Where did the Maritime Silk Road reach in the Song Dynasty and where did it reach?

The Maritime Silk Road from Quanzhou, Fujian Province is an extension of the onshore Silk Road. The main reason is that the southeast coast of China is mountainous and plain, and internal communication is not easy, so many people have been actively exploring the sea since ancient times. In order to solve the inconvenience of land, because the land is influenced by the terrain, going to the Western Regions will pass through many areas that are not suitable for human habitation, and there is monsoon navigation on the east coast of China in Xia Dong in two seasons, so it also increases the convenience of going to Europe by sea. This kind of communication existed in ancient China, especially among the residents in the southeast coast of China.

The Maritime Silk Road is a maritime passage for transportation, trade and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in ancient times. It mainly includes routes from the East China Sea and the South China Sea in China. It was formed in the Qin and Han Dynasties, developed in the Three Kingdoms and Sui Dynasties, flourished in the Tang and Song Dynasties and changed in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. This is the oldest known sea route. The main ports of the Maritime Silk Road have been replaced by generations, but only Quanzhou has been recognized by UNESCO as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road, and other cities have not won this honor. Xuwen Ancient Port, the starting port of the Maritime Silk Road in Han Dynasty, has replaced Xuwen and Hepu in Guangzhou since 1930s and has become the main port of Hayes. From the end of the Song Dynasty to the Yuan Dynasty, Quanzhou surpassed Guangzhou and was called "the largest port in the world" with Alexandria, Egypt. At the beginning of the Ming Dynasty, due to the influence of the sea ban and the war, Quanzhou Port gradually declined and Zhangzhou Yuegang rose.

The Northern Song Dynasty visited Guangzhou, Lin 'an House (Hangzhou), Qingyuan House (Mingzhou, now Ningbo), Quanzhou, Banqiao (now Yinghai Town in Jiaozhou), Huating County (now Songjiang), Zhenjiang House, Pingjiang House (Suzhou), Wenzhou, Jiangyin Army (now Jiangyin) and Jiaxing House (Xiuzhou) successively. Among them, Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Mingzhou are the largest. Quanzhou became the largest port in the world and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road in the mid-Southern Song Dynasty.

Countries that trade with China: Zhancheng, Zhenla, Sanfo Qi, Kelantan, Boni, Ba LAM Raymond, Lanburi, Dice, Sanyu, Dashi, Daqin, Persia, Baida, Majia, Lu Yi, Jiulin, Xilan, Dengliumei, Zhongli, Priru, Hugendo, Sigarino and Lu Yi.

There are monographs such as Answering the Questions at home and abroad, Records of the Confused, etc., which record the trade between countries and China. The Song Dynasty was successively in Guangzhou, Lin 'an Prefecture (Hangzhou), qingyuan prefecture (Mingzhou, now Ningbo), Quanzhou, Banqiao (now Yinghai Town of Jiaozhou), Huating County (now Songjiang), Zhenjiang Prefecture, Pingjiang Prefecture (Suzhou), Wenzhou, Jiangyin Army (now Jiangyin) and Ganpu Town (now Haiyan). Among them, Guangzhou, Quanzhou and Mingzhou are the largest. Quanzhou became the largest port in the world and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road in the late Southern Song Dynasty. During the Song Dynasty, many China silks were also shipped to Japan. The Yuan government set up trading companies in Ningbo, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Ganpu, Wenzhou, Hangzhou and other places, and exported dragon satin, Suzhou-Hangzhou five-color satin, brocade, variegated silk, Danshan brocade and water silk cloth to Japan at many ports.

During the Ming Dynasty, Japanese imported a large number of China silk. During this period, Japan imported countless raw silk, silks and satins and brocade from China. Quanzhou's maritime traffic originated in the Southern Dynasties and developed in the Tang Dynasty. During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the maritime trade activities of Erythrina Port were unprecedentedly active, and it was praised as "the largest port in the East" by Kyle Poirot. At that time, Quanzhou had become the economic and cultural center of the world. By the early Northern Song Dynasty, the foreign trade of Quanzhou Port had been considerable. "There are many foreign ships, but there are many groceries piled up." (Biography of Du Chun in the Song Dynasty) In the fifth year of Xining, Song Shenzong wrote: "Foreign businessmen rank first in the southeast. If you are the speaker, please set up Quanzhou, and its law is particular. " (History of Song Dynasty, Cargo Records and Mutual Shipping Law) Division refers to the Municipal Shipping Division, which is a specialized agency for managing overseas trade. The trade of seagoing ships at sea must be approved by the municipal shipping company, and they must pay taxes to the municipal shipping company when they come back. Major foreign trade ports have set up municipal shipping departments. Song Shenzong's request to study the establishment of a shipping company in Quanzhou shows that Quanzhou has occupied an important position in overseas trade. However, it was in the second year of Zhe Zongyuan that the company was formally established in Quanzhou. This is a great event in the foreign trade history of Quanzhou or China. The establishment of the Municipal Shipping Department marks Quanzhou's entry into the ranks of China's most important foreign trade ports. After the establishment of the company, Quanzhou Port can directly send ships for overseas trade and also accept foreign merchant ships, so the import and export trade has developed rapidly. Its position in overseas transportation has quickly caught up with Guangzhou. "In today's Fujian and Guangdong, Mo Sheng is in Quanzhou." (Jade Emperor Jisheng (Volume 130) Quanzhou House, Fujian Road) "Quanzhou can go abroad if you want to buy and sell ships abroad." (Dream of Liang Lu (Volume 12). Quanzhou, south of the city, has gradually formed an area where foreign businessmen and sailors live together. Correspondingly, there are many temples of foreign religions (Islam, Hinduism, etc.). ) and Quanzhou expatriates concentrated cemetery.

The so-called "Maritime Silk Road" is relative to the onshore Silk Road. It was first mentioned by Japanese scholar Takatoshi Miki in his monograph "Exploration of Maritime Silk Road" published in 1967, and this concept has been generally accepted by academic circles. As an important channel of China's ancient foreign trade, the Maritime Silk Road appeared as early as the Qin and Han Dynasties in China, and reached its peak in the Tang and Song Dynasties. The specific route is: starting from the coastal ports of Guangdong and Fujian, passing through the South China Sea, the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea in China, transporting China's silk, ceramics, spices, tea and other products to Europe and other Asian and African countries, while European businessmen bring woolen goods and ivory to China through this road. The opening of the Maritime Silk Road made China's foreign trade flourish at that time.

Kyle Poirot, an Italian in Yuan Dynasty, came to China from the land Silk Road and returned to China from the Maritime Silk Road. His travels recorded many "spice islands" along the coast of South Asia and the Indian Ocean. Due to the changes of the times, the Maritime Silk Road came to an end after the Opium War, leaving one mystery after another. Some researchers generally believe that Zheng He's voyages to the West have more thoroughly connected the Maritime Silk Road between China and other countries, which is also one of the important evidences to prove the existence of the Maritime Silk Road in history.