HOKKIEN MERCHANTS IN MARITIME ASIA PRIOR TO 1683. BRIDGING THE EAST OCEAN AND THE WEST OCEAN東西洋之橋樑：一六八三年前在亞洲沿海的福建商人
The article argues that Hokkien merchants from the southern coast of Fujian acted as "bridges" between the Eastern and Western maritime systems in the Asian space before 1683. Rather than treating these agents merely as isolated participants in trade routes, the author proposes analyzing them as a g...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
July 2007
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40023/3706 |
| Summary: | The article argues that Hokkien merchants from the southern coast of Fujian acted as "bridges" between the Eastern and Western maritime systems in the Asian space before 1683. Rather than treating these agents merely as isolated participants in trade routes, the author proposes analyzing them as a group integrated into a regional system of ports and entrepôts, capable of connecting itineraries spanning from the far north (Korea) to the south (Sumatra), with special emphasis on Qing (Quanzhou) as a logistical and shipbuilding center.
Methodologically, the study combines a historiographic reading of Chinese sources and ancient compilations with a comparative selection of representative entrepôts. It examines a framework of ports within the East Asian maritime system (Korea, Kyushu, and Taiwan), complemented by the case of Manila as an emblem of a Hokkien hub in Southeast Asia.
The main findings indicate that the formation of temporary overseas communities, conditioned by seasonality and monsoon winds, fostered stable networks of trade and cultural mediation. The article further demonstrates that the expansion of Hokkien activities, already structured between the 6th and 13th centuries, predates and helps explain later transformations in the regional organization of maritime trade. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |