Clarify the Maritime Silk Road

The Maritime Silk Road was a conduit for trade and cultural exchange between China's south-eastern coastal areas and foreign countries. There have been two big routes: the East China Sea Silk Route along with the South China Sea Silk Route. Get much more information and facts about Maritime Silk Road

A visitor looks at Quanzhou-style lanterns throughout an exhibition on intangible cultural heritages along the ancient Maritime Silk Road in Quanzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, Nov. 23, 2019. (Xinhua/Wei Peiquan)

Starting from Quanzhou Fujian Province, the Maritime Silk Road was the earliest voyage route that was formed in the Qin and Han dynasties, created from the Three Kingdoms Period for the Sui Dynasty, flourished within the Tang and Song dynasties, and fell into decline in the Ming and Qing dynasties.

By means of the Maritime Silk Road, silks, china, tea, and brass and iron have been the four main categories exported to foreign countries; though spices, flowers and plants, and rare treasures for the court had been brought to China. For that reason, the Maritime Silk Road was also called "the Maritime China road" or "the Maritime spices road".

The Maritime Silk Road, like its overland counterpart, had its origins throughout the Han Dynasty (202 BC-220 AD). Even though vast seas separate the 4 corners on the Earth, with advances in shipbuilding and navigational technologies, maritime transport came to provide unprecedented access to the most distant destinations.

It is actually identified that the bulk from the raw and processed silk transported along the overland Silk Road throughout the Han Dynasty was produced primarily along China's southern coast and inside the coastal Wu, Wei, Qi, and Lu regions (present-day Shandong Province). Due to the fact ancient times, these areas have been thriving centers of shipbuilding at the same time as silk production. They were as a result able to supply both commodities for export plus the signifies to transport them across the sea. It was this combination that offered the social and material situations required for the development of maritime trade throughout the Han Dynasty.

The maritime routes opened by Emperor Han Wudi (reigned 140-87 BC) offered access towards the Roman Empire through India, marking the very first oceanic route too as the earliest maritime trading route in the world. This enabled China to actively seek out overseas markets and establish foreign trade relations, and laid the foundation for the development on the Maritime Silk Road.

Han Shu Record (also called The History from the Han Dynasty) kept the first full vivid record on China's boats sailing into the Indian Ocean in the South Sea by way of the Malacca Strait in Southeast Asian waters. Han ships would leave from Xuwen in South China's Guangdong Province, or Hepu in South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and through the South Sea, would arrive in India and Sri Lanka -- a transfer station, where pearls, colored glazes, as well as other exotic things could possibly be purchased. Chinese silk was transported to Rome hereafter. Such was the Maritime Silk Road.

In his book Nature History, Gaius Plinius Secundus, a knowledgeable scientist in ancient Rome, recorded, "four sailors from (today's Sri Lanka) left for Rome (through the Caesar Era). As outlined by one of the sailors named Rutgers, each Rome and Sri Lanka had direct trade relations with China."

In 166 of your Han Dynasty, the Roman Emperor sent envoys to China, presenting many such gifts as ivory and hawksbill turtles for the imperial royal court, which marked the earliest friendly relations amongst China and European countries. A direct route in the East for the West was for that reason opened up.

Through the Tang Dynasty (618-907 AD), Chinese ships set sail from Guangzhou, bound across the South China Sea, therefore pioneering essentially the most crucial routes on the maritime Silk Road. Also to transporting silk, the South China Sea routes stimulated each material and cultural exchange. Countries all through Southeast Asia, South Asia, West Asia, as well as Europe dispatched emissaries to China through the new maritime routes to establish diplomatic relations, buy silk, and engage of trade of all sorts. Silk, as the principal maritime trade commodity, flowed in a steady stream from China to other nations.

Income in the maritime trade were one from the Chinese government's important sources of revenue through this time. The Tang, Song (960-1279), and Yuan (1279-1368) Dynasties all appointed particular Commissions of Maritime Affairs at coastal cities such as Guangzhou (Canton), Mingzhou (present-day Ningbo), and Quanzhou. These offices have been accountable for overseeing maritime trade and offering logistic support and preferential treatment for foreign merchants in China. The maritime Silk Road therefore became a conduit for advertising friendly relations and linking East and West.

