The vast sea is a stormy sea and a rich road ahead. When we choose to face it bravely, this blue world often breeds brand-new possibilities.

Quanzhou, a small town with a pillow on the mountain and a sea, from a corner of mountains and seas to a world heritage site, tells us the legendary story of marine commerce in the Song and Yuan Dynasties with 22 heritage sites, from mountains to plains to seaports.

Quanzhou was once the starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

"The largest port in the East",

Kyle Poirot's "City of Light".

This city, with red walls and green shade in all seasons, was once a brilliant legend and a port that businessmen all over the world are eager to go to.

How did the World Ocean Trade Center come into being in the Song and Yuan Dynasties?

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Rise: the birth of port city

For a long time, Quanzhou did not attract attention. Since the establishment of Minzhong County in Qin Dynasty, Quanzhou has been divided into different counties, and it is an ordinary small town in China.

Quanzhou has its difficulties. Surrounded by mountains on three sides and facing the sea, there have been many mountains and few fields since ancient times. It is difficult to transport with grain-producing areas such as western Fujian and northern Fujian because of the barrier of mountains.

When mountains become obstacles, fortunately Quanzhou has endless seas. The vast ocean is gestating new possibilities. As a port, Quanzhou has inherent advantages.

"The spring is located in the south of Bamin, and the mountains are winding, and there is no carving; The harbor is awkward, not Boyang. "

-"Quanzhou Fuzhi" Qin Long Edition

In a word, it tells the location of Quanzhou Port. The winding coastline has formed many harbors, which have the advantages of both estuary port and bay port. The trumpet-shaped Quanzhou port has a large opening and a wide inland water area, so it will directly enter the inland river with ships to take shelter from the wind.

Coupled with the warm climate in the southeast coast, it is perfect to build a port. As early as the early Tang Dynasty, the trade of Quanzhou Port had begun to take shape.

Since the Jinshi moved south, the southeast of China has been gradually developed, and after the development of Sui and Tang Dynasties, it has become "today's gift comes from the world, and Jiangnan ranks nineteenth." The developed commodity economy in the southeast coast needs more ports to handle goods. Quanzhou is one of them.

In the late Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou had become a prosperous port city and a famous trading port in China.

At the same time, at the other end of the continent, an Arab empire that spans Asia, Africa and Europe is rising. Their fleet transported Persian sulfur to China, China ceramics to Greece, and Greek brocade to India. They are engaged in world trade and are major maritime merchants.

Coupled with the development of maritime trade in South China Sea countries, the demand for a huge port has been put on the agenda.

Compared with other ports, Quanzhou has a favorable geographical position. Quanzhou is located at the midpoint of domestic coastal routes, which is closer to the capital than Guangzhou. Compared with Lin 'an (now Hangzhou) and Mingzhou (now Ningbo), it is closer to the South China Sea.

Although the compass was widely used and the navigation technology was greatly improved in the Southern Song Dynasty, sailing at sea was still extremely dangerous. Ports close to countries in the South China Sea can greatly shorten the sailing time of merchant ships from afar, so it is naturally the first choice. Quanzhou port is a choice under the balance of interests.

The rise of the port is inseparable from the intentional operation of the government.

In the second year of Yuan You in the Northern Song Dynasty (A.D. 1087), the government of the Song Dynasty set up a shipping company in Quanzhou and established Quanzhou as an official trading port.

In the Southern Song Dynasty, Lin 'an, the capital, was located in the southeast corner of An 'an. Nearly one third of the land was lost, and the number of registered permanent residence was greatly reduced. Therefore, the tax revenue from overseas trade was urgently needed to cope with the huge financial expenditure. At this time, the income of Quanzhou shipping company over the years solved the urgent needs of the court.

Overseas trade has been highly valued by the supreme ruler. Before taking office, Quanzhou's city officials should report to the court first, and the emperor should "give them a face-to-face opportunity"; Foreign businessmen enjoy preferential policies, and those with more goods are rewarded; The religious beliefs and customs of overseas Chinese businessmen have been fully respected.

Tributes to Beijing, along the way there are "prostitutes welcome"; When Chinese and foreign businessmen leave Quanzhou, there is a grand ceremony to pray for the wind, wishing them a safe return to their homeland. Now, in the stone carving of praying for the wind on the Jiuri Mountain outside the West Gate, this farewell banquet attended by imperial clan and senior officials of the Song Dynasty is recorded, which is unprecedented.

The return is also rich. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Quanzhou provided more than one-fifth of the annual income for the royal family of the Song Dynasty. Song Gaozong once said: "The profit of the market is the thickest. If handled properly, the income will be millions."

The goods are vast and prosperous, and this hospitable port attracts businessmen from all over the world. Some people stay for a short time, taking away the memories of a lifetime, while others settle down for a long time, making Quanzhou their hometown.

02

Vaguely in its heyday

"Erythrina is one of the largest ports in the world, and a large number of businessmen gather here, and the goods are piled up like mountains. It is really unimaginable. ..... This area has beautiful scenery, and the residents believe in Buddhism, and the people are peaceful, loving comfort and freedom. 」

When Kyle Polo came to Quanzhou, the heyday of Quanzhou Port had arrived.

In front of his eyes, it is a country with an unprecedented vast territory but extremely close ties. In order to maintain the rule of a huge empire and strengthen local control, the Yuan Dynasty built canals to run through the north and south, and built post roads to facilitate transportation.

