How the foreign exchange routes of the Han Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty differed

There were significant differences between the Han and Yuan dynasties in their foreign exchange routes. In general, the Han Dynasty relied on land transportation, while the Yuan Dynasty relied on maritime transportation.

During the Han Dynasty, China's communication with the outside world was mainly carried out by land transportation. This is due to the fact that Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions during the period of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty and opened up the famous "Silk Road". Through this land passage, China's silk, porcelain, tea and other commodities were able to communicate with Central Asia, West Asia and other places.

In addition, the Han Dynasty also carried out certain exchanges with South Asia, Southeast Asia and other regions by land. However, the Han Dynasty's external ** was relatively limited, and it was mainly a one-way export, such as silk and other goods.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the route of foreign exchange underwent significant changes. During the Yuan Dynasty, each port set up a city shipping department to manage overseas**. At this time, the foreign ** is more prosperous, and sea ships can go directly to Japan, Southeast Asia and other places.

In the Yuan Dynasty, the scale of the sea not only increased, but also the two-way communication gradually increased. For example, goods such as spices and gemstones from Southeast Asia are imported into China, and Chinese porcelain and silk are also exported to Southeast Asia. During this period, the Maritime Silk Road gradually replaced the Overland Silk Road and became the main channel for communication between China and the outside world.

To sum up, there are significant differences between the foreign exchange routes of the Han Dynasty and the Yuan Dynasty. The Han Dynasty was dominated by the overland Silk Road, while the Yuan Dynasty relied on maritime transportation to carry out external affairs through the Maritime Silk Road. This transformation reflects the changes in China's foreign affairs and communication methods, and also reflects the development of the times.

In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, the land Silk Road was blocked due to war, and China's economic center of gravity had shifted to the south during the same period, and the sea route had a large volume, low cost and high security, so the sea route replaced the land route as the main channel between China and foreign countries. In particular, the high development of commercial science and technology in the Song Dynasty, the invention of navigation technology such as the compass and the water-sealed cabin, and the accumulation of navigation knowledge such as astrology and geocultural trends, coupled with the Arab world's enthusiasm for the sea, made the Maritime Silk Road reach unprecedented prosperity. (The above is quoted from the encyclopedia).

The Yuan Dynasty had one more Maritime Silk Road than the Tang Dynasty.

Cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the Yuan Dynasty presented a new situation. The Great Mongolian State crossed Europe and Asia, and not only through Central Asia to Persia and Arabia was restored by land, with more frequent travel, but also expanded its scope to the westward to Europe. The Maritime Silk Road, which connected the countries bordering the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean, also became more prosperous and active on the basis of the Song Dynasty.

The rulers of the Mongols and the Yuan Dynasty pursued an inclusive policy of religion only for the blessing of the Great Khan. In order to prevent the Mongols from invading westward, and to unite the Mongols against the Islamic forces, the Pope sent priests to the east several times in 1245 and 1342 for a hundred years, asking for reconciliation and setting up churches to preach. In 1307, Montegovino was appointed archbishop of the Metropolitan and the East, and was baptized by about 6,000 people.

European clergy were also engaged in commerce, and Persian, Arab and European merchants came one after another, and Marco Polo's family was the most famous. Most of them left records of their travels, which helped Europeans understand the East, and Marco Polo's books were useful for later Europeans on their eastward journeys.

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the blue brocade shipped from China to Egypt, with its pattern with Arabic characteristics, was unearthed at the Azam cemetery in Egypt.

Adventures are especially inspiring. Cultural exchanges between China and the Persians and Arabs were carried out extensively through the Ilkhanate. The Chinese astronomical calendar, the science of medicine, banknotes and block printing, the post system, and the abacus were all introduced to the Ilkhanate, and some to Europe as far west as possible, while printing may have been introduced to the Arab countries by other means.

Chinese gunpowder was introduced to Islamic countries in the 13th century, and the main ingredient of gunpowder was nitrate, which the Persians called "Chinese salt" and the Arabs called "Chinese snow". The transliteration of the word tea in Western languages is transmitted from the Fujian dialect and the northern pronunciation from the western Mongolian language. Western astronomical calendars, mathematics, and medical knowledge were also introduced to China by a large number of Persians and Arabs from the east, and they played a role in promoting each other.

