The third station of the “Ocean World: Past and Future” virtual study tour took place on 28 April 2023 at Hainan University (HNU), China. The virtual tour was held via Zoom and it saw the participation of students and staff from UTAR, HNU and other partner universities.

The virtual tour was led by HNU academic Dr Chen Tianyi. The topic of his presentation was “History of Maritime Silk Road and New Initiative”.

Dr Chen started his session by interacting with the participants and asking them questions to provide them with a specific understanding of the Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road. He elaborated, “The Maritime Silk Road which began in the second century BC was followed by the ancient Chinese shipbuilding industry. It developed and continued to develop until Zheng He’s voyage to the West in the 15th century AD. Economic and trade exchanges as well as spiritual and cultural exchanges between Western countries have played an important role.  Besides silk, tea and porcelain are also representative materials of Chinese exports. China’s porcelain production and export rose in the Tang dynasty and continued to develop in the Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. However, porcelain was heavy and fragile, and it was better for shipping compared to silk, so it soon became China’s main export. Therefore, the Maritime Silk Road can also be called the ‘Road of Maritime Porcelain’ or ‘Road of Maritime Silk Porcelain’.”

“On the other hand, there were also large quantities of crops and goods entering China such as spices; as well as medicines, glasses, gold and silver dishes and other exotic treasures. Along with all kinds of material exchanges, people also carried out spiritual and cultural exchanges. Buddhism in India, Manichaeism, Islam in West Asia, Catholicism and Christianity in Europe were also introduced to China, West Asia and South Asia, while European ephemeris, medicine, architecture and musicology also brought influence to China,” he added.

He then shared about the early transportation in Southeast Asia, and said, “Civilian maritime trades began long before official trades. The Chinese ceramics were distributed sporadically to neighbouring Southeast Asia as early as the Han Dynasty. The grey pottery tripod found in Sumatra, Indonesia had the Han Dynasty’s year number at the bottom. Moreover, the Jakarta Museum which has a green glazed porcelain dragon spoon in West Kalimantan (Borneo) is believed to be the first-century of Han pottery.”

He revealed, “Before the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Maritime Silk Road was only a supplementary form to the Silk Road. Due to the continuous war in the Western regions, the Silk Road was blocked and replaced with the Maritime Silk Road. During the Tang and Song dynasties, which saw the development of shipbuilding and navigation technology, China was able to sail to Southeast Asia, the Strait of Malacca, the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, as well as Africa. The Maritime Silk Road finally replaced the silk land.”

Next, Dr Chen shared about Admiral Zheng He and the Ming treasure voyages. He mentioned, “In the early 1400s, Zheng He led the largest ships in the world on seven voyages of exploration to the Western seas. His ‘treasure ship’ led the way. It was followed by almost 200 other ships of various sizes with over 27,000 officers and soldiers. Their sailing journey went on as far as the east coast of Africa, where Somalia and Kenya are placed right now. The scale, navigation and distance, the number of countries and the high technology of shipbuilding of Zheng He’s fleet were advanced. During Zheng He’s voyage to the West in the early Ming Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road was busy due to the voyages. However, due to the maritime prohibition policy during the Qing dynasty, China’s maritime industry, which made great contributions to the sea and assisted with the meeting of East and West, began to decline; causing the Silk Road to dwindle. Later, in 1784, the visit of the American Empress of China to Guangdong marked a direct flight from the United States to Guangzhou.”

He also shared about the maritime industry after Zheng He’s voyage, the revenue of the voyage, Hainan in the Maritime Silk Road and the impact of Silk Road. He concluded, “The Silk Road changed the world immensely from various aspects; people’s lives became better and easier through the exchange of material goods and economic trade; religious beliefs; cultural diffusion; new ideas and skills.”

Before ending the talk, he also shared about the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is considered the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road. The talk ended with a Q&A and group photography session.