East Asian Sea, a thousand years

Author: Chen Guodong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Through the connection with the vast oceans, coastal residents of China have engaged in various forms of exchanges with many foreign countries over the millennia, building a rich and diverse maritime civilization. This book focuses on the early Qing period, the 17th and 18th centuries, tracing back to the Song Dynasty and extending forward to the eve of the Opium War, covering a span of about a thousand years. The aim is to trace the of Chinese participation in maritime activities and explore the development trends of the maritime China within this extended temporal and spatial framework. The book includes both research and analysis: beyond economics and trade, it also expands to mutual visits and cultural exchanges. For established topics like Zheng He's voyages to the West, the author proposes new perspectives, exploring the motivations behind the fleets' expeditions by tracing the pursuit of such goods as cloves, pepper, and giraffes. New topics are also developed, such as in discussions of cultural exchanges between China and Southeast Asia, pointing out that the common Chinese character "" in the word "" (company) had already become a root in Malay as early as the 17th century. Additionally, topics like when the Chinese began consuming sea cucumber, among others, add a general interest beyond serious academic significance. The book covers exchanges between China and Southeast Asia, Europe, with particular emphasis on the issues arising from the foreign trade of Guangzhou and Xiamen. It provides an in-depth exploration of China's role in the ancient maritime trade network in Asia. Detailed evaluations are given to the historically prominent figures in Guangdong's Thirteen Factories, such as Pan Qiguan the First and his son Pan Youdu, as well as Wu Bingjian, who was regarded as the world's richest man by Westerners in 1834.