, tea wares and tablewares. In 2015, Dehua con-
ferred the honor of being recognized as the “City of Ceramics.” Dehua enjoyed
70 percent of the market share of teapots in China and played a significant
role in promoting the tea culture.
Anxi Tieguanyin Tea. It is another specialty and exports of Quanzhou.
Tieguanyin was also known as Wulong Tea, which was invented between 1725
and 1735 with a history of 200 years. As the best selection of Oolong Tea,
Tieguanyin is one of the top tea drinks in China. As the place of origin and
manufacture center, Tieguanyin makes Anxi county the Chinese Town of
Tea. Tea has become a significant industry of Anxi county and the primary
source of income for residents.
Quanzhou Cuisines. Quanzhou is also endowed with delicious cuisine
and snacks with diverse favors. Local special dishes include oyster omelets,
noodle thread pastes, Quanzhou burritos, rice dumplings with yolk and pork,
and more. The famous Singapore Bak-Kut-Teh was named after an immi-
grant called Li Wendi; a small restaurant owner migrated from Yongchun
county of Quanzhou to Singapore, who cooked ribs with Chinese herbs in the
traditional way.
In addition to the cuisine, folk music, artistic works other forms of the
intangible heritage of Quanzhou is a linkage of the overseas Chinese commu-
nity with the ancestral places.
The Legacy of Minnan Community
After the Han Chinese immigrated from the inner part of China to the south-
east coast, a rich cultural heritage was created, shaped and maintained by gen-
erations, and the legacy of Minnan community has been passed on not only by
material wealth but also by the spiritual and intangible heritage.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasty, Quanzhou enjoyed the reputation
of the cultural city on the southeast coast of China. A significant number of
outstanding individuals such as thinkers, artists, militarists and litterateurs
stood out and whiles others made a substantial contribution in the field of
astronomy, geography, military, architecture and other areas.
Nanyin Opera and Chinese traditional architectural craftsmanship for
timber-framed structures (conventional Minman dwellings) were included in
the UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2016. The technique of
the watertight bulkhead of the China junk was inscribed on the UNESCO
List of Intangible Cultural Heritage in Need of Urgent Safeguarding in 2010. The
traditional puppetry successor program was added to the UNESCO List of
Excellent Conservation Practice of Intangible Cultural Heritage in 2012.
With the development of maritime trade, people from Southern Fujian
are widely distributed in the southeast coast of China and Southeast Asia,
which formed numerous Minnan communities. Frequent regional economic
and cultural interaction led to the vitality of Minnan dialect and Minnan
culture throughout centuries. In recent years, with the protection of historical
and cultural heritage, the active participation of the public and individuals
fostered the traditional cultural identity of the young generation.
The Pervasive Role That Confucian Orthodoxy and Its

Cooperative Philosophy Played in Minnan Community
In Quanzhou and other places in Southern Fujian, authentic Chinese cul-

ture has been well preserved since the first immigrants from the inner part of
China settled down on the southeast coast of China. The concept of a harmo-
nious society dates back to the time of Confucius. During the interaction with
diverse civilizations in ancient maritime trade, traditional Confucius philos-
ophy and values were cultivated and developed into a new school as Neo-
Confucianism. The cooperative philosophy of Neo-Confucianism shaped the
culture and societies of East Asia, including China, Korea, Singapore and
Vietnam with the spread of the ancient maritime trade.
Civil organizations have played an important role in the immigration and

developmental history of Minnan communities, which has also been dubbed
as “Jiazhu” (clan) and “Huiguan,” an organization for Brokers and Guild in
Chinese. Informal institutions help to locate the bases of social organization
in the family, community and charity in the form of mutual aid, philanthropy
and voluntary activity, which were regarded as buffers against both the power
of the imperial dynasties and rampant pirates. When the dynasty’s role is lim-
ited to shaping the development of basic social institutions like the family and
the local community, a clan, huiguan or other similar civil organization played
an active role in promoting trade and steering the opportunities available to
individuals.
The tradition of free trade and community empowerment was cultivated
in Coastal China when the imperial dynasties collapsed, and after several cen-
turies of travail and misadventure among Minnan societies, there is no other
better idea left standing.
The prosperity of Zayton and the revival of modern Quanzhou revealed
that the only way to encourage people to build up the society of cohesion
together is to find the mutual interest between individuals, households, and
communities; government and household; and community and government.
In their attempts to explore the relationship between individuals and society,
the people of Minnan offer a serious consideration of equality.
There are four themes in the cooperative philosophy of Neo-Confucianism
and the Minnan values—namely, nurturing younger generations, exploring
the empowerment of individuals, building the communities of cohesion for
joint development and a fair society
In this vision, the proper role of the huiguan or Chambers of overseas
Chinese communities in Southeast Asia should be to promote and sustain
the well-being of communities, democratic equality and the full capacity of
all to participate in the joint development of the host communities and their
hometown.
The Vision for a Fair Society and a Commonwealth for All
Nowadays, the cooperative philosophy of Neo-Confucianism is also recognized

as a response to the increasing social injustice and inequality emerging in main-
land Chinese society as a result of rapid economic growth, which has led to a
social imbalance.12 The social focus and governing philosophy were, therefore,
shifted from economic growth to the overall societal balance and harmony.
The traditional Chinese philosophy of the “Harmonious Society” was

promoted by Hu Jintao and other Chinese leaders since 2011. In recent years,
the cooperative philosophy of Neo-Confucianism was extended to an inter-
national dimension, with a focus on the global coexistence and cooperation,
which is said to lead to a “harmonious world.” The administration of Hu’s
successor, Xi Jinping, has continued to develop the philosophy to a further
extent (Zhong, 2006).
Considering the historical development of the concept of harmony, we
need to ask ourselves to what extent are the philosophical traditions based
on past assumptions of the prosperity of Zayton and coastal Quanzhou, and
to what extent are they merely a product of the (ideological and political)
demands of the current period in response to the development of globalization.
Section 8: A Global Vision for the Legacies

of Chinese Traditional Coexistence
Philosophy in the New Silk Road Initiative
Quanzhou was the “City of Light” in the eyes of Marco Polo and other medie-
val travelers. Now it is a symbolic port city of China’s New Silk Road Initiative,
“a city with a glorious past and a muted but reviving present.” (Li, Wang, &
Cheong, 2016) The rise and fall of this port of call on the historical Maritime
Silk Trade Routes reflect the ebb and flow of Coastal China.
The New Silk Road Initiative (also known as the Belt and Road Initiative) is
China’s cooperative approach to promote global connectivity with the other
parts of the world, whose proposal was based on historical assumptions and
experience. The plan was summarized in this way by a member of China’s
UN delegation: “The aim of this Initiative is through the historic synergis-
tic development and win-win cooperation, to realize policy coordination,
infrastructure connectivity, unimpeded trade, financial integration and peo-
ple-to-people bonds, and the need to tackle common challenges faced by
mankind.”13
Inclusiveness and coexistence are part of the traditional values of Chinese
culture. In the fifteenth century, when Chinese naval power ruled the sea,
China did not seek to become a superpower like Great Britain, or the United
States did many centuries later did. Admiral Zheng-He followed the imperial
order to trade with the neighboring countries along the South China Sea,
the Indian Ocean and beyond which were obeying the diplomatic policies of
Great Ming. Chinese traders and immigrants built numerous outposts all over
Southeast Asia. Now there are around 40 million overseas Chinese, mostly
living in Southeast Asia, where they make up a majority of the population
of Singapore and significant minority populations in Indonesia, Malaysia,
Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. The overseas Chinese in those areas
arrived between the sixteenth and nineteenth centuries, mostly from the mar-
itime provinces of Fujian and Guangdong, followed by Hainan. Many over-
seas Chinese are descendants of earlier immigrants from Quanzhou between
the tenth and fifteenth centuries, in particular to Malacca and Southeast
Asia. The hard work of those overseas Chinese immigrants contributed to
the prosperity of their host community and helped to shape what Southeast
Asia now is today. In the Philippines, many of its Chinese Filipinos could
trace their ancestral places to Quanzhou or other parts of Coastal China.
Among them, Jose Rizal, a patriot, physician and son of a Chinese immi-
grant family from Quanzhou was an inspiration to many generations of the
Philippines in the demanding of the Philippines independence from Spain.
According to the statistics, roughly one-fifth of overseas Chinese (7.5 mil-
lion out of the whole population of 39 million overseas Chinese) around the
world recognized Quanzhou as their ancestral places14 Though most of the
overseas Chinese have become citizens of different countries, they shared the
same cultural identity and values of life. For example, family values and social
responsibility are fundamental to Chinese traditional cultures and values. The
Nero-Confucianism spread with the marine traders and Chinese immigrants
from the Zayton harbor of Quanzhou has constituted the principal values in
Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and other port cities in Southeast Asia. The social
bond is the tie which binds overseas Chinese with their communities in the
hometown.
Due to the conservative maritime policies of the Ming and Qing Dynasties,
the prosperity of the coastal city of Quanzhou waned for hundreds of years.
Coastal people and maritime traders had to immigrate to Taiwan, Canton,
Macau, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. Taiwan. Many domestic diasporas of
Quanzhou, along with the overseas diaspora of Quanzhou in Southeast Asia,
have played a vital role in the revival of the historic port city of Quanzhou.
Chambers and Association of fellow provincials or townsmen established to
aid the newcomers have become a platform for business information. Now
chambers or associations in the diaspora of Quanzhou take rotation to hold
regular activities in different cities and countries in Southeast Asia or East
Asia to help their members to explore new opportunities.
Nowadays, the world is not a place of many and separate markets anymore
as globalization has brought about a significant change in the way of doing
business.
Globalization is understood as “an intensification of cross-border interac-
tions and interdependence between countries.”15
Enterprises are one of the most active cross-border players in the era of glo-
balization. By fulfilling their social responsibilities in public welfare and com-
munity development, enterprises can promote political, economic, cultural,
and social exchanges and cooperation. While expanding globally, Chinese
enterprises in Africa and other parts of the world demonstrate the cooperative
culture and win-win value by raising corporate social responsibility awareness
in their participation in local infrastructural construction.
At present, many Chinese companies know that the awareness of corpo-
rate social responsibilities has become an increasingly important assessment
criterion in their international investments. Despite being predominantly
economic in nature, globalization is also a cultural process. Chinese enter-
prises, through their overseas operations and practices, have gained a better
understanding of local culture and adopted a localized approach in their glo-
balization practices.
Still, more efforts have to be made to fulfill the corporate duties for soci-
ety, as there are differences in cultures, religions, communities, politics and
legal systems in different countries. To overcome the language barriers and
cultural differences, Chinese investors have to adapt themselves to local con-
ditions and gain more experience from their practices.
An overseas investment project incorporated with social responsibility
awareness could win more support from local governments and residents,
which cannot be obtained through mere business success. The goal of all the
endeavors is to empower individuals and communities by giving them the
means and the knowledge to bring about positive and lasting change within
the context of their own cultures.
Whether the effects are direct and dramatic, or residual and subtle, glo-
balization has achieved measurable results, and it has profoundly changed
the global business and the way of life of ordinary people. In the mean-
time, problems and side effects are also caused by economic globalization.
Intergovernmental Organizations, private sector bodies and global financial
institutions—the products of globalization—have taken the leading role in
trying to solve these world problems and in creating a global market and
economy.
Globalization has also changed the international system quite significantly

