Fujian boasts ties to ancient Maritime Silk Road

CHINA IS huge and its history is very long. Everything in this country, even new initiatives, has historical roots, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road announced by President Xi Jinping in 2013 was no exception.

Under the “One Belt, One Road” initiative, China planned to promote economic activities along the ancient Silk Road through Central Asia to connect with Europe and a maritime route from its east coast to Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean and Africa.

In fact, the maritime route from China’s east coast has existed for centuries. Connectivity between China and Southeast Asia can be dated back to 221 BC.

Three cities in Fujian province – the capital Fuzhou, Putian and Quanzhou – claim they were the original starting point for the ancient maritime Silk Road in one way or another. Their officials say their cities were among the first batch of coastal centres opening to the outside world more than a thousand years ago.

Fuzhou has been the window to the outside world for China since the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), according to Mayor Yang Yimin. The great Chinese navigator Zheng He, who led the largest fleet the world had ever seen from China to the West in 1421, had strong connections with Fuzhou as the city took charge of supplying his fleet, he said.

Based in the Ming Dynasty capital of Nanjing, Admiral Zheng He started his voyage from a port in Fuzhou, according to Zhang Yulin, deputy director of the Fuzhou Urban Planning Exhibition Centre. 

The admiral chose Fuzhou because the city was keen on shipbuilding and maritime culture, while local people were ready to join his long voyages to seek better lives in the new world, Zhang said.

Other sources such as the book “1421: The Year China Discovered the World” by Gavin Menzies suggest that Zheng He began his first voyage from Nanjing, as a principal shipyard named Longjiang was located nearby. However, the Chinese navigator used to stop over at ports in Fujian for logistical reasons and for a safe haven during monsoons, the book said.

Local historian Hu Jiagi said his city, Quanzhou, was the place of origin, “While Fuzhou is the starting point, from my study I would say Jiuri Hill in Quangzhou is the beginning of the starting”, he said and noting that Zheng He started four of his seven voyages from there.

Quanzhou Vice Mayor Chen Bongzhou said people in his city had a lot of solid historical evidence to support its claim as the real starting point of the ancient Maritime Silk Road since ancient ports existed in the city. 

A team of experts from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation conducted a survey in 1991 to find the original roots of the ancient sea routes, he said. There is a record of the Unesco team’s survey written on a stone at Jiuri Hill but it does not confirm where is the exact starting point of the Maritime Silk Road was. The team members who signed their names on the stone simply said they had visited the site.

A Buddhist monk at Kaiyuan monastery in Quanzhou also has a story to tell to link the city with the ancient Maritime Silk Road. The twin pagodas at the temple, Zhenguo on the east side and Renshou on the west, were built more than 1,000 years ago. They survived until today to prove that the city is one of the ancient coastal cities. The pagodas at that time functioned as lighthouses for sailing since they were visible from the Quanzhou harbour, the monk said.

Perhaps nobody is wrong and their claims all have some grounds, as historical records and archaeological objects unearthed in several areas of Fujian province indicate that this area served maritime trade for centuries.

Maritime culture and beliefs have deep roots among the population of this coastal province. Mazu, the patron goddess of seafarers, was worshipped at her ancestral temple on Meizhou Island, Putian city, by millions of people for centuries. It was said that Zheng He also prayed at the temple for smooth sailing. 

Mazu originally was a commoner named Lin Moniang who sacrificed herself to save fishermen. After her death, legend said she ascended to heaven and become immortal. The temple on the Meizhou Island, her birthplace, was built in AD 987 in her memory and to pray for protection and safety of mariners. Mazu become a sect followed by millions of people in and from Fujian, notable Chinese who settled in Southeast Asia. There are 53 Mazu temples in Singapore and 47 in Malaysia.

Authorities in Fujian and Beijing utilised the belief and culture to link with Southeast Asia for the promotion of the 21st Maritime Silk Road.