East and West Ask丨Jia Bin: How does the ancient shipwreck of the "Maritime Silk Road" tell the story of the exchanges between China and foreign countries?

　　China News Agency, Haikou, February 17th: How does the ancient shipwreck of the "Maritime Silk Road" tell the story of the past exchanges between China and foreign countries?

　　——Interview with Jia Bin, deputy director and associate research librarian of the Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Department of Hainan Provincial Museum

　　China News Agency reporter Fu Yuqun

　　Deep-sea archaeology broke through 2,000 meters, and the No. 2 ancient ship in the Yangtze River Estuary successfully implemented overall salvage... In 2022, China's underwater archaeology will attract much attention.

What historical "passwords" are hidden in ancient underwater shipwrecks?

How do they reflect the development of exchanges and mutual learning between Chinese and foreign civilizations?

Jia Bin, Deputy Director and Associate Research Librarian of the Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Department of the Hainan Provincial Museum, recently accepted an exclusive interview with China News Agency's "East and West Questions". answer.

Video: [Dongxiq] Jia Bin: How does the ancient shipwreck of the "Maritime Silk Road" reflect the story of the exchanges between Chinese and foreign civilizations?

The interview transcript is summarized as follows:

China News Agency reporter: What kind of ship is "Huaguangjiao I"?

Jia Bin:

The "Huaguangjiao I" shipwreck is a wooden shipwreck from the Southern Song Dynasty discovered and successfully salvaged in the open sea for the first time in China.

　　The sunken ship "Huaguang Jiao Ⅰ" was named after it was discovered in the waters of Huaguang Jiao, Xisha, China in 1996. After two underwater archaeological excavations in 1998-1999 and 2007-2008, it was found to be 20 meters long and 20 meters wide. About 6 meters, with 11 remaining compartments.

There are a large number of cargoes in the remaining compartments, which are porcelains from different kilns in Fujian, Guangdong, Jiangxi and other places during the Southern Song Dynasty.

These porcelains are all products of folk kilns, and most of them are used for foreign trade.

By comparing the utensils on merchant ships with the porcelain unearthed and unearthed in Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia and the Philippines, it was found that they were highly similar.

It can be inferred from this that "Huaguangjiao I" is an ocean-going merchant ship that loaded goods from a Chinese port, passed through the Maritime Silk Road, and finally transported goods to Southeast Asian countries.

The archaeological excavation platform of the "Huaguangjiao I" shipwreck site.

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

China News Agency reporter: Some scholars believe that sinking a ship is to precipitate a period of history; getting out of a sunken ship is to restart that period of history.

What historical stories are contained in "Huaguang Jiao No. 1"?

Jia Bin:

The "Huaguangjiao I" shipwreck is one of the important relics of China's overseas trade in the Southern Song Dynasty. Its hull and cargo contain rich cultural relics information and historical stories.

　　First of all, from the perspective of the sunken ship itself, "Huaguangjiao I" condenses the wisdom of ancient Chinese shipbuilding technology.

"Huaguangjiao I" is a Southern Song Dynasty "Fu Chuan" with a single keel and a sharp bottom. This shape is conducive to sailing in the open sea.

At the same time, the watertight compartment found on the sunken ship is a great invention of ancient China, which shows that this technology on Chinese ocean-going merchant ships was very mature at that time.

Ships equipped with this device and the unique "Fu Chuan" ship design not only increase the safety of ocean voyages, but also can carry more cargo.

The discovery of the sunken ship once again confirms that ancient Chinese shipbuilding technology is second to none in the world.

　　Secondly, judging from the outbound cargo, the cargo of "Huaguangjiao I" is mainly porcelain, as well as ironware and pottery.

Divided according to the type of vessel, there are bowls, plates, plates, boxes, pots, cups, bottles, cans, urns, etc. in porcelain, which are mainly produced in many kilns in Fujian, Jiangxi and other places.

