1. What made Quanzhou in the Song and Yuan Dynasties?
At dusk, I stood by the bell tower in Quanzhou and looked at the bustling cars in the old city of Quanzhou. Under the blending of modern and ancient times, Quanzhou has shown its charm different from most other cities in China. Compared with Xiamen and Gulangyu, where tourists flock, Quanzhou today is much more low-key.
Quanzhou Bell Tower at dusk (photo by the author)
Many people think that Xiamen is the core of Minnan culture, but this is not a very accurate view. I think Quanzhou is the essence of Minnan culture. Today, Quanzhou's GDP ranks first in Fujian Province all the year round, with a rapid growth rate. Quanzhou still retains a large number of buildings and historical sites in southern Fujian.
Quanzhou Guan Yue Temple (photo by the author)
Walking in the old city of Quanzhou, you can feel the cultural imprint of southern Fujian, which is completely different from Xiamen. Quanzhou Old Town has preserved the architecture from Song Dynasty to modern times.
There are a large number of Buddhist buildings preserved in the old city of Quanzhou (photo by the author)
What made Quanzhou once brilliant? All this has to start from the Song Dynasty.
At first, the name "Quanzhou" did not refer to Quanzhou today. In the Tang Dynasty, the place name "Quanzhou" refers to a seaport in Fuzhou. Later, because of the relocation of place names, the name of Quanzhou was moved to Quanzhou today. Historians call Quanzhou in the early Tang Dynasty "pre-Quanzhou".
Quanzhou Wharf and Bridge in Song Dynasty (photo by the author)
The rise of Quanzhou Port benefited from the interruption of the northern land Silk Road, and the westernmost territory of the Northern Song Dynasty only reached today's Hehuang Valley. At that time, because of the complexity of the Hexi Corridor, the territory of the Song Dynasty never occupied the land west of Wushaoling, thus losing control of the Hexi Corridor, which means that the control of the Northern Silk Road in the Northern Song Dynasty was far less than that in the Tang Dynasty.
Although the rulers of Song Dynasty later opened up the Silk Road route from Qinghai to the western regions, compared with Hexi Corridor, Qinghai Road was inferior to Hexi Corridor in terms of water source and material supply, and the forced diversion of the Silk Road was also an important reason for the decline of the northern land Silk Road.
Hexi Corridor
At the same time, the Song Dynasty has moved its capital from Chang 'an-Luoyang to the vicinity of Bianliang, and the eastward movement of the political center will inevitably weaken the Song Dynasty's control over the northern land Silk Road. Of course, the decline of the Silk Road on land is not the only reason for the rise of the Maritime Silk Road.
During the Song Dynasty, the economic center of China gradually moved to the south, and the southern economy gradually surpassed the north from the Anshi Rebellion. It was not until the Southern Song Dynasty moved its capital to Lin 'an that the south completely surpassed the north. At the same time, businessmen from South and Central Asia crossed the Straits of Malacca from the sea to China in pursuit of high profits.
Therefore, under the background of the decline of the land Silk Road and the economic center moving eastward and southward, the Maritime Silk Road began to rise gradually, and Quanzhou became an important post station of the Maritime Silk Road.
Road Map of Maritime Silk Road
2. What was Quanzhou like in the Song and Yuan Dynasties?
Quanzhou Port in history consists of three harbors, 12 ports, dotted between Luoyang River and Jinjiang River. The most important ports are Houzhu Port, Fashi Port and Anping Lane Port. Fashi Port in Song and Yuan Dynasties has disappeared today. Due to serious riverbed siltation, Qian Fan Wandu Port was gradually upgraded from a seaport to a land, and its remains can still be seen in other ports in Quanzhou today.
Since the Tang Dynasty, Quanzhou has experienced nearly four great leaps: in the Northern Song Dynasty, it surpassed Ningbo and was second only to Guangzhou; When the Southern Song Dynasty chased Guangzhou, the two places were neck and neck. At the end of the Southern Song Dynasty, Guangzhou was surpassed. In the Yuan Dynasty, it became one of the largest port cities in the Yuan Dynasty.
There are six victory towers in Quanzhou in the Yuan Dynasty.
Geographical works published in the Song, Yuan and early Ming Dynasties, such as Zhufanzhi by Zhao, Records of Islands by Wang Dayuan, and Records of Foreign Countries by Zhou Zhizhong, all recorded the distance, orientation and time needed between China and other countries, and almost all of these works were based on Quanzhou. In other words, Quanzhou was one of the origins of the Maritime Silk Road in China at that time.
According to statistics, there are about 34 countries that have trade relations with Quanzhou in the Northern Song Dynasty, 56 in the Southern Song Dynasty and more than 80 in the Yuan Dynasty. Many people of different languages and cultures gather in Quanzhou, where they do business, preach and travel. It can be said that Quanzhou was an international metropolis with a mixture of five parties and a blend of Chinese and foreign.
Quanzhou Jing Qing Temple (photo by the author)
In the Yuan Dynasty, Quanzhou was also called "Erythrina City". Erythrina is a tropical plant, which is produced in Malaysia and other places. In the Five Dynasties, Fujian and Vietnam began to plant this plant widely in Quanzhou, so Quanzhou and other places were covered with Erythrina. Over time, people called Quanzhou Erythrina Port or Erythrina City.
Erythrina is the city flower of Quanzhou.
According to Kyle Polo's account, at that time, there were merchants from big food, Sanfo Qi, Zhenla, Zhancheng and other countries in Quanzhou, and a large number of goods gathered in Quanzhou, the best proof of which was all kinds of cultural relics and historic sites all over Quanzhou. Stone carvings in Hindu style and mosques in Islamic style can still be found on Zhongshan Road in Quanzhou, and the Quanzhou Maritime Traffic History Museum still preserves a large number of stone carvings left by various countries at that time.
Islamic stone carvings left in Quanzhou during the Song and Yuan Dynasties (photo by the author)
In addition to foreign religions, Quanzhou's local religions also shined at that time. In the Song Dynasty, Mazu (Mazu culture was born in Putian, which is adjacent to Quanzhou, that is, Xinghua in ancient times), Taoism and Buddhism gradually rose in Quanzhou, and formed their own unique religious architectural cultural groups.
Mazu Tempel in Quanzhou (photo by the author)