and made states far more interdependent and interconnected. Going global
is the way to reduce cost and remain competitive for international corpora-
tions. International corporations set up branches or find Original Equipment
Manufacturer (OEM) suppliers in other countries where the labor cost is low,
or the conditions for the R&D or production are better.
Since the cross-border cooperation prevails, issues and difficulties which
states have to face are becoming more global than national, countries are no
longer able to protect their corporations and citizens with their domestic laws
and deal with problems by their own means, unless they take collective action
together with other states in Intergovernmental Organizations (IGO).
Even more directly, states have become more interdependent through the
opening of national borders and the implementation of free trade. However,
this also increases competition as companies of different countries are not
only dependent on each other for new technologies and innovation in global
cooperation, but they are competitors in attracting customers in marketing.
Furthermore, free trade is supposed to create conditions under which every
state could trade freely with equal opportunities with any other country.
Nowadays, China takes a cooperative approach in the international arena
by working hard to build a harmonious society at home and constructing win-
win diplomatic relationships with its neighboring countries, which are deeply
rooted in its culture and historical experience.
In the past thirty years, China achieved sustained growth by joining the
prevailing international trade system but not challenging the rules and norms
of the existing global order.
To sustain the momentum of its peaceful rise, Beijing proposed the B&R
Initiative to win the support and cooperation of other nations based on mutual
benefit.
As it has been elaborated in this book, inclusiveness is part of China’s
traditional values and culture, and the legacies of inclusiveness developed
in Coastal China is a good role model for the world development of glo-
balization. Quanzhou is one of the typical port cities in Coastal China that
had witnessed the prosperity of maritime silk trade. The legacies of mari-
time Quanzhou’s historical success and present revival proved that the only
way to achieve sustainable growth is through inclusive development. In the
past thirty years, the robust and harmonious relationship with the outside
world has proven an opportunity for China’s strong economic growth, and
China has become more influential in the international community. The
nature and future of China’s development model have been much debated
by scholars and officials around the world, including the local fraternity
of scholars. However, both Beijing and Chinese scholars know that the
so-called Chinese model, in fact, a flexible development path to meet with
the reality in China and the international environment, which is still under
construction. There is a long way to go before China can declare that it
has found a new way to achieve sustainable development that reflects in its
political and economic institutions and makes extensive improvements in
cultural, social, and other fields. Based on the historical assumption of mar-
itime Quanzhou and Coastal China, the Belt and Road Initiative is just the
worldview of Beijing on trade and its vision for global cooperation. Until
all the stakeholders well accept the Initiative, the idea for the new stage of
globalization will not be achieved.
New Silk Road Initiative—China’s Vision of a New Stage of

Globalization
China’s pursuit of modernization is being realized through participation in and

integration into the prevailing international system, considering China has
gained tremendous progress from its involvement in the existing global eco-
nomic order. To date, China’s commercial success has been realized through
the relative openness of its economy to trade and international investment.
In return, China has become increasingly dependent on such transparency for
high rates of economic growth. “Its successful development model has won
global admiration while aiding in the development of a new affinity between
China and the rest of Asia.”
This is the Chinese vision for a new stage of globalization and the inter-
national system with China’s win-win methods and cooperative approach for
joint development. The Belt and Road Initiative makes China’s peaceful growth
a model and logical starting point for the next stage of globalization.
In some respects, China’s peaceful development is a product of globaliza-
tion. Economic growth is a dynamic force that drives human society forward,
and economic globalization is the dynamics that drive the transformation of
international economics and politics. Changes in the balance of economic
power pave the way for changes in the strategic configuration of the inter-
national system. This is the fundamental aspect of change in the global sys-
tem, but how changes occur are just as important. Globalization drives and
shapes the transformation of the international system, but the approach used
by critical participants determines the character of emerging economies and

their impact on the system as a whole.
One of the most critical impacts of globalization is the return to a more
multipolar world. The rise of emerging economies was facilitated by West-led
globalization through China and other emerging economies’ integration into
the prevailing international system. China and other emerging economies
successfully did this by cooperating with Western developed nations in ways
that created extensive interdependencies. In this respect, it is more appropri-
ate to characterize China’s Belt and Road Initiative as the logical outcome of
a broader process than as the result of wise choices by Chinese leaders. That
being the case, China’s insistence that its rise is peaceful is not mere propa-
ganda or rhetoric. It is an accurate description and logical outcome of the way
it modernized through participation in the processes of globalization. It also
explains how and why China has become a crucial stakeholder in the global
economy. The cooperative methods that brought that about are among the
most salient features of the globalization era.
The win-win value and cooperative approach is precisely the way Zayton
and other parts of Coastal China rose to prominence both in medieval times and
in modern times. The prosperity of Zayton in medieval times and the inclusive
culture of Coastal China provide the historical experience and enlightenment
for the peaceful rise of modern China. It also shows that, in the globalization
era, diversity is as essential as multi-polarity. This enlightenment has far-reach-
ing significance for refashioning the global economic and political order.
Beijing’s insistence on going its way based on historical experience has
both theoretical and practical value in the symbolic New Silk Road Initiative.
Also, like the New Silk Road Initiative (Also as the Belt and Road Initiative), has
demonstrated that the cooperative approach can lead to rapid and sustain-
able economic growth. Coastal China’s historical experience and its present
revival model show that unprecedented results can be achieved by eschewing
conflict and slavish imitation of what works in diverse political, social, and
economic situations. On May 15th, 2019, President Xi Jinping advocates dia-
log, rebuts “clash of civilizations” at the opening of the Conference on Dialog
of Asian Civilizations, Asia’s first-ever grand gathering themed on inter-civili-
zational exchanges and mutual learning for a community with a shared future.
Xi stresses equality, respect among nations, highlighting the role of culture to
cope with common challenges.16
The legacies of Zayton and Coastal China’s true prosperity provide insights
for a development pattern by mutual benefit and cooperative approach.
Although all realists characterize the current international system as anar-

chic, no authority exists above the state, which is sovereign. Each state must,
therefore, look out for its interests above all. However, in the global coopera-
tion context, both corporations and countries have to learn to have a balance
of its benefits and cooperative values.
The world has again become multipolar, and it is amid a historic trans-
formation from a West-dominated world under U.S. leadership to an inter-
national system in which a multipolar atmosphere is shared with developing
nations and emerging economies. Responding to significant challenges for
globalization, China takes an active global engagement by the Belt and Road
Initiate for the reform of the international system. It will be difficult but imper-
ative to forge a new, stable, and active global system which better suited to
new realities than the old system that had shaped the world very differently
from the one that existed seventy years ago.
Notes
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China's Maritime Trade with her Eastern Neighbors during the Ming and Qing Dynasties”.
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Chinese_ceramics
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New_Confucianism
13. Wang, M. (2018). New Era, New Opportunities and New Progress—Speech by Ambassador
Wang Min at the Norwegian Rail Conference. Retrieved from https://www.fmprc.gov.cn/
mfa_eng/wjb_663304/zwjg_665342/zwbd_665378/t1541731.shtml
14. Quanzhou Municipal Bureau of Commerce (2019). Ever-versatile and Dynamic. Retrieved
from http://www.hktdc.com/web/featured_suppliers/quanzhou/index.html
15. Baylis, J., and Smith, S. (2001). The Globalization of World Politics—An introduction to
international relations 2nd edition; London: Oxford University Press.
16. An, B. (2019). Xi Stresses Equality, Respect among Nations. China Daily. May 16th,2019.
References
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Third to the Thirteenth Century. Penguin Group.
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Monthly Press, 2008.
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102–108.
Zhong, Wu. “China yearns for Hu’s ‘harmonious society’ ”. Asia Times. Last modified 11
October 2006.
·7·
quanzhou and ibn
battuta — the living testimony
of the silk   routes
Khal Torabully
It is a privilege and a pleasure to write the following words as part of the much-
needed book written by John Qiang Wang on the history of Quanzhou. Known
as the early matrix of commercial globalization, the Maritime Silk Routes have
been a constant field of research for me. My humble addition to the scholarly
work of John Q. Wang stems from a standpoint I may term the reactivation
of history or historical Silk Roads and Maritime Silk Routes (Abbreviated as
Silk Routes hereafter). This inspired me to direct a documentary film based
primarily on Maritime Silk Routes and the legacy of the Arab—Muslims who
journeyed across the Indian Ocean.
As a collaborator of the UNESCO Interactive Atlas of Silk Routes, it is with
the same interest and academic insight that I participated in the celebrations
of the 30 years of the UNESCO Silk Routes program earlier this year, at the
UNESCO headquarters in Paris. A delegation was from Quanzhou, together
with a team of scholars and experts from both China and the Muslim World.
Excerpts of The Maritime Memory of the Arabs, produced by the Sultanate
of Oman, highlighted the event which consisted of conferences, round-table
discussions and an exhibition on Quanzhou and the Muslim World along the
Maritime Silk Routes. This event allowed me to meet the scholars and offi-
cials from Quanzhou at the exhibition celebrating the famed history of this
Figure 7.1. The Site of Qingjing Mosque.