Although the Mongol rulers were at war with the surrounding countries, the merchant ships of Goryeo, Japan, Burma, Siam, Java and other countries were never interrupted. The Yuan Dynasty originally set up a city shipping department in seven ports, and then after cutting and merging, only Qingyuan (now Ningbo, Zhejiang), Quanzhou, and Guangzhou were left. The correspondence between China and Goryeo with scribes and with Japan with Zen monks was extremely frequent.

Porcelain-making technology was also introduced to Siam at this time. When the Chinese traveler Zhou Daguan (see The Tale of the Wind and Soil of Chenla) arrived in Cambodia, and Wang Dayuan (see Daoyi Zhiluo) sailed to the east coast of Africa, the knowledge of Africa was better than that of the Song Dynasty. Ibn Batuta, a Moroccan from Africa, visited Quanzhou and Guangzhou.

Their travelogues have become valuable historical materials for cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries in the Yuan Dynasty.

The Western Han Dynasty was dominated by commerce and trade, and silk fabrics accounted for a large proportion of trade, with a considerable degree of unidirectionality. China and foreign exchanges are the mainstay, and both land and water are developed. It has frequent exchanges with countries in Asia, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, West Asia and other regions, which has a great influence on oriental culture and forms a cultural circle with China as the core.

Chinese civilization began to be introduced through the Silk Road. China began to absorb foreign cultures such as Buddhism. The Han Dynasty had an advanced civilization and had a profound impact on the world.

It opened up the first diplomatic road in ancient China. The field of exchanges is comprehensive, involving politics, economy, culture, religion and other aspects. On the way, overseas is developed, and since the opening of the Silk Road, diplomacy has formed a heyday.

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the countries that had foreign exchanges were distributed in East Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and West Asia, and Europe and Africa also had exchanges. The scope is wide, and the history is rare. Moreover, these exchanges have not been interrupted by civil strife in China, and there is a clear continuity.

For example, Japan sent envoys to the Tang Dynasty thirteen times in a row.

The Southern Song Dynasty was a dynasty with extremely frequent diplomacy in ancient Chinese history, which also led to the unprecedented economic prosperity of the Song Dynasty. Agriculture, printing, papermaking, silk weaving, and porcelain have all made significant progress. The maritime industry and shipbuilding industry have made outstanding achievements, and trade with more than 50 countries in the South Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, Europe and other regions.

The development of the south during the Southern Song Dynasty contributed to the development of the Jiangnan region as an economic and cultural center. In the late Southern Song Dynasty, Quanzhou became the world's largest port and the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road. During the Southern Song Dynasty, the Song Dynasty set up a field at the junction with Jin and Dali to communicate with each other.

The prosperity of the Yuan Dynasty exceeded that of the previous generation, and the sea ships could go directly to Japan, Zhancheng and other places. The Yuan Dynasty set up cities and shipping divisions in various ports, and traded with each other. The Yuan Dynasty and Goryeo, Japan ** closely.

Ginseng and other local products from Korea are popular in the interior of our country. Our country's cotton textile technology was transmitted to Goryeo at this time. Japan recruited engraving craftsmen from China to develop the printing industry in Japan.

Confucian culture is hugely inclusive, allowing rulers to be broad-minded.

First, due to the rule of the Yuan Dynasty, Confucianism coexisted with a variety of cultures, and Chinese and foreign cultures formed a pattern of coexistence of multiple cultures through material exchanges and cultural collisions;

Second, due to the development of overseas in the Yuan Dynasty, cultural exchanges have also developed on the basis of material exchanges.

1. During the Yuan Dynasty, Marco Polo lived in China for 20 years, and after returning to China, he wrote the famous "Marco Polo's Travels", which became the first book written by a Westerner to introduce China in detail. 2. Chinese printing, gunpowder, papermaking, and compass were all introduced to Europe in the Yuan Dynasty. 3. During the Yuan Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road was unprecedentedly prosperous, and the exchanges between China and foreign countries were extremely frequent.

Kunshan, Qingyuan, Wenzhou, Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Guangzhou, etc. on the southeast coast are all foreign trade ports, such as Liujiagang in Kunshan, which is known as the "Wanguo Wharf". The Municipal Department is the agency in charge of external affairs. 4、

During the Sui and Tang dynasties, most of China's transportation was still mainly by land, but in the Song and Yuan dynasties, with the rise of the Arab Empire and the Ottoman Turkish Empire, the land Silk Road to Europe was blocked, and China began to open up sea routes.