The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China: The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750–1400

Author: 
John W. Chaffee

Publication date:
November 2018

Publisher:
Cambridge University Press

Abstract:
In this major new history of Muslim merchants and their trade links with China, John W. Chaffee uncovers 700 years of history, from the eighth century, when Muslim communities first established themselves in southeastern China, through the fourteenth century, when trade all but ceased. These were extraordinary and tumultuous times. Under the Song and the Mongols, the Muslim diaspora in China flourished as legal and economic ties were formalized. At other times the Muslim community suffered hostility and persecution. Chaffee shows how the policies of successive dynastic regimes in China combined with geopolitical developments across maritime Asia to affect the fortunes of Muslim communities. He explores social and cultural exchanges, and how connections were maintained through faith and a common acceptance of Muslim law. This ground breaking contribution to the history of Asia, the early Islamic world, and to maritime history explores the networks that helped to shape the pre-modern world.

Table of Contents:
Introduction
1. Merchants of an imperial trade
2. The reorientation of trade
3. The maturation of merchant communities
4. Mongols and the concentration of merchant power
5. Endings and continuities

The Tang Shipwreck: Art and Exchange in the 9th Century

Editors:
Alan Chong and Stephen A. Murphy

Publication date:
December 2019

Publisher:
Singapore : Asian Civilisations Museum

Abstract:
This book tells the story of the Tang Shipwreck, discovered off Belitung Island in Indonesia in 1998, and now housed at the Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore. It is one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of recent times. Found at the site was a remarkable cargo of some 60,000 Chinese ceramics dating from the Tang dynasty (618-907), along with finely wrought gold and silver objects, bronze mirrors, and more ordinary objects belonging to the crew. Just as remarkable were the remnants of the ship itself, which consisted of wooden planks sewn together with rope. This construction technique clearly indicated that the vessel had been built in the Persian Gulf or western reaches of the Indian Ocean, and had sailed all the way from the Middle East to China, and was on its way home when it ran aground in the Java Sea. The ten essays in this profusely illustrated volume discuss the ceramics and other commodities on board, the ship's construction and possible origin, China's maritime trade in the Tang period, Chinese ceramic production, ports of call in Asia and Southeast Asia, and life on board the ship.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Alan Chong

Asia in the ninth century: The context of the Tang Shipwreck
Stephen A. Murphy

The origin of the Tang Shipwreck: A look at its archaeology and history
Michael Flecker

A Middle Eastern ship in Southeast Asia

Ceramics from Changsha: A world commodity
Kan Shuyi

The kilns of Changsha

Green, white, and blue-andwhite stonewares: A precious ceramic cargo
Regina Krahl

As green as jade: Celadons

As white as snow: White ceramics

Green-splashed ceramics for the Middle East

The art of tea

The Tang Shipwreck and the nature of China’s maritime trade during the late Tang period
Derek Heng

Hollow and useless luxuries: The Tang Shipwreck and the emerging role of Arab traders in the late first millennium Indian Ocean
John Guy

Middle Eastern taste: Lozenges and flowers

Gold and silver on the Tang Shipwreck
Qi Dongfang

Gold and silver luxuries

Metal objects on the Tang Shipwreck
François Louis

Mirrors

Sinbad, shipwrecks, and Singapore
John N. Miksic

Ports of call in ninth-century Southeast Asia: The route of the Tang Shipwreck
Stephen A. Murphy

Life on board

Chinese on board

Middle Easterners on board

Southeast Asian sailors

Gambling at sea

Storage jars

China: Visions Through The Ages

Editors:
Deborah A. Bekken, Lisa C. Niziolek, Gary M. Feinman

Publisher:
University Of Chicago Press

Publication Date:
November 7, 2017

Abstract:
At the entrance of The Field Museum’s Cyrus Tang Hall of China, two Chinese stone guardian lions stand tall, gazing down intently at approaching visitors. One lion’s paw rests upon a decorated ball symbolizing power, while the other lion cradles a cub. Traditionally believed to possess attributes of strength and protection, statues such as these once stood guard outside imperial buildings, temples, and wealthy homes in China. Now, centuries later, they guard this incredible permanent exhibition.