Source: Photo by the Author, Qiang Wang
maritime node. It was touching history again as I exchanged with visionar-

ies and decision-makers, among whom was the renowned Dr. Doudou Diene,
who was once the head of the UNESCO Silk Routes program. He is celebrated
in Quanzhou for having named Quanzhou, the start of the oceanic corridors of
Chinese trade as the Ground Zero of Maritime Silk Routes. For 20 years, I have
been very attentive to the studies on these silk corridors for academic reasons
and out of personal curiosity, learning about their inception and develop-
ment in World History. It is a vibrant and vivid page in the historical annals
of humanity, with many more pages being added to the present Silk Routes
narratives.
John Qiang Wang’s work is the fruit of the philosophy that conjugates those
commercial and cultural corridors in an inclusive way, by articulating travelers’
accounts, academic work, and testimonies accounts, academic work of the past
and present. While dealing with scientific facts, we feel it is also worthwhile to
reassess the Silk Routes in light of contemporary perspectives and challenges.
This is very much what I have in mind in writing a few facts and thoughts
about the travelogs of Ibn Battuta regarding China. I will explore some pres-
ent configurations of Ibn Battuta’s legacy and the importance of the retrieval
Quanzhou and Ibn Battuta 219
of essential teachings of his Chinese travels for the Silk Roads. While doing so,
I keep in mind the present Silk Road initiatives enacted by Chinese President
Xi Jinping in late 2013, which is referred to as the New Silk Route Initiatives
(Also called the Belt and Road Initiative, abbreviated as BRI). In Chinese, it
is Yi Dai Yi Lu. Its main aims, according to Chinese authorities, are to develop
connectivity, cooperation, and multilateralism through commercial projects
to foster a win-win situation.
This active global policy of the Chinese leadership, undoubtedly, is bring-
ing a new focus to this overland and maritime matrix that has fashioned cul-
tures, sciences, religions, knowledge, and commerce for centuries. In light of
the Belt and Road Initiative, I feel we need to give substance to this ongoing
transnational strategy and enrich it from our perspectives. The human ele-
ment is all too important in such cross-cultural perspectives. Therefore, there
is a necessity to link the past and present through present visions as well.
History, undoubtedly, is a cycle and never a straight line devolving the past
into oblivion… It needs a shared narrative that can enable all to be part of a
global approach. Persons, associations, scholars, travelers need to exchange,
together with government to government or people-to-people relations along
the Belt and Road Initiative. This individual approach is encapsulated in the
travels of famed Ibn Battuta to China, based primarily on personal curiosity.
Personal experience, to my mind, is the best guarantee for the real success
of this transnational vision initiated by China. I believe the exchanges I have
had with UNESCO and John Qiang Wang perfectly illustrate our appropria-
tion of the Silk Routes global narrative. It is with this vision relating persons
and peoples at different levels that we can move from broad policies, strategic
insights, and polities to more personal levels of history. Personal experience
and appropriation are a necessary process giving weight to one of the greatest
legacies of humanity returning to the forefront of modern history.
Some Personal Experiments Along the

Silk Routes
Besides my documentary made in some twelve countries, namely Oman, India,
China, Morocco, Tunisia, and Zanzibar, I have followed the Silk Routes or Belt
and Road issues closely, writing an article1 in April 2016 when the first Chinese
cargo train, starting from Wuhan, traveling some 11,300 kilometers, reached
Lyon, a city at the other end of the Silk Routes. I met Gérard Colomb, the Mayor
of Lyon, now the former Minister of Home Affairs of France, to develop more
ideas about the Silk Routes. The Mayor was very much aware of the opportu-
nities offered by the Belt and Road Initiative. One will see the real interest of
the second French city in this project when arriving at Saint Exupéry airport.
It now heralds colorful signposts advertising Lyon’s connection with the Silk
Routes. This is one example of the past being reactivated along with many nodes
or links of the historic Silk Routes. I guess many more will crop up, even far
from them, as nations are devising strategies so that the caravans of the Belt and
Road Initiative do not pass too far from them. Indeed, many countries and cities
are trying to benefit from their promises of prosperity. Venice, Mauritius, Lyon,
Algeria, Spain, Portugal, Oman, Iran, Turkey, Russia… to name a few, have
shown eagerness to develop a strategic partnership along the New Silk Routes.
This vision was active in the exchanges that took place during the events
at the House of Wisdom (Fez-Granada), in February 2018. Titled, “The New
Convivencia and Silk Routes,” staging Morocco and China primarily, it was a
first in the sense that they were staged by “citizens” of the Silk Routes. We
aimed to explore, in the aftermath of Ibn Battuta’s Rihla (travel narrative), the
philosophy and wisdom apparent or lacking the travels of the famed Moroccan
traveler, who landed in Quanzhou, the birthplace of Dr. John Qiang Wang,
who was the Guest of Honor of the event.
So, much of my discourse springs from the reactivated Silk Routes ses-
sions chaired by Attorney Aziz Sekkat, President of the House of Wisdom of
Fez-Granada and the repercussions of this old Sino-Moroccan connection as
well as some presently shared visions between China and Morocco. Moussa
Ali Iyé, head of the UNESCO Silk Roads program, had sent us a message to
enhance our events in Fez, one of the endpoints of the Silk Routes, duly visited
by Ibn Battuta when he returned from Quanzhou. Mr. Ali Iyé was well aware
of the memory of locations and persons along with the old and New Silk Routes
and of the importance of those routes for the present and future of humanity.
UNESCO, in this sense, knows the paramount importance of the Silk Routes
as vectors of peace and dialog and is dedicated to promoting cross-cultural
interactions at the intersections of both the ancient and New Silk Routes. The
Interactive Atlas it is preparing is fraught with this general philosophy.
Ibn Battuta, a Transformative Model of the

Silk Routes
Undoubtedly, Ibn Battuta was born in Tangier (which named its airport
and stadium after this famed globetrotter) in 1304. His name automatically
comes to mind when one links North Africa and China. There is still a vivid
memory of the connection he made between the Far West and the Far East
and the passage of time has not dimmed the lines of the grand traveler’s Rihla,
even if some passages, like Marco Polo’s travel book, are interspersed with
discrepancies and signs of cultural refraction. These were from the fourteenth
century, and it would be a mistake to view such cultural distances and appre-
ciations with our current standards. What is essential is that beyond some
flaws and historical inaccuracies, the Moroccan travelog stands as one of the
most excellent travel books ever written. He is cited as the forefather of all
travelogs. I would even add that, given the potency of the Belt and Road
transnational scheme, Ibn Battuta has acquired a new life on both Chinese
and Moroccan shores, and beyond. He has become a significant transfor-
mative model of the New Silk Roads Initiative policies and politics between
China and many Arabs and Muslim countries. His travels have become
a space not only of commemoration but also of adaptation in view of the
critical time of the New Silk Roads Initiatives and subsequent adjustments of
national policies.
Indeed, a statue of the famed globetrotter was inaugurated at the Quanzhou
Museum some two years ago, and it stands as a living legacy between China
and Morocco, two lands exchanging ideas and commodities for centuries.
Under the aegis of the globetrotter, nowadays, we find binational strategies
being cemented in present times.
When I was invited to the workshop of the UNESCO Silk Roads Interactive
Atlas in 2017, in Beijing, I could see that the Tangiers-born globetrotter was
very much alive both in the Moroccan Embassy and the Peace Garden’s argu-
mentation and in BRI diplomatic culture. Ibn Battuta is exceptional also in
Quanzhou, which as we know, is the starting point of the Maritime Silk Routes,
as labeled by Dr. Doudou Diene. Ibn Battuta seems to outgrow Marco Polo’s
voyage there.
The expanded symbolic status of the Moroccan traveler is thus a clear
indication of Ibn Battuta’s transformative dimension in the new narrative and
strategies of the Silk Routes. The past has been reactivated and adapted to
present policy visions on the Belt and Road Initiative. Ibn Battuta is a brand one
cannot miss along the New Silk Roads Initiatives. A trade mall in the Emirates
bears the name of the Arab traveler, and a new one has opened in Tangiers,
his birthplace, with Sino-Moroccan funds. These are symbols of the particular
interest of the Muslim World in construing a commonly shared narrative of
the Silk Routes.
What is evident is that this area of interest is beneficial to both China,

Morocco and the whole Muslim World, who are eager to develop and deepen
old ties with the Eastern economic giant, China, especially in a challenging
global context. Morocco and the entire Muslim World are keen to build and
foster new relations with the Eastern industrial giant—China, especially in a
challenging global context. China is working extensively to implement the
BRI strategic schemes in Pakistan, Turkey, Central Asia, Indonesia, Malaysia,
the Gulf region, North Africa and the Sub-Saharan areas. It needs a common
transnational denominator and cannot ignore the potential of Ibn Battuta in
the Arab Muslim World. It is as necessary as reactivating the travels of Marco
Polo in Europe, as a conventional and convivial narrative of the Silk Roads.
In our sessions of Fez, we found no better reference to host our exchanges
on peaceful coexistence and the New Silk Routes Initiatives than retrieving the
Tangiers-born globetrotter’s Rihla. As an individual traveling overland and by
sea, Ibn Battuta is undoubtedly the apt metaphor of the Silk Route traveler,
ancient and contemporary, because, he charted these many routes primarily
out of personal interest in discovering the world and visiting faraway lands
such as India and China, the latter being known as the limits of the medieval
world. His travel was the result of an individual quest, transcending state or
corporation necessities. He interacted not only with the authorities and the
communities of merchants and institutions he found when he covered a dis-
tance of some 120,000 kilometers but also with individuals in caravanserais,
seaports, villages, cities... His geo-anthropological observations were fraught
with personal experience, which makes Ibn Battuta’s Rihla unique and of great
interest as it sounds like a comprehensive living book written by a man who
loved to go beyond his land and observe the countries he visited. There is an
exceptional human value in his travelog, even if, by modern standards, some
passages would have to be used as markers of things to avoid in the new con-
nectivity of the Silk Routes, namely elements of cultural refraction, also pres-
ent in the texts of the travelers of those times. If the Silk Routes linked peoples,
they did not abolish their creeds, cultures, or chauvinism. What is important,
as a lesson of wisdom, is how we trade with their diversities…
Having said this, a trade route without human or cultural action would
look like an internet commercial connection trading goods with no constant
social contacts and exchanges. It would not be the living beehives of the ani-
mated sea and land routes of the past, trading not only goods but objects of
science, books, knowledge, creeds, religions, arts, cultures…. We are indeed
in the complexity of cultures, faiths, visions…. Our sessions in Morocco were
therefore based on this person-to-person contact across the oceans; given