Such a large number of utensils from different origins gathered on a merchant ship outlines the scene of prosperous porcelain production and overseas trade in China at that time.

In 2007, the full map of the hull compartment of "Huaguangjiao I" was excavated.

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

　　The types of goods carried by the "Huaguangjiao No. 1" ship are a microcosm of overseas trade commodities in the Song Dynasty, among which ceramics for export are the most prominent.

Because "Huaguangjiao I" was a sunken ship in the early Southern Song Dynasty, the cargo was mainly "exported", and the artisans at each kiln mouth produced porcelain according to their own understanding.

In the mid-to-late Ming Dynasty when the shipwreck of the "Nan'ao 1" occurred, a large number of exotic porcelain appeared, and overseas trade realized the transformation from pure export in the past to "customized" export. The inevitable result of mutual communication.

　　"Huaguangjiao No. 1", together with similar relics discovered by archaeological discoveries of shipwrecks and other archaeological sites in domestic and foreign waters, together constitute the production, trade and consumption network of the Maritime Silk Road.

It is the epitome of China's foreign trade and the exchange of Chinese and foreign civilizations at that time. It is a precious material for exploring China's overseas trade and maritime trade routes in the South China Sea. It is a milestone in the history of Chinese shipwreck excavation.

The underwater surveying and mapping site of the archaeological excavation of the "Huaguang Jiao Ⅰ" shipwreck site.

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

Reporter from China News Agency: So far, what is the progress of the "Huaguangjiao I" in the protection and restoration of the hull and on-board cultural relics?

Jia Bin:

The cultural relics of the "Huaguangjiao I" shipwreck mainly include the hull itself and the cultural relics onboard. The Water Relics Protection and Restoration Laboratory of the Hainan Provincial Museum undertakes the protection project of the "Huaguang Jiao I" shipwreck.

　　The protection and repair work of the ship plate has started since the salvage of the sunken ship.

The archaeological team numbered and recorded each dismantled ship plate, and then salvaged the water separately, and then needed to go through steps such as desalination, desulfurization, drying and shaping before restoration.

At present, the Hainan Provincial Museum has cooperated with Wuhan University of Technology to jointly design the restoration plan of the sunken ship, and its true appearance may be displayed in front of everyone in the near future.

　　Because the ship-borne porcelain was scattered on the sedimentary layer interlaced with sea sand and coral debris, the glaze of some water-discharged porcelain was loose and peeled off, the surface was rough, and some utensils were damaged, requiring desalination treatment.

Before the exhibition, the porcelain has to go through basic reinforcement and restoration processes such as bonding, filling, reinforcement, and coloring.

At present, nearly 10,000 artifacts have completed the restoration steps and are displayed in the Hainan Provincial Museum and the China (Hainan) South China Sea Museum.

　　The excavation and protection of sunken ship cultural relics are in the same line. Through scientific cultural relics protection and restoration technology, the proper preservation and restoration of the sunken ship hull and relics can be guaranteed, and more audiences can experience the original appearance of the sunken ship personally. Have an intuitive understanding, so as to better understand the profound Chinese civilization.

The underwater accumulation of the "Huaguang Jiao Ⅰ" shipwreck site.

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

Reporter from China News Agency: At present, there are more than 100 shipwreck sites in the South China Sea that have been archaeologically confirmed. Most of them are ancient Chinese shipwrecks, and there are few foreign ancient shipwrecks. What does this mean?

Jia Bin:

More than 100 sunken ships in the South China Sea have been discovered so far.

Among them, the "Nanhai No. 1" shipwreck unearthed more than 200,000 pieces of exported porcelain from the Southern Song Dynasty, and a large number of utensils with strong Arabic characteristics; The "Jiao I" shipwreck also produced a large number of porcelains from different kilns in Dehua Kiln in Fujian, Yi Kiln in Minqing, and Jingdezhen in Jiangxi.