The post road system all over the country allows Quanzhou's goods and exotic treasures imported from overseas to circulate rapidly in the mainland.

In Fujian province, there are many mountains and rivers. Especially at the junction of the river and the sea, the tide is raging and the water is rushing, and it is not easy to ferry. Building bridges is another big foundation for the circulation of goods.

The Song Dynasty was the peak period for Fujian to build bridges. Luoyang Bridge, built in the Northern Song Dynasty, is the main traffic artery connecting Fuzhou and Quanzhou. Businessmen from Quanzhou can directly cross Luoyang River and go north to Fuzhou.

The construction of Anping Bridge, the longest existing stone bridge in China, has become the traffic artery between Nan 'an and Jinjiang. Through Anping Bridge to Shuitou Town in Nan 'an, we can continue to communicate with Fujian and Guangdong southwards.

On the basis of Song Dynasty, Quanzhou in Yuan Dynasty built six bridges, namely Jinji, Nanzhao, Xiangforehead, Yingtou, Xianian and Jinxi. Huge and strong stone bridges have completely opened up land and water transportation.

Developed land and sea transportation, internally, communicate with the goods in the economic hinterland of the province and even other provinces in China; Externally, excellent ports welcome visitors from the sea and sell porcelain and silk cloth to the world.

Quanzhou Port in Yuan Dynasty has formed a number of mature maritime traffic routes, from the Indian Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, from Europe and Arabia to South Asia, and large-scale commercial exchanges have woven the whole world into a prosperous picture.

At that time, the literati could not help but sigh: "The spring is also the city of seven Fujian provinces, the place where goods are far away and treasures are rare, and the cave house of wealthy businessmen and tycoons in other places is the best in the world."

Groups of merchant ships came across the sea, loaded with western gems and spices, and sailed into Quanzhou port with the south wind. These overseas businessmen who speak more than 100 languages have brought rhinoceros horn, hawksbill, frankincense, coral ... all kinds of treasures from various countries.

Blue-and-white porcelain, Dehua white porcelain, silk and satin, which are enough to dazzle European nobles, have influenced the aesthetics of the world from this small town on the southeast coast.

Generate has accumulated hundreds of years of navigation skills, rich commodity resources and unprecedented opening-up policy, and together, it has pushed trade to a gorgeous climax. Quanzhou, as the "largest port in the East", stands proudly at the forefront of the world.

03

Culture has been going on for thousands of years.

History seems to have played a joke on Quanzhou, which brought everything to an abrupt end at the top of the gorgeous movement.

At the end of the Yuan Dynasty, a decade-long war destroyed the prosperity of Quanzhou. The Ming Dynasty began to implement the sea ban, private overseas trade was banned, and the strict and cumbersome tributary trade policy made the trade of Quanzhou Port useless. The maritime ban policy of the Qing Dynasty made the trade of Quanzhou Port never recover.

However, Quanzhou, which is proud and tolerant, will not be easily defeated.

The prosperity and opening up that lasted for hundreds of years has become the cultural background of this city, attracting us to go to this unique city again and again.

We found that the living habits and beliefs brought by foreign businessmen living in Quanzhou still affect the residents of this land.

In this small town, there are Buddhist Kaiyuan Temple, which was built in the Tang Dynasty, Qingjing Temple, the oldest existing Islamic temple in China, the only existing Manichaean temple site in the world, and Tianhou Temple, which is dedicated to the sea god Mazu. More than 30 sects have left traces here.

Three steps to a temple, five steps to a Buddhist temple, and a museum of world religions are not empty names.

When the morning bell and the evening drum came from the Buddhist temple, the mosque's call to worship broke the tranquility of the evening and turned around. In Guandi Temple, the incense was flourishing and the pious figure was in an endless stream. A city in Quanzhou, even the gods are citizens of the world.

Exotic eating habits have also taken root in Quanzhou.

Influenced by the Muslim belief in eating beef, Quanzhou has a beef culture for the first time and still has a soft spot for beef. The stew burden is added with curry popular in hot flashes, taking care of the tastes of customers from all over the world.

A Chinese steak, a bowl of beef soup and a bowl of salty rice are all-round satisfaction for the hungry.

In the fishing village of Qipu, in ancient times, Qipu women of Arab descent still lived in the shell and wore hairpin flowers, and the legacy of Central Asia is still swaying.

Tea and porcelain, once traded with the world under the name of CHINA, crossed the ocean and influenced the taste and aesthetics of the world. Returning from the world, it is still the most comfortable comfort for Quanzhou people to brew a cup of Anxi Tieguanyin with a bowl made of Dehua white porcelain.

A thousand years ago, our ancestors opened up the Maritime Silk Road with dauntless spirit and connected with the world through the vast sea. This is an ancient country with a fearless mind open to the whole world.

Nowadays, when we go to the world and face the exchange and collision between cultures, this is also a model set by Quanzhou.

References:

Lin Yinru, The Prosperity of Quanzhou Port in Yuan Dynasty and Its Reasons.

Maritime Trade and Quanzhou Commercial Economy in Song and Yuan Dynasties Yuan Bingling

An analysis of the reasons and characteristics of the existence of multi-religious culture in Quanzhou during the Maritime Silk Road, Wu Dajian

On the Rise and Decline of Quanzhou Port in Song and Yuan Dynasties Zhu Jialun

Zhou Zhongjian, Why Quanzhou Port Emerged Suddenly in the Song Dynasty

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Editor | Art Travel Culture Bug Bug Jun