articulating those complexities and convivencia, we defined as living with the
other. One detail stands out: John Qiang Wang, who was in the United States
a few days before, was seen flying to Hong Kong and bouncing back to Dubai
and Fez in just some 50 hours, earning him the nickname of the “Chinese
Ibn Battuta.” The plane had replaced the camel, horse or junk of the past….
However, the delight and wonder were shared by all the participants as if he
was coming with a fresh piece of news from the Moroccan giant who visited
Quanzhou centuries earlier.
Fez greeted John Qiang Wang as a cousin coming from far. John was
moved by the human warmth meted out to him. China and Morocco were
never too far. Just take the case of tea, drunk by Moroccans day and night,
which travels across the ocean without interruption, linking China and the
Arab World… To abound in the sharing of memories and borrowing of cul-
tural references, John Qiang Wang stated, in his conference, that Jack Ma, the
wealthiest Chinese investor, who is the founder of Alibaba, had also drawn
inspiration from the Arabian Nights (also known as One Thousand and One
Nights), by calling his online business Alibaba…. Only that the flying carpet
now is the connectivity splayed out by internet and online business or e-com-
merce sites. Alternatively, in John’s case, the connecting element took the
form of the excellent airline companies that flew him from California to Hong
Kong, from there to Dubai and Morocco in just some 50 hours. Still a feat!
Fez and the Memory of an Illustrious Son of

the Silk Routes
I remember that in his speech in Fez, talking about Ibn Battuta, Aziz Sekkat,
the President of the House of Wisdom listed the main points of the travel of the
globetrotter in China, where he went as an ambassador of the Sultan of India.
Mention was made of his observations on the safety of travel, road and hotel
networks, and proper organization of the state for trade. Moreover, he also
recorded the Muslim quarters in Chinese cities, which were opulent, the role
of Muslims in the administration. Ibn Battuta also expressed his admiration
for the unique talent of Chinese artists, the use of paper money (China started
this practice in the ninth century). He expressed his surprise when he learned
that coal was used as fuel, and found the magnificent porcelain, ceramics, and
chinaware in the local market of astounding quality. He was struck by the
considerable size of local hens, and the size of canals and boats… At Quanzhou
or Zayton, which he reached in 1343, Ibn Battuta was impressed by the vast
seaport replete with ships. He saw 100 huge junks laden with goods and many
smaller vessels. China was thriving under the Yuan Dynasty, which had opted
for an “open-door policy.” Quanzhou hosted the largest Muslim community
in China, with the Arabs and Persians playing a significant role in trade. This
point is of paramount importance in the transformative role of Ibn Battuta as
it points to the proximity of both the Arab Muslims and the Chinese along
the historic Silk Routes. It opens the way for re-actualized convivencia, defined
literally as “living with the other.”
For Ibn Battuta, Quanzhou was unquestionablely “the biggest port in the
world.” Its ceramics were even exported to Morocco and the Maghrib (North
Africa). He also admired Quanzhou’s satin and the omnipresence of silk, worn
even by ordinary persons or mendicants. The Moroccan visited Guangzhou,
Fuzhou, where he was thrilled to meet a fellow Moroccan, Al-Bushri, from
Ceuta (only a few kilometers from Tangier), who accompanied him for four
days. Al-Bushri reminds one that Ibn Battuta was not the first Moroccan to
set foot in China and we may even imagine a trading community from his
homeland active in the “Middle Kingdom.” Finally, the globetrotter went
to Kanbalik (Beijing), sailing on the Grand Canal, even if some historians
doubted if he had gone so far.
In any case, Ibn Battuta is for us a living Google of his time, having
traveled some three times the Earth circumference, having visited some 44
countries. He was “a living connectivity,” who both went on the terrestrial
and Maritime Silk Routes, mainly in the Dar al Islam (transnational Muslim
community), networking along with rulers and merchants, traveling for his
quest of knowledge and giving us a lot of first-hand information while explor-
ing connections with distant peoples. This linking or connecting capacity of
the Tangiers-born globetrotter is undisputed and echoes brilliantly the idea
of connectivity spearheading the BRI. Indeed, in the making of the New Silk
Roads Initiatives, termed the Belt and Road Initiative by the Chinese authorities,
Ibn Battuta is present both in the strategic visions of Chinese and Muslim
policymakers. One cannot ignore his transformative role in bridging distance,
both cultural and political, through the shared knowledge of geographical
spaces acquired through direct experience during his travels. Ibn Battuta has
made China more familiar to Muslims and Moroccans. This is all too appar-
ent in the speech made by Sun Shuzhong (2016), the Chinese ambassador in
Morocco:
North Africa was the crossroads of the ancient land and sea Silk Routes. As the
only African country with coastal exposure to both the Atlantic Ocean and the
Mediterranean Sea, Morocco has a unique geographical advantage and has always
played a pivotal role in the Silk Routes. In this sense, Morocco could radiate its
geographical advantages, both on land and by sea, to make a good connection to
‘the Silk Road Economic Belt’ and to the ‘Maritime Silk Routes.’ At a new starting
point, China and Morocco must follow the footsteps of Ibn Battuta and take the
opportunity of the creation of this Economic Belt and this Sea Route to deepen
further their friendship and cooperation. They should strengthen their collaboration
in the field of infrastructures, such as ports and railways so that Moroccan coastal
and port cities can join the New Silk Roads. Through the interconnection of mar-
itime routes, exchanges between coastal cities, and the cooperation of the marine
economy, Morocco will again become the pioneer and the commercial and logistical
center of the western end of the New Silk Road Initiative.
This speech equates the pioneering spirit of Morocco, land on two water-
ways with a foot on the Sahara Desert, with that of Ibn Battuta. The Chinese
ambassador indicates that China and Morocco must “follow the footsteps” of
the globetrotter. This language shows familiarity and closeness, both human
and geographical, which Ibn Battuta has enabled in the Sino-Moroccan nar-
rative of the New Silk Roads. As we can see, the human connection is to be
developed along with the interconnection of both land and sea routes.
Ibn Battuta’s travels pave the way for the new collaboration already made
active by President Xi Jinping and King Mohammed VI, who went to Beijing
to further Sino-Moroccan cooperation within the Belt and Road Initiative,
recalling the more than a half-millennium relation between China and
Morocco which Ibn Battuta initiated and is now being embodied more than
ever. Emulating Ibn Battuta, Morocco can again become the pioneer of “the
western end of the New Silk Roads” strategic visions, permitting significant
strides in the existing BRI infrastructural schemes…
His Excellency Sun Shuzhong had affirmed, in an earlier speech: “Distance
matters little for close friends, they feel very close although separated by a
long distance.” As this Chinese proverb says, although vast oceans separate
China and Morocco, the friendly exchanges between our two countries are
ancient. In the fourteenth century, the big Chinese and Moroccan travelers,
Wang Dayuan and Ibn Battuta already exchanged visits, which has become a
beautiful story in the annals of Sino-Moroccan secular relations.2
The reference to Wang Dayuan, the famed Chinese traveler of the four-
teenth century, who is said to have traveled from Quanzhou to Morocco, is not
fortuitous, as it posits a dual movement of travelers in Sino-Moroccan annals.
The reference also reminds one of the Chinese counterparts of Ibn Battuta.
The Chinese traveler set sail in Quanzhou in 1328, and again in 1334, visiting
Southeast Asia, Arabia, India, Egypt, East Africa, and even Morocco, where
he stopped in Tangier, the birthplace of Ibn Battuta, also even if some histori-
ans doubt if he went so far. Legends hold that the Moroccan traveler met him
when he was in Quanzhou, where he settled after his two voyages, to write his
travelog, Daoyizhilüe or A Brief Account of Island Barbarians. That would have
been ten years after the Chinese “Marco Polo,” or better, “the Chinese Ibn
Battuta,” visited Morocco. In the person-to-person exchanges and probable
meeting of both Ibn Battuta and Wang Dayuan, what is highlighted is that
China and Morocco share collective histories and a legacy of trust and friend-
ship, and as a result, this shared past of Sino-Moroccan travels is apt to enrich
visions of renewed friendship and cooperation along the New Silk Roads.
China and Morocco Along the New

Silk Roads
In the light of those Sino-Moroccan travelers, it is worthwhile to bring to
mind some mutual visits made by Chinese and Moroccan leaders to the two
countries. In 1958, the first trade agreement was signed between China and
Morocco, triggering exchanges between these two far-eastern and the far-west-
ern nations of the Silk Routes. In 1984, the Ibn Battuta Friendship Association
was created in Beijing, to promote cooperation between the two countries.
In 1985, the Rihla of Ibn Battuta was translated in Chinese and published in
China by Ma Jinpeng, who took some 40 years to translate the travelog. In
1987, Professor Li Yinghua offered the translated book to King Hassan II while
on a trip to Morocco. Needless to say, that this symbolic token was prized by
the King, who regarded it as the living example of the friendship between
China and Morocco. Hassan II’s son followed his footsteps.
Commenting on this historic visit, Le Matin, a Moroccan newspaper,
announced that China had welcomed two famous Moroccan personalities,
H.M. Mohammed VI and Ibn Battuta, calling to mind the major diplomatic
axis of Sino-Moroccan friendship and cooperation based on the seminal visit of
Ibn Battuta in the fourteenth century. Mohammed VI’s historic move, hailed
by President Jiang Zemin “as a milestone,” was followed by the Moroccan visit
of President Hu Jintao in April 2006. In May 2016, Mohammed VI returned
to China, extolling the perspectives of the BRI, while the Moroccan Foreign
Affairs announced visa exemption for Chinese citizens visiting Morocco for
less than 90 days. The King of Morocco was back in China on August 21,
2018, the day of his birth, to celebrate Youth Day. Needless to say that China
and Morocco are now fully cooperating on the Silk Routes, initiating commer-
cial projects, furthering development in Tangier and possibly, Fez, etc.
Reflecting on the Tanger Tech project, a journalist recalled that the
recurrent figure of Ibn Battuta in Sino-Moroccan relations sometimes has the
contour of a romance that can be overemphasized to meet the needs of policy-
makers: Obviously, it is not Tangier Tech who made this globetrotter known.
“Several buildings in the city bear his name, and a festival, when we talk
about travel and peace, was even dedicated to him. However, as the whole
world prepares to take the New Silk Roads Initiative, Ibn Battuta’s Chinese
adventure has become a kind of romance that the officials cite with a desire to
a better position in Morocco somewhere between Europe and Africa.”3
Indeed, some seven centuries after Ibn Battuta’s travel in China, the
medieval traveler has become the pioneering symbol of Sino-Moroccan coop-
eration under the frame of the BRI. The historical links between China and
Morocco have also spearheaded the New Silk Roads Initiatives narrative and
strategic rapprochement between China and other Muslim countries, espe-
cially in North Africa and the Middle East, where Ibn Battuta is hailed as
a grander Marco Polo. He strongly symbolizes the Arab Muslim legacy on
these trade routes, whether land or maritime. This symbolism is never too far
from the paths of commerce and economic cooperation, as symbolized by the
Ibn Battuta malls in Morocco and Dubai, and the statue of the globetrotter
in Quanzhou. The globetrotter has also become a kind of icon in the Arab
world steeped in several conflicts and eager to reconnect with the possibility
of charting the world and reactivate a memory of travel via and land and sea
connectivity.
One example is alive in this reappropriation of Ibn Battuta in the adventure
carved out by a contemporary Moroccan adventurer: “Understanding human
nature begins by exploring our vast world,”4 says Mohammed Khamouch,
describing what motivated him to embark on a journey that took him from
El-Araish in northwestern Morocco to Central Asia and the Far East.
This modern-day Ibn Battuta stated he wanted to emulate his ancestor: “I
was looking for a role model, and I found him in Ibn Battuta,”5 Khamouch
said. He went to visit many countries on an “epic” journey, making thousands
of photos and filming along the way. Khamouch is reliving the philosophy
of life of Ibn Battuta, traveling out of intellectual curiosity and for personal
fulfillment: Khamouch, who is nicknamed the Little Ibn Battuta in Morocco,