East China Sea Route

Kaiyuan Temple in Quanzhou, the beginning spot of Maritime Silk Road. The East China Sea Route enjoys a lengthy history of about 3,000 years. It was during the Zhou Dynasty that Ji Zi, a court official, was sent on a journey east, setting off from Shangdong Peninsula's Bohai Gulf and navigating his way across the Yellow Sea, which led towards the introduction of sericiculture (silkworm farming), filature and silk spinning into Korea.

When Emperor Qin Shi Huang united China, quite a few Chinese fled to Korea and took with them silkworms and breeding technologies. This sped up the development of silk spinning in Korea. These new expertise as well as the technologies were subsequently introduced into Japan throughout the Han Dynasty. Since the Tang Dynasty, the silks developed by Jiangsu and Zhejiang Provinces have been directly shipped to Japan. Numerous Japanese envoys and monks have been also capable to travel to Chang'an (now Xi'an) along this sea route.

South China Sea Route

Guangzhou represented the starting-point on the South China Sea Route, which extended across the Indian Ocean and after that on to several countries situated around the Persian Gulf. The kinds goods dispatched for trade consisted mostly of silk, china and tea, though imported merchandise incorporated a variety of spices, flowers and grasses - hence it becoming commonly referred to as the sea's 'China Road' along with the sea's 'Flavor Road' .

The route was initial used inside the Qin and Han Dynasties, and increased in recognition in the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280) to the Sui Dynasty (581-618). Up till the Tang Dynasty Anshi Rebellions (755-762), this route was viewed as a secondary alternative towards the Silk Road, Having said that inside the latter half in the eighth century, owing to the scourge of wars in the vast Western Regions, trade volumes along the Maritime Silk Road boomed as these on its overland counterpart steadily declined.

Delicate Silk Technologic advances in shipbuilding and navigation led towards the opening of new sea-lanes to the Southeast Asia, Malacca, regions inside the Indian Ocean and also the Persian Gulf. Guangzhou became the initial wonderful harbor in China about the time with the Tang and Song Dynasties, though it was later substituted by Quanzhou in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) as the most important trade port.

The Naval Expedition towards the West by Zheng He inside the early part on the Ming Dynasty demonstrated the great importance of the Silk Road and was to represent the peak of its popularity. The governments of your Ming and Qing Dynasties issued a ban on maritime trade, contributing to massive decline in its use. Because the Opium War broke out in 1840, the Silk Road on the Sea totally disappeared.

As early as 2,000 years ago, the Maritime Silk Road started from China's south-east coastal regions, traversing a vast expanse of oceans and seas to countries in Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe.

This trading route that connects the East plus the West, had enhanced the exchanges of commodities, people and culture amongst countries situated on the road.

As a way to revive the ancient Maritime Silk Road and bring much more benefits towards the relevant nations and peoples, the initiative that China and countries along the ancient Maritime Silk Road would develop collectively a brand new Maritime Silk Road of the 21st Century was proposed by China.

Such an initiative draws inspiration both from history and from most recent developments within the 21st century. The aim should be to inject sturdy impetus in enhancing political mutual trust, deepening economic cooperation, and promoting cultural too as people-to-people exchanges among relevant countries by means of joint cooperation, common development and regional integration. All nations along the Maritime Silk Road are welcome to program, create and benefit together in the initiative.

Because the initiative was initial raised, lots of countries have actively supported and engaged themselves in the development of your or the Silk Road Financial Belt (the "Belt and Road" for short) or both.

On Oct. 24, 2014, twenty-first Asian nations signed the Memorandum of Understanding on Establishing the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) in Beijing, aiming to finance and facilitate infrastructure constructions for Asian countries along the "Belt and Road".

The MOU specifies that the authorized capital of AIIB is one hundred billion U.S. dollars along with the initial subscribed capital is expected to be around 50 billion dollars. The paid-in ratio might be 20 %.

The 21 nations are Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Laos, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Oman, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uzbekistan and Vietnam.

At the APEC Summit 2014 held in Beijing in November, 2014, China announced to contribute US$40 billion to set up a Silk Road Fund to supply investment and financial support to carry out infrastructure, resources, industrial and financial cooperation along with other projects associated to connectivity for countries along the "Belt and Road".

With additional support from other nations and wider coverage across the region, the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road has develop into an initiative not for one nation but for all countries who welcome and support the initiative and are operating with each other closely with one another for financial and social advancement as well as for the welfare of their peoples. The 21st Century Maritime Silk Road has normally been and will nevertheless be open to all nations along the road.