No. 237 Maritime Archaeology in the People's Republic of China ...

Section 1. Historical maritime trade and
development in the Fujian Province
Before the Song Dynasty, the main trade route for Chinese
export trading was the Silk Road, which had began in the
Han Dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD) and continued through to
the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644 AD). The route travelled from
the northern Mongolian-Xinjiiang Plateau down through to
the central Asian plains. The prosperity of the trade network
was loosely linked to the politics of the period, and although
very prosperous for the Chinese during the Tang Dynasty it
was never safe from attack by both internal and external forces
(Benan Lui, 1995:7).
In the 8th century the nomadic Mongolian tribes in
the north became strong, and the Qidan Mongols caused
the cessation of the Tang (618–907 AD) rule and the
disintegration of the empire into various kingdoms by 907.
The end of the subsequent political fragmentation during
the ‘Chaos of An Shi’, the ‘Isolation of States’ and the ‘Five
Dynasty and Ten State’ periods (097–979 AD) started with
the formation of the Song Dynasty (960–1127 AD). This
empire, however, faced continual invasion from the north
and its frontiers were continually pushed further south from
the Great Wall to the Yellow River, and then down to the
Yangtze River.
Although maritime trade was reported west of Malaysia as
early as the 4th century and by the 9th century Chinese ceramics
appeared as far abroad as Siraf in the Middle East, these were
probably transhipped by Arab merchantmen in Java, Sumatara
and Malaysia (Van Tilburg, 1994:7). There was, however,
throughout this long land-oriented trade history one period of
maritime expansion. Between the Song Dynasty and the early
part of the Ming Dynasty China maintained a predominant
maritime presence in the western Pacific and South-East Asia.
Export trade ceramics had spread as far as the Philippines,
Indonesia and Thailand (Van Tilburg, 1994:7).
China’s porcelain was a major export item during the Song
Dynasty. To prevent a money drain the Song government in
1219 prohibited the use of gold, silver and bronze coins for
use in foreign trade. Silk fabrics and ceramics were used in
the barter for foreign goods instead. This regulation placed
porcelain in a dominant position in the foreign trade (Li Zhiyan
& Cheng Wen, 1989:102).
The Song porcelain exports followed the Silk Road in
the north of China, but in the south the route was by sea.
The Administrative Statutes of the period, lists the following
countries as recipients of Chinese porcelain to include:
Tajiks, Kra, Java, Champa, Brunei, Sriwidjaja, Pandurainga,
Dharmaraja, Malabar and the ancient kingdom that later
became known as Zanzibar in eastern Africa (Li Zhiyan &
Cheng Wen, 1989:102). A number of archaeological sites
throughout the south-east Asian region have revealed a large
quantity of Chinese ceramics that testify to the range and
extent of this trade. The reader is referred to Muhammed,
1994; Green & Harper, 1987; Green et al., 1987; Green &
Zae Guen Kim, 1989.
The main coastal trade patterns (Figure 2) for the maritime
shipping throughout South-East Asia by the Song Dynasty
has been established from the archaeological and archival
records. The distribution of ceramic material on archaeological
sites and shipwrecks has been useful in reconstructing trade
networks and patterns of exchange. For example, longquan
or celadon, black-glazed porcelain and white porcelain of
the Jun and Jizhou kilns were salvaged in 1977 from the
sunken Chinese ship of the Yuan Dynasty discovered in the
south-west of South Korea. The cargo was obviously bound
for Korea or Japan.
The south-east of Fujian province was one of the few areas
with a stable political and social situation that could permit
conditions for economic development. During the middle
ages the formation of Fuzhou economic zone meant the
Huanqi Peninsula’s economy flourished. In the 10th century
the Song government began to encourage overseas merchant
trade through fiscal incentives. The important position of the
superintendent of maritime trade was established in 971 AD. At
this time Hangzhou was chosen as the capital, and the period
became known as the Southern Song (Benan Lui, 1995:7).
Early travellers from the West reported on the ancient port
cities. Zaiton (nowadays Quanzhou) was described by Marco
Polo as one of the greatest centres in the world for the export
of Chinese silks, satins, sugar and spices.
...a great resort of ships and merchandise...for one spice ship that
goes to Alexandria or elsewhere to pick up pepper for export to
Christendom, Zaiton is visited by a hundred. For you must know
that it is one of the two ports in the world with the biggest flow
of merchandise...(Buckley et al., 1994:417).
Other great ports included Ningbo and Fuzhou. Fuzhou is
a long time historical harbour city, and originally in the Han
Dynasty (2 000 BP). It was called Dong Ye, a most important
seaport in the south-east coastal region.
Guangzhou was also considered important. The Moroccan
traveller Ibn Abdullah recorded ceramics as a principal trade
item in his travel notes during the later 14th century.
No big cities elsewhere in the world can match this one in the
splendour of the markets. But the biggest of the markets is the
ceramics shops. Merchants ship porcelain from the city to different
provinces in China as well as to India and Yemen...The
Chinese ship porcelain ware to India and other countries and to
my homeland Morocco. These ceramics are indeed the best in
the world (cited in Li Zhiyan & Cheng Wen, 1989:103).
Tariffs levied on this trade added to the imperial treasury.
Regulations on ports of call and cargo manifests record much
of the merchandise. Great quantities of silk and tea are noted to
have been sent from China as peace offerings to the Jin Tartar
who controlled the Silk Route. It was during this time that other
countries such as Persian Empire and later Sicily and Italy,
France, West Asia and Africa began producing silk and China
no longer had a monopoly (Benan Lui, 1995:7). It is impossible
to estimate the trade in these perishable items given the few
maritime archaeological investigations that have yielded this
fragile material. The ceramic was the one commodity that China
had an obvious export monopoly over, that can be identified
in archaeological assemblages. An excellent example is the
excavation of the Bai Jiao 1 shipwreck and the abundance of
ceramic material that was recovered from it.
The importance of Dinghai in the Fujian Province
The coastal region of Fujian Province has had and continues
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