is now preparing to publish a significant work that includes his pictures, obser-
vations, and research on Muslim Asia.
He has one piece of advice to young people: Travel, explore, write and
take pictures. He also thinks there should be more interest in the feats of
Ibn Battuta, who he said invented the travel writing genre. “We [Arabs and
Muslims] are the worthiest of his legacy.”6
Alongside this desire for exploration, another element stands in favor
of Ibn Battuta. He is said to be the best example substantiating the Hadith
(Prophetic saying), stating “Seek knowledge, even if it is in China.” Even if
this saying of the Prophet is debated as authentic by some authorities of Islam,
this Hadith is widespread in the Muslim World as it emphasizes the obligation
to educate oneself without sparing the necessity of great efforts. As shown in
the travels of Ibn Battuta, he traveled first for his intellectual quest, as opposed
to Marco Polo, who traveled mainly for commercial reasons. He was set to
reach the fabled riches of the East.
In a way, Ibn Battuta symbolizes the nomadic and traveling spirit of the
Muslims, who were the middlemen between the East and the West along the
Silk Routes. Furthermore, he made a tremendous contribution to the geogra-
phy and cultural anthropology of the Middle Ages, showing they were not the
Dark Ages currently applied to that period in Europe, but rather prosperous
and enlightened Middle Ages in the Islamic world and China. Ibn Battuta
was himself an educated person who had a good knowledge of the law, allow-
ing him to be an adviser and ambassador to influential persons he met along
the way. He embodied many ideals of his community who were on all known
continents either for pilgrimage, voyages for knowledge or commerce. In the
present state of turmoil in the Arab Muslim World, Ibn Battuta is the perfect
social and cultural figure and model capable of enhancing historic Muslim
presence along the reactivated Silk Routes, being the ideal historical figure
of connectivity between Asia, Africa, and Europe. He is, therefore, a much-
needed transformative figure to bring a more inclusive vision of the world to
many Muslim countries steeped in conflicts and current sociological turmoil.
Looking at the BRI and Asia might well be a solution for them, as they stuck
in problematic South-North issues.
It is clear that China has also understood the potency of the legacy of Ibn
Battuta. I believe that this partly originates from the Rihla’s comprehensive
view of traveling conditions of Ibn Battuta’s epoch, giving a vivid description
of the historic Silk Roads, making them natural highways for adventure, trade,
knowledge and delineating them as a legacy shared by Muslims, the Chinese
and beyond. Of course, Ibn Battuta provides one with a comprehensive under-
standing, which is very useful for travelers of his time, whether pilgrims, mer-
chants or people in quest of knowledge. For instance, Ibn Battuta visited the
vital trade routes linking Africa, Asia, and Europe, describing polities, trade
practices and production in diverse habitats. He moved from oasis to desert,
from caravanserais to seaports, describing infrastructure, modes of exchanges
and payment, the state of roads and bridges, the corporations of merchants
and traders, their interaction with the local authorities, temples, mosques,
customs, and creeds…
Besides this factual knowledge, Ibn Battuta approaches China in a more
personal manner. This is apparent when he admires the beauties of the lands,
horses, silk robes, furs, visiting caves, cities, fields, artisans and developing
an extensive travelog informing us of the bustling Silk Roads’ wonders and
know-how, connecting peoples and countries through economic and cultural
exchanges. In this, he opens the doors for identification and appropriation not
only during his epoch but also, in the present developing stages of the New
Silk Road Initiative. In short, the knowledge of China he updated is now being
reactivated in cultural and trade diplomacy between China and Morocco. He
showed how his world was interconnected, a treasure for real connectivity
visions of the Belt and Road Initiative.
It is noteworthy to add, at this point, that Ibn Battuta was not the first
Muslim heading to East Asia. A companion of the Prophet, Abu Waqqas
is said to have founded the first mosque in Canton (Guangzhou), when
the Messenger of Islam was still alive, in the seventh century. With settle-
ments of merchants along coastal areas, and trade networks spreading from
the Arabian Peninsula to India, Southeast Asia, and China, writings from
Persian and Arabic sources flourished, giving an insight into the expanding
Muslim communities and developing knowledge about far-eastern countries.
In the ninth century, among these sources, often based on accounts of sail-
ors and travelers as well as direct travel experience, we can mention Persian
Ibn Khurdadhbih, who wrote Kitab al-Masalik wa-Mamalik (Book of Roads and
Kingdoms) in 846, elaborating the first substantial work about China, chart-
ing trade routes in China, Korea, and Japan and mentioning some 300 cities
in the celestial empire. Akhbal a-Sin wal-Hind (Accounts of China and India),
probably by Suleiman the Merchant and Abu Zeid al-Sirafi, Silsilat al-Tawarikh
(The Chain of Chronicles) by Abu Zayd a-Sirafi in 916 and Ajaib al-Hind (The
Miracles of India), by Buzurg Ibn Shahriyar 953, alongside countless Sindbad
stories, enriched the travel and geographic literature.
Mukhtasar Kitab al-Buldan (The Concise Book of Countries), written by Ibn
al-Faqih (902), is another notable account of China, insisting on inter-tex-
tual links and continuity with earlier Rihla. In this tenth century, Abu Duluf
al-Yanbui wrote about the Asian lands, so did Tabari, Yakut, Masudi, Tabai,
and al-Marwazi. China and India were highly regarded in these narratives and
books of geography. Last but not least, it is worthwhile to mention that when
Al-Ma’Mun (813–833) founded the Academy of Geography, also known as
the House of Wisdom, the knowledge of geography made huge strides in the
ninth century, showing that peoples were interconnected through trade, reli-
gion, culture, and techniques. This was during the heyday of Baghdad, the
cultural, political and economic capital of the Muslim World, a significant
land and maritime node of the Silk Routes.
However, a change occurred, from the later ninth century to the four-
teenth century, when the volume of trade between China and Arab Muslim
countries declined. Much of the Rihla literature lapsed into fantasy and
mythology, while some writers were much too devoted to devising an exclu-
sive Islamic history, neglecting an autonomous approach of geography and the
variegated knowledge of distant lands. Thus, the interest in China remained
in limbo, shrouded in a halo of mystery, fed with inaccuracies. This was the
result of lesser autonomy in the field of literature for travel, culture, trade
and intellectual quest. This insight ultimately returned with the Tangier-born
globetrotter. As a matter of fact, as from the fourteenth century, Ibn Battuta
played a significant role between China and the Dar al Islam (the transna-
tional Muslim community): he brought the Middle Kingdom to the other end
of Asia, Africa, and Europe, showing continuity through the Dar al Islam and
connecting China from an autonomous traveler’s point of view. Even if his
Rihla is interspersed with some inaccuracies, it abounds in data that have been
useful for travelers, merchants, students, pilgrims, and people of knowledge….
His Rihla informed his contemporaries about the celestial empire from direct
observation and experience. It was a real success because such insight was
badly needed in the first half of the fourteenth century.
Through his renewed perspective and travel compendium, a new connec-
tion was made with China, his Rihla gave a more powerful and more precise
insight into the Middle Kingdom than the more official texts preceding him.
Thus, China became a concrete reality one could travel to. In the cyclical
course of history, he is himself being reactivated as a catalyst for memorial

interaction between China and Morocco on the New Silk Roads Initiatives. His
stature cannot be dwarfed on those old and new routes.
Indeed, even if the authenticity of the Hadith “Seek knowledge even if it
is in China” is questioned as being a “strong” one, its spirit is embodied by Ibn
Battuta. At that time and still, today Ibn Batutta’s Rihla is a broad junction
shared in Morocco and other Muslim nations.
Conclusion: A Chinese Ibn Battuta in Fez

