Chapter 16 Section 2 Land and Sea Transportation between China and the West in the Yuan Dynasty

Although the Mongolian nation is an inland nation that rose from the grasslands and on horseback, because it has extensive contact with many civilizations outside the Eurasian continent during its conquests, it has a broad mind and vision, so it can understand all kinds of civilizations. New things adopt an inclusive and open-minded attitude.After the establishment of the Yuan Dynasty, its rulers paid great attention to maintaining the smooth flow of the Maritime Silk Road while paying attention to the management of land transportation to the west.In the early years of the Yuan Dynasty, my country established a Shibo Department in Quanzhou, which was in charge of overseas trade.Later, it developed into the shipping divisions of Quanzhou, Qingyuan (now Ningbo, Zhejiang), and Guangdong (Guangzhou).The rulers of the Yuan Dynasty also specially appointed Pu Shougeng, an Arab who lived in China for several generations, as the governor of Fujian Province, who was responsible for recruiting businessmen from the South China Sea and Western Regions for the Yuan Dynasty.The Pu family was in charge of foreign trade for the Yuan Dynasty, and their family was full of wealth.The eldest son, Pu Shiwen, served as the left deputy marshal of the comfort envoy, and was also promoted by Fujian Dao Shibo, and the propaganda envoy of overseas Tibetans; his grandson Pu Juren was the transport envoy of Fujian and other places.Pu Shougeng's son-in-law also owned 80 sea-going ships, and the wealth left behind after his death included 130 dan of pearls alone.In order to monopolize overseas trade, the government of the Yuan Dynasty also set up city ship transshipment departments in Hangzhou and Quanzhou in 1284. The government provided ships and capital, recruited people to do business overseas, and then shared them.

In the Yuan Dynasty, there were hundreds of countries and regions that had political and economic relations with my country. At that time, the sea route from the Persian Gulf to Quanzhou and Guangzhou was extremely active. It sailed westward from Khorumos in the Persian Gulf to Posiro (today’s Basra in Iraq), and then sailed south to Zufar (today’s Dhofar in Oman). Go west to the Gulf of Aden and enter the Red Sea; from Zufar to the south, you can go through the Gulf of Aden to Mugudushu (now Mogadishu, the capital of Somalia) and Sheyaoluo (now Zanzibar Island in Tanzania) on the coast of East Africa. ).

In the first half of the 14th century, a world-class great traveler appeared in China. This is Wang Dayuan, who is as famous as Marco Polo and Ibn Batuta. From 1328 to 1339, Wang Dayuan set out from Quanzhou and traveled around the world twice by sea. After returning to China, he returned to his hometown Nanchang.Based on what he "saw with his eyes and ears" during his travels, he wrote "A Tale of Islanders".Wang Dayuan entered and exited Quanzhou, the country's largest international trade port at that time, twice, and traded at sea for a long time. "Daoyi Zhilue" records his travels. There are 100 notes in the whole book, 99 of which are special articles in a certain place.Every place, besides describing the mountains, rivers, folk customs, and scenery, it also records the shipping routes, products, and traded goods. It is an overseas trade guide.The book records more than 220 country names and place names, ranging from the Philippine Islands in the east to East Africa and North Africa in the west, many of which are recorded for the first time in Chinese history books.A wealth of important folklore, geographical, economic, commercial, and navigational information is provided for mid-fourteenth-century south-east Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian and Red Sea adjacencies, and the eastern and Mediterranean coasts of Africa.Rich sailing experience, profound geographical knowledge and extensive business activities made him the most extensive maritime traveler in Chinese history before modern times.

The unprecedented expansion and unimpeded communication between sea, land, China and the west in the Yuan Dynasty first created an unprecedented mutual understanding between China and the Western world.It is particularly worth pointing out that the concept of "the West" in the minds of Chinese people has actually expanded from Central Asia, West Asia and North Africa during the Han Dynasty and Tang and Song Dynasties to Europe.