Summary of Article
Hugh R Clark (1995) explains that the presence of Muslim and Hindu communities and the religions they brought with them affected the culture and economy of Quanzhou from the 11th to the 13th century. The Muslim community that arrived to Quanzhou from West Asia became the dominant foreign community in Quanzhou during the late Song and Yuan dynasty. After the establishment of the Superintendent Trade Office in 1087, this community experienced a growth in numbers and in wealth. This growth was “reflected in the expanded growth it provided for itself, such as mosques and graveywards” (p.62). Shinawei, a devoted patron of this community, was known to take public interest for his fellow traders and bought land to establish a Muslim cemetery. Communities of foreign merchants from South and Southeast Asia had members that shared an “Indianized” culture. These communities included Tamil speakers, who left Tamil inscriptions on stone tablets, and a Shiva cult, who had enough influence to build the “Stone Bamboo Shoot” and to leave Shiva carvings on the walls of the Kaiyuan Temple.
In the beginning of the Song dynasty, Quanzhou was not a legal port for overseas trade. Merchants could only trade legally in Guangzhou. However, since it was cheaper to trade illegally in Quanzhou than trade legally in Guangzhou, trade in Quanzhou began to grow and the government started to lose money. Due to this growth of illegal trade, the Song dynasty was forced to legalize trade by setting up a Superintendent of Trade office in Quanzhou. In addition, the introduction of cotton and Champa rice that China received through trade with Southeast Asia helped revolutionize China’s agriculture. Because of the expansion of trade within and overseas, Fujian economy changed from cultivation of rice and cotton to “export orientated economy producing luxury fruits” (p. 70). Lastly, due to prominence of overseas trade in Quanzhou and Fujian, the once looked down merchant profession was gradually being accepted by the elite society. “Social contact between merchants and gentry became the norm” (p. 71).
Interesting Tidbits
In this article, I learned a lot about the rise of Quanzhou as major trade port. Since China’s start in the maritime trade, Guangzhou, Quanzhou’s rival port city, was already an established port and had the largest foreign community in China. Under the Tang dynasty, Quanzhou was established as a port city, but due to its dangerous environment, not many people wanted to go there. However, due to the riots and massacres of the foreign communities in Guangzhou by the rebel leader, Huang Chao, many foreigners left Guangzhou and moved to either Quanzhou or other port cities in Southeast Asia. Another interesting tidbit is that Champa rice was introduced to Fujian peasants from the Mekong Delta. This rice was adopted because it grew really well in famine and drought areas. (Fujian relied on trade due to famine and drought in its rural areas.) As years went by, Fujian peasants developed new rice-growing techniques to improve the taste and quality of the rice. Later, their practices became the foundation for Chinese rice-based culinary traditions.
Connection to Guiding Question
This article explained that Quanzhou’s foreign community impacted the city and its surroundings areas culturally and economically. First, since foreign traders made Quanzhou a prosperous port city through illegal trade, the Song government was forced to make Quanzhou an official trade port. Second, Muslims and other foreign communities made Quanzhou a more trade-friendly city. Since wealthy and influential non-Chinese residents took a pubic interest in the welfare of other foreign merchants, their roles in Quanzhou’s maritime trade became more political. Lastly, the imported products such as rice and cotton changed the agricultural and culinary traditions of China.
Clark, H. R. (1995). Muslims and Hindus in the culture and morphology of Quanzhou from the tenth to the thirteenth century. Journal of World History, 6(1), 49-74. Retrieved from: https://www.thewha.org/
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