The production of these utensils is a strong proof of the existence of the ancient Maritime Silk Road, and it is also a strong manifestation of Chinese traditional cultural exchanges with foreign countries and the inclusiveness of foreign cultures.

　　There are not many foreign sunken ships found on the bottom of the South China Sea, but there are many ancient Chinese sunken ships, which proves that China was the first country to manage and develop the South China Sea.

The historical information contained in the hull of "Huaguangjiao I" shows that the Maritime Silk Road is a road of cultural transmission starting from China.

The "Huaguangjiao No. 1" ancient shipwreck site records the history of friendly exchanges between ancient China and neighboring countries, which shows that the Chinese pioneered the "global economic integration" and promoted the development of world civilization.

　　We discovered a group of ancient Islamic tombs in Sanya, Lingshui and other places in Hainan. The owners of the tombs were Islamic businessmen who came to China with merchant ships. They were stranded in Hainan and buried here.

Since then, there has been a foreign ethnic minority who believe in Islam in Hainan. This is also an example of the mutual promotion, integration and common development of Chinese civilization and Islamic civilization.

In 2007, excavated cultural relics from the shipwreck site of "Huaguangjiao I".

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

China News Agency reporter: From the current underwater archeology in the South China Sea, what are the differences between the development of ancient Chinese marine civilization and the development of Western marine civilization?

Jia Bin:

Judging from historical documents, from the Han Dynasty to the Qing Dynasty, China has been operating and developing the South China Sea Islands and South China Sea routes.

At present, some unearthed and unearthed porcelains in Southeast Asia are mainly from Fujian, Jiangxi, Guangxi, Guangdong and other places in China, with obvious Chinese style.

In addition, we have found some architectural stone components in the existing ancestral halls and ancestral temples in China and Southeast Asia, which are of the same origin as the architectural stone components found in the shipwrecks of "Treasure Island I" and "Coral Island I".

These cultural relics from the South China Sea contain scenes of prosperous trade and cultural blending at that time, and are an interpretation of ancient Chinese marine civilization.

The shipwreck site of "Huaguangjiao I" is at the protection site of the ship deck.

Photo courtesy of Hainan Provincial Museum

　　Everyone is for the public and the world is one. This is the outlook on life of the ancient Chinese, and it is also the outlook on the development of ancient Chinese marine civilization. It is an interpretation of the contemporary "promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind".

In contrast to the West, the history of colonization and plunder has begun since the Age of Discovery, and the path is completely different.

　　The rise and prosperity of maritime trade has brought about cultural exchanges between different countries and different nationalities, enabling different cultures to learn from each other and learn from each other to achieve blending.

This kind of cultural integration brought about by trade in ancient China has a very good reference for how the world can take the road of peaceful development today.

　　Nowadays, China and foreign countries hold academic conferences, jointly carry out cultural relics protection, and exchange experiences. They also use win-win cooperation as a bond, and cultural relics protection and restoration as a bridge to realize exchanges and mutual learning between different ethnic groups, different countries, and different regions.

(over)

Respondent profile:

Jia Bin.

Photo provided by the interviewee

　　Jia Bin is currently the deputy director and associate research librarian of the Cultural Relics and Archeology Research Department of Hainan Provincial Museum.

Mainly engaged in underwater archaeology in the South China Sea, protection and research of underwater cultural heritage in the South China Sea, land archaeology in Hainan, history and culture in Hainan, and research on the Maritime Silk Road in the South China Sea.

Published academic works such as "The Sinking of the South China Sea--Underwater Archaeological Discovery and Research in the South China Sea", "Holding Hands in the Sea--The Blending of Underwater Cultural Relics and Asian Cultures in the South China Sea", etc., and published more than 30 papers of various types, mainly including Xisha underwater Investigation report on cultural heritage, research on copper coins from water in Xisha, archaeological investigation on Xisha islands and reefs, Islamic burials in Hainan and the Maritime Silk Road in the South China Sea, etc.