Chapter 8 Chapter 8 Maritime Silk Road

Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty tried his best to open up maritime traffic and devoted himself to the exchanges between countries on the sea.With the efforts of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Han Dynasty finally opened up three important sea routes. 1. From Dandong, Liaoning in the north, to the Bailun River Estuary in Guangxi in the south, the north-south coastal route. 2. From the coast of Shandong to North Korea and Japan via the Yellow Sea. 3. Maritime Silk Road: Xuwen and Hepu routes. Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty sent Zhang Qian (?—114 BC) to the Western Regions twice in the third year of Jianyuan (138 BC) and the fourth year of Yuanshou (119 BC).Opened up the Sino-Western transportation and trade channel - the land "Silk Road".

my country has been famous for silk (Seres) since ancient times. The ancient Greeks called silk ser, which comes from the pronunciation of the word "silk". "Seres" (silk maker) was later extended to the place where silk is produced—— China.The ancient Greeks once called China Seres.After the opening of the Silk Road, Chinese silk was exported to Daqin (that is, the Roman Empire), but it had to be resold by merchants from Anxi, an ancient country in western Asia (which owns the present-day Iranian Plateau and Mesopotamia).The Romans hoped to find a sea route to China.During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the Great Qin Kingdom paid tribute.In the third year of Yuanfeng (108 BC), the Daqin Kingdom paid hoofs.Its color is steed, six feet high, its tail wraps around its body, its horns have meat at the end, its hooves are like lotus flowers, and it is good at walking and strenuous.

The sailing ships of the Han Dynasty opened up the route from the South China Sea to the Indian Ocean. This is the first ocean route in the history of our country and the earliest overseas trade in the world. The first relatively complete record of the sea routes on the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean in ancient Chinese literature can be found in "Hanshu Geographical Records": Xuwen County) and Hepu (now Hepu County, Guangxi) can be sailed for five months, and there is the Yuan State (Sumatra); and the boat trip can be April, and there is Yilumi Country (near Bago, Myanmar); and the boat trip can be more than 20 days , there is the country of Jianli (along the banks of the Ayeyarwady River in Myanmar today); it takes more than ten days to walk to the country of Fugandulu (near the middle reaches of the Irrawaddy River in Myanmar); it takes more than two months to travel from the country of Fugandulu to the country of Huangzhi (now Near Madras, India); the folklore is slightly similar to Zhuya. Its state is vast, with many household registrations and many foreign objects. It has been offered to see since Emperor Wu. There is a translator, who belongs to the Yellow Gate, and enters the sea with the applicants. Walls are scattered, strange stones and foreign objects, and gold are mixed with each other. Wherever they go, the country is fed up with food, and the barbarians set up boats to transfer them, which is also beneficial for trading. Dazhu is less than 2 inches in circumference. At the beginning of Emperor Pingyuan, Wang Mang assisted the government. He wanted to show off his might and virtue, so he bequeathed the king of Huangzhi, and ordered envoys to sacrifice rhinoceros. From Huangzhi, the boat can travel to Pizong (now Kela on the Malay Peninsula) Pakqiang River Estuary on the Isthmus); boats can travel in February to Nichinan (now the central part of Vietnam), Xianglin (now the south of Guangnan, Weichuan, Vietnam) and Jieyun. South of the Yellow Branch is the country of Chengbu (now Sri Lanka), and the Han Dynasty The translator has since returned."

This is a true portrayal of Chinese ships sailing through the South my country Sea and the Indian Ocean through the Strait of Malacca.That is, from Guangdong Xuwen, Guangxi Hepu to the South China Sea to India and Sri Lanka, with Sri Lanka as the transit point.From here, China can buy pearls, jade glass, strange stones and other foreign objects.China's silk (miscellaneous) can be transshipped to Rome through this, thus opening up the Maritime Silk Road. According to the "Natural History" written by Pliny (AD 23-79), a learned scientist in ancient Rome, four people including Laches from Sri Lanka in the Roman Caesar era went to Rome from the seaway. The Romans said that his father had personally been to China.It also said that both China and Rome have direct ties with Sri Lanka.Pliny also introduced that the Roman nobles "throw themselves into rivers and seas to catch pearls".In addition to keeping the jewels for their own enjoyment, the Roman nobles also "went to Seris (China) in exchange for clothing (silk)" with them. "According to the lowest calculation, the money of our country (referring to Rome) flows into India, Seris and the Arabian Peninsula every year. There are no less than ten million Sesterces (Sesterces)." Only in exchange for "strange stones and foreign objects" can the trade volume of 100 million Sestos be reached.

In the ninth year of Yanxi, Emperor Huan of the Eastern Han Dynasty (AD 166), "Dandun, the king of the Great Qin Dynasty, sent envoys from Rinan to offer ivory, rhinoceros horn, and tortoiseshell. The earliest record of direct friendly exchanges between China and European countries.This kind of friendly exchange breaks through the transit in Sri Lanka, and is directly carried out by connecting the ocean-going east-west route. The development of the shipbuilding and navigation industry in the Han Dynasty also shows the richness of navigation knowledge.In the Han Dynasty when the compass could not be used for navigation, boat masters could only determine the course direction by observing the stars, especially the Big Dipper and the Polaris, based on experience. "Those who are confused by boats don't know things, but they will be fooled when they see the Big Dipper." ("Huainanzi·Qi Su") In terms of meteorological changes, the Han Dynasty was known to observe the wind direction and make judgments, and it was known to use the monsoon to sail.The balance of the wind is very important.Sailing with the current and with the wind, the sailing is fast and safe, while sailing against the current and with the wind, the sailing is slow and dangerous.The sailors attach great importance to this monsoon that changes with the seasons and arrives regularly.