China’s long history is one of the richest and most complex in the known world, and the Cyrus Tang Hall of China offers visitors a wonderful, comprehensive survey of it through some 350 artifacts on display, spanning from the Paleolithic period to present day. Now, with China: Visions through the Ages, anyone can experience the marvels of this exhibition through the book’s beautifully designed and detailed pages. Readers will gain deeper insight into The Field Museum’s important East Asian collections, the exhibition development process, and research on key aspects of China’s fascinating history. This companion book, edited by the exhibition’s own curatorial team, takes readers even deeper into the wonders of the Cyrus Tang Hall of China and enables them to study more closely the objects and themes featured in the show. Mirroring the exhibition’s layout of five galleries, the volume is divided into five sections. The first section focuses on the Paleolithic and Neolithic periods; the second, the Bronze Age, the first dynasties, and early writing; the third, the imperial system and power; the fourth, religion and performance; and the fifth, interregional trade and the Silk Routes. Each section also includes highlights containing brief stories on objects or themes in the hall, such as the famous Lanting Xu rubbing.

With chapters from a diverse set of international authors providing greater context and historical background, China: Visions through the Ages is a richly illustrated volume that allows visitors, curious readers, and China scholars alike a chance to have an enduring exchange with the objects featured in the exhibition and with their multifaceted histories.

Table of Contents:

Introduction
Lisa C. Niziolek, Deborah A. Bekken, and Gary M. Feinman

Timeline

1 Building the China Collections at The Field Museum
Deborah A. Bekken

Section 1 Diverse Landscapes, Diverse Ways of Life

2 Domestication and the Origins of Agriculture in China
Gary W. Crawford

Highlight 1: Zhoukoudian: Peking Man and Evidence for Human Evolution in East Asia
Chen Shen

3 China during the Neolithic Period
Gary M. Feinman, Hui Fang, and Linda M. Nicholas

Section 2 Ritual and Power, War and Unification

4 The Bronze Age in China: What and When
Yungti Li 李永迪

Highlight 2: Sanyangzhuang 三楊莊: Life and Death in the Yellow River Floodplain
Tristram R. Kidder and Haiwang Liu

5 Written on Bamboo and Silk, Inscribed in Metal and Stone: Varieties of Early Chinese Writing
Edward L. Shaughnessy

Highlight 3: Consort Hao’s Inauspicious Delivery
Edward L. Shaughnessy

Section 3 Shifting Power, Enduring Traditions

6 Along the River during the Qingming Festival: A Living Painting with a Long History
Lu Zhang

Highlight 4: Conserving a Treasure: Preparing Along the River during the Qingming Festival for Display
Rachel Freeman and Shelley R. Paine

7 Men of Culture: Scholar-Officials and Scholar-Emperors in Late Imperial China
Fan Jeremy Zhang

Highlight 5: Commemorating a Gathering of Friends: The Lanting Xu Rubbing
Yuan Zhou

Section 4 Beliefs and Practices, Symbols and Stories

8 Daoism and Buddhism in Traditional China
Paul Copp

Highlight 6: Sealed in Time: A Manuscript from Dunhuang
Yuan Zhou

9 Shadows between Worlds: Chinese Shadow Theater
Mia Yinxing Liu

Section 5 Crossing Boundaries, Building Networks

10 The Silk Road: Intercontinental Trade and the Tang Empire
Lin Meciun 林梅村 and Ran Zhang

11 The Java Sea Shipwreck and China’s Maritime Trade
Lisa C. Niziolek

Highlight 7: Herbs and Artifacts: Trade in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Amanda Respess

Conclusion: Legacies of Qin Unification: A Hinge Point of Chinese History
Gary M. Feinman