I recall the moment when Professor John Qiang Wang and I were visiting the
most extensive Madina of the world, in the historic part of Fez, he felt a kind
of cultural cousinship with the Moroccans. Namely, regarding the food, the
welcoming attitude, the mint tea (though he drank it with salt, as a remedy to
ailment, when he was a child), the sweet and sour taste of food...
Professor John Qiang Wang, explicitly stated to me that the economic
exchanges, before and after Ibn Battuta, have had a profound impact on the
social and cultural set-up of his home city, Quanzhou. The town he lives
in was widely enriched by its position as the starting point of the Maritime
Silk Routes of China, making it open to many cultures and religions and
techniques. It is much of a combination of many worlds that met there in
the past. Quanzhou has mosques, temples and even the only statue of Mani
(the founder of Manicheism) in the world…. As such, it upholds the coex-
istence we explore through modern and contemporary forms at the House
of Wisdom.
I, therefore, believe that a reactivated convivencia, as experienced in
Andalusia before the end of the fifteenth century, for instance, despite refrac-
tive phases, is still one of the significant challenges and promises of the Silk
Routes and the present world. What we know is that its seeds are here and
need to be nurtured. For instance, bringing to our cognizance the elements of
shared wisdom and living together with our differences along the Silk Routes
can prove beneficial to humanity. We need an inclusive spirit enriching the
circulation of goods and ideas that, along with the Silk Routes, undoubtedly, is
impacting the world most strikingly. It is in this present flux of products that
ideas must also be articulated. Elements of cultural openness and diversity
need to be fostered, to spare further flaws resulting from the enactment of a
solely economic corridor not beneficial to cultural exchanges and enhance-
ment of cultural diversity and win-win cultural relations.
This is one of the missions of the House of Wisdom, drawing on the enlight-
ened age of Baghdad, a cosmopolitan metropolis combining both the caravan
and sea routes of trade. It was at a time when the Abbasid Caliphate, which
was founded in the eighth and ninth centuries, had direct access to the Indian
Ocean and active contacts with the Tang Dynasty of China. The bond is here
and needs to be reactivated.
John Qiang Wang’s speech at the conference in Fez, much to our delight,
shed light on the reflective element of the inclusiveness that sustains reacti-
vated convivencia and Chinese wisdom. This impacts the ethics of business,
the spirit of development, as expressed in his much-awaited book. Quanzhou,
as he stated in the city where Ibn Battuta dictated his Rihla, is a receptacle of
this living memory of the Silk Routes.
John Qiang Wang’s testimony was moving when he relived the past with
us. The Fassis, or inhabitants of Fez, were enthused by his whole message. More
than ever, we are convinced that we have to use the new connectivity of the
Silk Routes for cooperation, economic exchanges, personal and regional ful-
fillment. We hope for more person-to-person and people-to-people exchange.
We believe, for instance, that Fez and Quanzhou, have to meet again, as they
met in the narrative of Ibn Battuta, both in the past and this year….
To conclude temporarily, from the philosophical exchanges with John
Qiang Wang and later thoughts, I confess that we have found in Ibn Battuta
the perfect link between Quanzhou and Fez, between China and Morocco,
between the West, the Middle, and the Far East.
As for the Quanzhou and Fez-Granada (the Andalusian city where the
House of Wisdom laid its first foundations in 2012) connection, one last word
needs to be said. Indeed, Ibn Battuta came back to Morocco from Quanzhou
around 1350. He went to Andalusia and Mali, and it was the Marinid Sultan
Abu Inan Faris of Fez (the ancient capital of Morocco) who told him to return
to Fez to write his Rihla. He did so in late 1354. Moreover, it was none other than
the poet Ibn Juzayy al-Kalbi al-Gharnati, whom Ibn Battuta met in Granada,
who wrote the 1,000 pages composing the Rihla of the Tangier-born globetrot-
ter. The Granadian writer died in Fez in 1357, two years after writing the Rihla.
Thus, Quanzhou, Fez and Granada, the three cities of convivencia are connected
through his travelog. I can find no better connection than Ibn Battuta, this
living Google of the medieval times, to encourage people-to-people communi-
cation on the Silk Routes, in the Muslim and Arab world and beyond.
In this perspective, nowadays, Quanzhou and Fez have already started to
revisit and share their past, and present narratives by crisscrossing the silk
paths of culture, economic cooperation, and openness to diversities.
This was so vivid when the Director of the Quaraouiyine Library (the
oldest functioning library in the world, based in Fez) allowed us to con-
sult an original copy of Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, in Arabic. It was after our last
event regarding the New Convivencia and Silk Routes at the Library, specially
opened for us. The precious manuscript was just a few centimeters from us…
John was authorized to look for the word Zayton, La Tong or Quanzhou
in the Rihla, as a means of touching the history of Quanzhou and Fez in
the “One-Thousand-and-One-Nights moment.” What we could see on the
very-well preserved pages was the word Sina, China. This Rihla was written
in Fez in the fourteenth century, dictated by Ibn Battuta, who had been
to Quanzhou. And, now, John was here in Fez after some seven centuries,
touching his Rihla! I was also thrilled as I had been in this trans-border
imaginary for years…
This moment with the Rihla gave us a profound vision of historical
continuity and an intense feeling of cultural proximity, I mean a living
one, as a kind of epiphany of the Silk Routes, shared through our ded-
ications to “longer” and “immediate” histories. We deeply treasure this
moment as it is truly exceptional. We need to explore further avenues of
cultural density along the Silk Routes, besides the trade and economic con-
nections that are taking shape with more countries joining in the Belt and
Road Initiative. For an inclusive philosophy to be operational for the Belt
and Road Initiative, the narrative we are writing needs this type of reactiva-
tion along the Silk Routes. With all this in mind, with these shared visions
and experiences, I know that the book of John Qiang Wang highlights
the living testimony of a vivid sharing of history and memory. It upholds
a polished step stone to the future of the Belt and Road Initiative. In this
whole light, we fully know that Quanzhou is now at the forefront of the
inclusive culture and win-win economic philosophy of the Silk Routes and
many promises are lying ahead.
Dr. Khal Torabully, Tunis
September 2018
Note: Dr. Khal Torabully is a Mauritian and French poet, a scholar of
UNESCO Silk Road Interactive Atlas and founder of House of Wisdom (Fez-
Granada). On November 2 of 2016, launch of the activities of the House
of Wisdom (Fez-Granada) in Fez, by its founder, Khal Torabully and the
Executive Committee of House of Wisdom (Fez-Granada), with a view of
re actualizing the inclusiveness spirit and mission of the House of Wisdom,
a public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad during the Islamic
Golden Age.7
Notes
1. Torabully, K. (2016). Wuhan-Lyon, la nouvelle route de la soie est bien là…. Retrieve
from http://www.potomitan.info/torabully/soie.php.
2. Sun Shuzhong (2016). Allocution de S.E.M.SUN Shuzhong, Ambassadeur de Chine à la
conférence de presse du Grand Prix de Contribution à l’Amitié sino-arabe. Retrieved from
http://ma.china-embassy.org/fra/xwdt/t1336502.htm.
3. Nadia lalmlili (2018). Tanger-Pékin Express 16 Avril 2018 à 16h12. Retrieved from
https://www.jeuneafrique.com/mag/549191/societe/tanger-pékin-express/.
4. Wisal al-Cheikh (2016). The Modern Day Ibn Battuta from Morocco to Uzbekistan.
https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/4/24/the-modern-day-ibn-battuta-from-
morocco-to-uzbekistan.
5. Wisal al-Cheikh (2016). The Modern-day Ibn Battuta: From Morocco To Uzbekistan.
Retrieved from https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/4/24/the-modern-day-ibn-
battuta-f.
6. Wisal al-Cheikh (2016). The Modern-day Ibn Battuta: From Morocco To Uzbekistan.
Retrieved from https://www.alaraby.co.uk/english/society/2016/4/24/the-modern-day-ibn-
battuta-f.
7. House of Wisdom (Fez-Granada) in Fez (2016). Retrieved from https://lematin.ma/
express/2018/rencontre-nouvelles-routes-soie/287409.html .
APPENDIX
A Brief Introduction Quanzhou:
Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan
China
Today an important seaport and the most dynamic city for the private econ-
omy in Fujian Province, the historic town of Quanzhou, located on the
south-eastern coast of China at 24°22′~25°56′N 117°34′~119°05′E, was once
a crucial harbor along the Maritime Silk Trade Routes and China’s gateway to
the world during the medieval time (1000–1400).
Known by medieval Arabic travelers such as Ibn Battuta who reached it
in 1346, as Zayton, Quanzhou was described by Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta
as “one of the largest and most commodious ports in the world.” According to
the record, it was from Quanzhou, more than seven centuries ago, that Marco
Polo set off on his mission to accompany Kököchin, the Mongol Princess for
her marriage ceremony in Persia (Modern Iran).1
A Melting Pot of Diverse Civilizations and

Maritime Cultures
Quanzhou has a long history dating back to the New Stone Age. Archeologists’
discoveries of numerous Neolithic ruins along the Jinjiang River indicate the
existence of a farming and fishing society of rice farmers, fishers, weavers and
potters.
236 legendary port of the maritime silk routes

 
Figure A.1. Sites of Quanzhou Harbor—Gusao Tower, Shihu Tower and Luoyang Bridge.

Source: © Quanzhou Maritime Museum & Heritage Center
 
317037_Wang.indd 236 18-Dec-19 10:11:32
Appendix 237
As the largest port city and world emporium during the medieval mari-
time trade, Quanzhou’s cultural and commercial exchanges extended as far as
Japan and the Korean Peninsula in the east and the East African coastal areas
to the west, covering a variety of elements from Confucianism, Buddhism,
Taoism, Islam, Nestorian Christianity, Manichaeism and so forth.
Like World Heritage-listed Venice at the western end of the Silk Road,
Quanzhou retains an abundance of historical remains representing both its
maritime history and its blending of diverse civilizations.
Scattered around the Quanzhou Bay are sixteen historical sites related
to maritime trade and a melting pot of diverse cultures that have survived
to the present day. The sixteen historical sites and monuments combine to
create a vibrant panorama of a Chinese port city during its heyday in mari-
time trade between the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1271–1368) Dynasties.
The serial properties on the tentative list of World Heritage nomination in
2018 presented by China include monuments and sites of the city infrastruc-
tural facilities including production, transportation, and navigation as well as
the monuments and sites reflecting the intercultural exchanges and peaceful
coexistence of diverse civilizations and religions.
The sites served as production, transportation and navigation facilities
in ancient maritime trade, including the Wanshou Tower and the Liusheng
Pagoda, both of which were navigation markers in premodern times. Moreover,
additional navigation and transportation facilities include Shihu Dock;
Estuary Docks, Luoyang Bridge and the Site of Deji Gate. Production sites and
monuments for maritime trade activities include Jiurishan Mountain Wind-
Praying Carvings and the Kiln Sites at Jinjiaoyi Mountain of Cizao Kilns.
Religious sites reflecting cultural exchanges include Zhenwu Temple,
Tianhou Temple, Confucius Temple of Quanzhou, Stone Statue of Lao Tze; the
Kaiyuan Temple, one of China’s oldest Buddhist temples; the Islamic Tombs;
Qingjing Mosque, one of China’s oldest mosques, the Statue of Mani in the
Cao’an Temple, and the only existing stone statue of the Manichaean Prophet.
The Liusheng Pagoda
The Liusheng Pagoda is situated on the top of the Jinchai Hill at a protruding
point of the cape at the estuary area on the southeast coast of Quanzhou Bay.
The tower was first built from 1111 to 1113. It is 36.06 meters high. In 1136,
a local maritime merchant financed the restoration of the pagoda. It bears
testimony to the prosperity of overseas transportation and trade of Quanzhou
in the fourteenth century, and the robust economic strength of the maritime
merchant in Quanzhou.
Wanshou Pagoda (Also as Gusao Tower)

