OS ESTUDOS DE HISTÓRIA DAS COMUNICAÇÕES MARÍTIMAS DA CHINA COM O ULTRAMAR
This article examines the historiography of Studies on the History of China's Maritime Communications with the Overseas World, situating the theme within the framework of twentieth-century Chinese academic literature up to the early 1990s. The central hypothesis rejects readings that reduce Chinese...
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| Published in: | Review of Culture |
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| Format: | Articles |
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Instituto Cultural de Macau
April 2003
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| Online Access: | https://www.icm.gov.mo/rc/viewer/pdfViewerParts/40006/2712 |
| Summary: | This article examines the historiography of Studies on the History of China's Maritime Communications with the Overseas World, situating the theme within the framework of twentieth-century Chinese academic literature up to the early 1990s. The central hypothesis rejects readings that reduce Chinese culture to the agricultural sphere, advocating instead for a tradition that records a long trajectory of navigation, commerce, and overseas exchange with impacts on world history. Through a review of historical, geographical, and literary sources—from the accounts of Xu Fu in the pre-Qin period to the relations of the Tang dynasty—the article traces an overview of maritime communications between China and the outside world: contacts with Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Peninsula, and Persia, as well as routes such as the "maritime road of Canton" and the Bohai Sea route. The circulation of monks and travelers, exemplified by Fa Xian, is presented as indicative of the intensification of exchanges. The limitations of the research are also discussed, acknowledging the absence of more recent investigations, unpublished documents, and contemporary debates on Ming and Qing policies or on Zheng He's voyages, including controversies such as Gavin Menzies' thesis. The publication in an international edition, with translation of excerpts, aims to constitute a pilot bibliography for transnational studies on Chinese maritime communications. |
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| ISSN: | 1682-1106 |