Shipping, Customs Procedures, and the Foreign Community: The 'Pingzhou ketan' on Aspects of Guangzhou's Maritime Economy in the Late Eleventh Century

v e r s i t y , m a r i o nThroughout history, maritime trade has been an important aspect of China's economy and society.By the early first millennium, Chinese traders had established maritime economic links with Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean littoral and the Arabian peninsula.With the consolidation of southern China under a single dynastic rule in the fifth century (Liu Song, 420-478), China's maritime economic, cultural and diplomatic ties extended to such states as Funan (Cambodia), Langkasuka (Malay Peninsula), Holing (Java) and Srivijaya (Sumatra).1 This external interaction, particularly along the southeastern coast of China, led to administrative, diplomatic and social developments in southern Chinese society that catered to the needs and imperatives of China's maritime economy.By the Tang period (618-907), a vibrant maritime economy had developed that was centered primarily on the port city of Guangzhou, but included other port cities along the southeastern coastline of China as well.Foreign products from Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean littoral and the Arabian peninsula were imported through the Chinese port cities, while Chinese manufactures, including silks, ceramics and metal ware, were exported to these regions in return. 2 The growing importance of maritime trade, both as an aspect of 1. O. W. Wolters, Early Indonesian Commerce; A Study of the Origins of Srivijaya (Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1967), 214.2. For a list and description of the products imported by China through Southeast Asia during [54.163.98.201]Project MUSE (2025-04-24 09:53 GMT) 5. Hugh R. Clark, Community, Trade and Networks: Southern Fujian Province from the Third to the Thirteenth Century (Cambridge: Cambridge