The Wanshou Pagoda, which was built from 1131 to 1162, is situated at the
highest point of Quanzhou Bay. As the critical navigation marker which guided
ships to Quanzhou harbor, Wanshou Pagoda bears testimony to the ancient
navigation and commercial prosperity of Quanzhou in the premodern maritime
trade with Southeast Asia, the Indian ocean and Arab World and so forth.
Shihu Dock
Shihu Dock is situated in a natural harbor embraced by the Shihu peninsula
extending into the sea, which consists of Linluan Ferry, made of natural rocks in
720, and Tongji Trestle Bridge, built from 1086 to 1094. The dock acted as a cru-
cial port for maritime trade and an essential outpost for coastal defense in ancient
times. Shihu Dock and other inner docks at the river estuary formed the dock
complex of Quanzhou harbor during its heyday in the Song and Yuan Dynasties.
The Estuary Docks of Quanzhou

Located at the juncture of the Jinjiang River and Quanzhou Bay, the Estuary
Docks of Quanzhou consist of Meishan Wharf and Wenxing Wharf, which are
constructed with block stones. As a critical part of the riverside commercial
wharf system during the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the docks, boasting scien-
tifically built structure and high durability, bear testimony to the prosperity of
maritime transportation in ancient Quanzhou. The shipwreck unearthed in
Fashi Port offers significant historical proofs and research materials for study-
ing overseas communication, shipbuilding, and navigation of Quanzhou in
the Southern Song Dynasty.
The Site of Deji Gate

Built by the Jinjiang River around the thirteenth century during the Song
Dynasty, the Site of Deji Gate used to be the south gate of the ancient
Appendix 239
Quanzhou for nearly 600 years. It is the representative evidence witnessing the

developmental history of this old port city. From the thirteenth to fourteenth
centuries, the southern part of Quanzhou, where Deji Gate was located, was
not only the main juncture of sea-river transportation network but also the
commercial center and the transit center for sea and land transportation.
Luoyang Bridge
Luoyang Bridge, also known as Wan’an Bridge, is located at the estuary of
Luoyang River between the Luojiang District and Taiwan Investment Zone,
where it was known as ancient Luoyang Port of Quanzhou Bay. Luoyang
Bridge was built from the 5th year of the Huangyou period (1053) and com-
peted at the Jiayou period (1059) of the Northern Song Dynasty. Cai Xiang
presided over the construction. Luoyang Bridge is a representative work in the
region’s bridge-building bloom against the backdrop of Quanzhou’s prosper-
ous maritime trade. As the first flat-beam stone bridge built in the harbor of
China, it represents China’s advanced bridge construction technology at that
time. The construction of Luoyang Bridge facilitated the land-sea transport
of Quanzhou, and it is evidence of the thriving maritime trade and advanced
traffic technology of Quanzhou.
Luoyang Bridge is the first flat-beam stone bridge built in the harbor of
China that employed innovative and advanced construction technologies
including a raft-shaped foundation, consolidating the foundation by cultivat-
ing oysters and transporting heavy stone slates by making use of the buoyancy
force and waves. The bridge, with unique historical, artistic and scientific
value, is of great importance in the history of Chinese bridges.
The Site of Cizao Kiln at Jinjiaoyi Mountain

Ceramics were the bulk cargo in Chinese maritime exports during the tenth
to fourteenth centuries. Kilns were widely spread all over Quanzhou during
the Song and Yuan Dynasties. More than 150 export-oriented kiln sites have
been discovered. The Kiln Sites at Jinjiaoyi Mountain of Cizao Kilns was
a vital manufacturing complex for export-oriented ceramics in the Song
and Yuan Dynasties. The products of Cizao Kilns have been unearthed not
only in the countries of East Asia and Southeast Asia, such as Japan and the
Philippines but also frequently excavated from the shipwrecks in the Xisha
Islands (Paracel Islands) and the South China Sea. These are typical material
evidence for the flourishing maritime trade of medieval Quanzhou.
Wind-praying Carvings of Mount Jiurishan

Wind-praying Carvings of Mount Jiurishan are cliff inscriptions on sacrifi-
cial rituals praying for voyage safety and a favorable wind, organized by local
maritime administration authorities of Quanzhou since the third year of the
Chongning period Northern Song Dynasty (1104).
Seventy-seven cliff inscriptions and seven tablets inscriptions were carved
on the cliff rocks of Mount Jiurishan covering a long period from the Song
Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty (from the tenth to eighteenth centuries).
The ones with the highest historical value are thirteen rock inscriptions
related to monsoon navigation, maritime trade, and customs management
between the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, including ten inscriptions
recording seafarers’ prayer for the favorable wind and smooth sailing and three
mentioning official sacrificial activities and the merchant management sys-
tem of Quanzhou during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
The rock inscriptions recorded the dates of sacrifice, the names, and titles
of participants, activities after the ceremony, and so forth. These records show
the proper attention to maritime trade and the familiarity with the maritime
management system.
Zhenwu Temple for Sea God Worship

Zhenwu Temple was initially constructed from the fifth year of the Qiande
period to the sixth year of the Kaibao period of the Northern Song Dynasty
(967–990). Zhenwu Temple is a famous temple to worship Zhenwu, the Sea God
by Quanzhou maritime authorities, which bears testimony to the worshiping of
Sea God and its unique ocean conception shared among the people in the coastal
region in Southeast of China during the heyday of medieval maritime trade.
Tianhou Temple
Known as Tianhou Temple, Mazu Temple of Quanzhou was constructed in
1196. It is a vital transmission center in the worship of Mazu, from where the
cult spread. With the rise of maritime trade at Zayton between the thirteenth
Appendix 241
and fourteenth centuries, Mazu was officially recognized as the sea goddess at
the national level, and the belief spread internationally. The Mazu Temple
of Quanzhou represents the most majestic Mazu temple in China, and it has
become an architectural model for the temples at home in China and overseas.
The Qingjing Mosque
The Qingjing Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in China, was constructed
in 1009. It was a place for local Muslims to gather and pray as well as an insti-
tute for Arabian descendants in ancient Zayton to learn religious knowledge,
hold celebrations and conduct religious rites. Built according to Chinese and
Arabian architectural styles, the Qingjing Mosque reminds us of the spread of
Islam to China via the maritime trade routes and the peaceful coexistence of
diverse cultures in Quanzhou between the tenth and the fourteenth century.
Islam Tombs on Lingshan

According to Min Book written by He-Qiaoyuan, the site of Islam Tombs in
Quanzhou is the graveyard of Prophet Muhammad’s two followers, Jahsh and
Wahb Abu Kabcha, who came to Quanzhou by sea in the early seventh cen-
tury. The cemetery covers a land area of about 3000 square meters. The archi-
tecture was built in a traditional Islamic style, while the corridor was built in
a classic Chinese style, thus showing the integration of diverse cultures in the
ancient Quanzhou.
Statue of Mani in the Cao’ an Temple

The statue of Mani in Cao’an temple was carved in 1339. The carving made
good use of the natural rocks. This statue is the world’s only remaining stone
statue of Mani, founder of Manichaeism. It highlights the spread of Manichaeism
to coastal China as well as its transformation and localization. It is a heritage
witnessing the blending of diverse cultures in Quanzhou in ancient times.
Stone Statue of Lao Tze

The colossal stone statue of Taishang Laojun, that is, Lao Tze, the founder
of Taoism. The state was made around the tenth century during the Song
Dynasty. The statue was sculpted out of a large rock, and it is 5.63 meters
long, 8.01-meter-wide, and 6.85 meters thick. It is China’s most massive stone
statue of Lao Tze, which reflects the popularity of Taoism during that period
when it was made during the Song Dynasty.
Kaiyuan Temple
Kaiyuan Temple was built in 686, with its initial layout entirely constructed in
the Song Dynasty. Covering an area of 78,000 square meters, this magnificent
Buddhist temple demonstrates an integration of different schools of Buddhism
and other religious elements, which reflects the inter-flow between Chinese
and Indian civilizations. The five-story octagonal twin pagodas within the front
yard of Kaiyuan Temple, which were built between 1228 and 1250 to replace
the wooden ones constructed in 865 and 917 respectively and their brick
replacement after many renovations. With more than 40 meters in height, the
Twin Pagodas of Zayton are masterpieces of stone architecture in Song China.
The Confucius Temple of Quanzhou

The Confucius Temple Complex of Quanzhou was first constructed from 976
to 984 as an educational & academic institute as well as an examination cen-
ter for public civic examination in honor of Confucius—the great thinker and
educator of ancient China. Constituting the architectural styles of the Song,
Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, it witnessed the development of education
and dynasties of the cultural life of Quanzhou Port during the heyday of the
medieval maritime trade.
The serial moments and sites of Quanzhou (Zayton) bear testimony
to the historical position and maritime navigation and trade practices of
medieval Quanzhou as a strategic and prosperous port city, and a hub of
economic and cultural exchanges between the East and the West. They
represent a significant piece of maritime history and are directly associated
with the sailor and navigator recruitment of Admiral Zheng-He’s fleets to
the West Ocean.
Moreover, the monuments and sites testify the religion and culture
exchanges along with the maritime trade tangibly associated with the spread
of Hinduism, Taoism, Buddhism, Islam, Manichaeism, Nestorianism, and Sea
God worship in the southeast coastal area of China. Travelers and traders from
different cultural and religious backgrounds came to Zayton. Their peaceful
Appendix 243
coexistence in the port city of Quanzhou was evidenced in travelogs and other
literary works, including the travels of Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta’s Rihla, the Travels
of Friar Odoric, Franciscan missionary report by Andrew of Perugia, Records of
Foreign Countries written in 1225 by Zhao Rukuo, and A Synoptical Account of
the Islands and Their Barbarians by Wang Dayuan and so forth.
Outstanding Universal Value
Within the framework of the Integral Study of the Silk Roads: Roads of Dialog
(1988–1997), UNESCO launched an international joint investigation of
the maritime routes. An international maritime expedition team was sent to
Quanzhou in 1991. The diverse relics and sites of maritime navigation and
multicultural urban infrastructure surviving to the present day from medie-
val times or earlier impressed the investigators. Dr. Doudou Diene, the team
leader, and other participating researchers praised them for their significance
and outstanding universal value and recommended the establishment of a
Maritime Silk Roads Study Center in the city.
Acknowledging the ancient city’s wealth of historical and cultural arti-
facts, the Chinese State Council has inscribed the sixteen sites onto the list
of National Protected Heritage, with three classifications of ruins: Navigation
and Trade, Cultural Diversity, and Urban and Transportation.
Known as Zayton in medieval times, Quanzhou was a crucial port city in
coastal China, which made a significant contribution to maritime history and
now it is well known for its cultural and historical value. The sixteen component
sites of ancient Quanzhou was nominated as one serial heritage, representing the
cultural diversity and peaceful coexistence in coastal China of medieval time,
for inscription on the UNESCO World Heritage List as Historic Monuments
and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou (Zayton) in 2018. In 2019, six more sites, includ-
ing the site of Song Royal Clan, Sibosi, Qingyang iron-smelting ruins, Laiyuan
post house, Anping bridge and Shunji bridge,were added to the tentative list
of China in 2020 to further integrate the significance of the Minnan Culture,
of which Quanzhou is considered to be the birthplace and centre, in the attri-
butes that convey the values of maritime heritage. The historic monuments
and sites of ancient Quanzhou (Zayton) testifies to the harmonious coexistence
of the different religious cultures in Quanzhou, which were brought along by
navigation activities, as well as the advanced level of maritime transportation
facilities, cultural exchanges and port construction achieved during the heyday
of premodern maritime civilization in ancient coastal China.
The premodern maritime trade and exchange between coastal China and
the other part of the world carried more than just merchandise and precious
commodities; cultural exchanges brought about the transmission of knowl-
edge, ideas, and beliefs had a profound impact on the history and civilizations
of East Asia and made a contribution to modern humanity. With unparalleled
diversity, integrity and excellence, the historic monuments and sites of medi-
eval Quanzhou (Zayton) are of great national and international importance as
an integral part of the maritime connection between coastal China, Southeast
Asia, India, Persian Gulf, Africa, and Europe.
The Lyrics of a Folk Song: Down to

