Noisy Phantom of the Sea: Rise and Fall of Coastal Cities in Southeast Fujian and Maritime Humanities

Author: Lan Da Ju
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1999-12-01
Features: The book conducts a historical investigation of the port cities in southeastern Fujian during the Ming and Qing dynasties against the backdrop of China's marine socio-economic history. It also incorporates an anthropological perspective to propose relevant analyses. The author examines the impact of various historical factors on the southeastern Fujian port cities from the perspectives of maritime-land human interaction and state-society interaction. The argument is presented that the humanistic characteristics of the southeastern Fujian port cities during the Ming and Qing dynasties are both the product of maritime-land human interaction integration and the product of state-society interaction. The development of marine livelihood models and the transformation of marine human culture in the Ming and Qing period constitute the intrinsic basis for the evolution of southeastern Fujian port cities, while the interactions among the state and society, and between them and the world system, shape the rise and fall of these port cities. During the Ming and Qing dynasties, the marine human cultural interaction between southeastern Fujian and other regions was carried out based on port cities, featuring two-way maritime trade and exchange. The maritime trade and shipbuilding industry of the port cities formed the fundamental content of the port cities' marine economic activities. Together with the merchants, fishermen, and boatmen involved in the port cities' marine economic activities, they constitute an organized marine society. In the process of maritime-land human interaction integration, the southeastern Fujian port cities developed a dual humanistic character that both valued commerce and commerce and cherished their hometowns, embodying both land and sea.