Quanzhou
Farmers watering early rice, by buckets

Barefoot kids are seeking loaches, in a paddy field
A Shrine Goat Roaming and Browsing, leisurely
As the Deities’ Goat, nobody dares to steal
Twin Pagodas look so much alike, settled in Kaiyuan Temple
The West Street exhibits the earlier feature, all the time
Encountering with liquor and finger-guessing game, in the bustling southern Town
Enjoying the classical Nanyin music over refreshing tea, a rare pleasure
Get visiting Shi Ba Zhi House, listening Zayton stories by Dear Li
And I am only a singer, writing songs dumbly
Sage Zhu Xi once said Zayton full of wise men, who all are our friends
I am content with being an ordinary, managing my life steadily and last
“ ‘Kic-koac,’ while making a boat out of wood
‘Pinn-pong,’ when launching it into the river
‘Yii-wyann,’ steering it by double oars
‘Sic-swaa,’ speedily down to Quan Zhou.”
Cicadas on treetops chatting and chatting, non-stopping
Fortune-teller at the temple entrance, speaking with a Nan’an accent
Upon inquiring when to achieve success and fame, by divination
Invocation sincerely, Deities will bless you
Lao Tze’s stone figure possesses big ears and long bear
With a calm and serene heart, nothing to worry about
Standing atop the peak of Qing Yuan Mountain, looking up at the moon over my
ancient city
It’s lightening the world, as well as enlightening the literati
“ ‘Kic-koac,’ while making a boat out of wood
‘Pinn-pong,’ when launching it into the river
‘Yii-wyann,’ steering it by double oars
‘Sic-swaa,’ speedily down to Quan Zhou.”
Appendix 245
Figure A.2. (Picture Mosaic) Old Town of Quanzhou.
Note: Mr. Su Shihong, a local musician in Quanzhou, wrote this folk

song, and the Chinese version of the lyrics was translated into the English
language by Mr. Chen Changzheng. The song quotes a widely spread poem
written by Li Guangdi (1642–1718), a respectful Confucian scholar and
Prime Minister of the Qing Dynasty. Li was born in Anxi, Quanzhou. The
poem has been passed from mouth to mouth for hundreds of years around
Quanzhou Prefecture. It described the scene of making a boat from woods
and then taking it along Jinjiang River down to Quanzhou from mountainous
317037_Wang.indd 245 18-Dec-19 10:11:32

Anxi county during the heyday of maritime trade when the river transporta-
tion connected the hinterland of Quanzhou in the mountainous area.
[The Original Chinese Version of Down to

Quanzhou]
苏世洪 作词
大人咧戽水沃早稻
囝仔脱赤脚掠泥鳅
宫口一只羊边走边吃慢慢悠悠
头壳顶有写字走到哪儿也不会丢
东塔佮西塔有点儿亲像
这条街也是较早的模样
熙熙攘攘的城南拳头烧酒
听一段南音配茶是真享受
走到十八芝听老李话泉州
我是一个怣怣写歌的歌手
伊说满街都是圣人全部是好朋友
安乐做凡人生活细水长流
剀磕木成舟
沯泵水中游
門双篙桨
彳亍到泉州
树顶的蛘蜅西还在喋喋不休
庙口的看命先生讲话是南安腔
卜问什么时季会功成名就
诚心三支香神明会保佑
老君的大大耳仔长长的胡须
清静无为有什么忧愁
伫清源山顶看古城的月娘
一半照人间一半写文章
剀磕木成舟
沯泵水中游
門双篙桨
彳亍到泉州
Appendix 247
Figure A.3. A Vertical View of the Site of Deji Gate.

317037_Wang.indd 247 18-Dec-19 10:11:33

Note
1. Shabahang, M. (2014) Quanzhou | Silk Roads—UNESCO. Retrieved from https://
en.unesco.org/silkroad/content/quanzhou.
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in the Sixteenth Century: Being the Narratives of Galeote Pereira, Fr. Gaspar da Cruz, Fr.
Martin de Rada. London: Hakluyt Society.
Chung-wah Chow (2012). Xunpu oyster village: Fresh seafood, flamboyant women. Retrieved
from http://travel.cnn.com/xunpu-oyster-village-fresh-seafood-flamboyant-179266/.
Huang, T., Chen P., Huang, B., & Zhicheng. (1980). An Investigation on the Developmental
History of the Ceramics Industry in Jinjiang County. Journal of Maritime History Studies.
pp. 29–34.
Lieu, S. N. (1980). Nestorians and Manichaeans on the South China coast. Vigiliae Christianae,
pp. 80, 83.
Pearson, R., Men, L., & Guo, L. (2001). Port, City, and Hinterlands: Archaeological
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Legendary Port of the Maritime Silk Routes:

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List of Figures vii

Chapter 1. Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and World Emporium

Chapter 7. Quanzhou and Ibn Battuta—The Living Testimony of the

Appendix: A Brief Introduction to Quanzhou:

Figure A.2. Old Town of Quanzhou—Flying Apsaras, Clock-tower,

Without purpose and vision, you go nowhere. However, nothing could be

Museum, University of California, Irvine and the City University of Macau

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization

creativity and heritage protection in the historical city of Quanzhou. Dialog,

Quanzhou in the UNESCO Project of the

Quanzhou’s Cultural Legacy to the

dimensions are the necessary and fundamental steps of intercultural dialog

sector to the emergence of local industries—above all, the ceramic industry—

In recognition of the peaceful coexistence and inclusive Maritime

In late October 2014, I visited UNESCO headquarters in Paris as a mem-

I have tried to capture a non-Europe-centered view of the maritime his-

Zayton, the ancient term for present-day Quanzhou, enjoyed a reputa-

Southeast Asia still went on in a relatively small scale, European seafarers

To promote the historical heritage of Zayton and its enlightening leg-

Section 1: Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and

Section 2: The City of Light in the Eyes

Zayton enjoyed a unique position in the maritime trade and navigation

during the Song Dynasty. The watertight-bulkhead technology of Chinese

integration and harmonious coexistence of cultures, philosophies and reli-

At last, he was back to the busy seaport of Quanzhou on the coast of

When Ibn Battuta returned to Quanzhou, he hopped on a junk belonging

Section 3: Where Was Chincheo? Quanzhou

The port of Xiamen in an island at the mouth of the Jiulongjiang principally

Section 4: The Silver Trade Between Fujian

of Mexican ports. Traversing between Acapulco and Manila, the Manila

Section 5: Ancient Celestial Navigation-

Navigation Marker and Dead Reckoning

Before Celestial Navigation was created, sailors navigated by dead reckoning.

Navigation Marker—Liusheng Pagoda and Wanshou Pagoda

Quanxinshu (Fettering the Starts)–Ancient Celestial

Chinese sailors utilized Celestial Navigation since ancient times by using

and Africa and operated 58 significant lines crossing different oceans—twen-

Among the landmarks in navigation charts used by Admiral Zheng-He’s

Section 6 Ancient Nautical Charts—The East

The Story of the Selden Map

A Nautical Chart in the Style of Traditional Chinese

The Selden map of China is in the style of traditional Chinese landscape

Unlike maps that were printed, it is a singleton, drawn and painted by

Research on the Selden Map

port cities of Quanzhou or Zhangzhou in southern Fujian by a local scholar or

Historical Significance of The Selden Map of China

2 8. Zhang, X. (1980). The Interpretation on an Ancient Map, Beijing, China Ocean Press.

Section 1: Sunken Ships Along Maritime Silk

Figure 2.1. Shipwreck Discovered in Quanzhou Bay in 1973.

Sunken Ships Found in Southeast Asia

In 1998, many ceramic wares were discovered in the sea by a fisherman

Sunken Ships Found in Quanzhou and Other Chinese Waters

Chapter 1. Zayton as a Crucial Harbor and World Emporium

Navigation Marker—Liusheng Pagoda and Wanshou Pagoda

The Story of the Selden Map

Research on the Selden Map

Historical Significance of The Selden Map of China

2 8. Zhang, X. (1980). The Interpretation on an Ancient Map, Beijing, China Ocean Press.

Figure 2.1. Shipwreck Discovered in Quanzhou Bay in 1973.

Sunken Ships Found in Southeast Asia

Sunken Ships Found in Quanzhou and Other Chinese Waters

The Site of Deji Gate

The Historical Account of Luoyang Bridge

Metal Coins Witnessed the Development of Maritime Trade

The Ceramic Exports of Cizao Kilns

Customized Ceramic Products for the Overseas Market

Kendi, a customized porcelain product made in Cizao Kilns