Riding the Great Waves to Explore the Open Sea

Compiled by Fujian Museum， Sailing Far on the Silk Road—The Essence of Cultural Relics on the Maritime Silk Road is based on the joint exhibition initiated by Fujian Museum on cultural relics from seven provinces in China across Maritime Silk Road. This title invites scholarly papers that conduct thematic studies on the Maritime Silk Road from various perspectives， representing the development and prosperity of the ancient Maritime Silk Road. Besides academic contributions， this title boasts rich resources on the images of cultural relics among the Maritime Silk Road. The age of relics included in the title ranges from prehistoric time to late Ming and Qing dynasties. Endowed with both a profound historical precipitation and a fascinating sense of history， those delicate relics take readers on a vicarious tour of the Maritime Silk Road which spans generations.

Sailing Far on the Silk Road---The Essence of Cultural Relics on the Maritime Silk Road

Fujian Museum

Fujian Education Press

October 2013

99.95 （USD）

The Maritime Silk Road originated from the continuous exploration of the sea over thousands of years by residents in China’s wide coastal regions. Prehistoric people came to grasp the skills and methods of swimming and navigation， laying a foundation for the opening and extension of the first sea routes. During the turn from the Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty， the central government paid more and more attention to the administration of maritime territories. A grand framework for international exchange via the Silk Road on land and on sea began to take shape after Emperor Wu of Han sent envoys to the Western Regions and ordered ships to sail from the South China Sea.

Stepped stone adze

Neolithic Age

（4，500 -- 6，300 years old）

Length 14 cm， width 4.3 cm， thickness 3.4 cm

Unearthed at the Dawenkou Site in Taian， Shandong

Now in Shandong Museum

Stepped stone adze

Neolithic Age

Length 7.8 cm， width of blade 4.1 cm

Now in Guangdong Museum

Oyster pick

Neolithic Age

Length 31 cm， width 11 cm

Now in Guangdong Museum

Pottery yan （steamer）

Shang Dynasty （17th -- 11th century BCE）

Remaining height 26 cm， belly diameter 23 cm

Retrieved from the Penglai waters

Now in Yantai Museum

Beginning from the Spring amp; Autumn and the Warring States Periods， there appeared a growing number of historical records about maritime activities as sea routes became important channels of communication between the north and south of China， as well as between China and its neighboring regions. Both the First Emperor of Qin’s travel to the East Sea and Emperor Wu of Han’s efforts to open the southern sea routes reflected the central government’s increasing attention to its maritime territories.

Bronze battle-axe

Warring States Period （476 BCE -- 221 BCE）

Length 10.3 cm， blade width 12.1 cm， hilt width 4.0 cm， thickness 1.9 cm

Unearthed at Shitu Hill in Jia Village， Yunlong Town， Yin County

Now in Ningbo Museum

This artifact is shaped like an axe， with a hollow body and a single blade. One of the sides is covered with intaglio carvings. At the top of the area within the border line is a pair of dragons facing each other， with bent front limbs and inward-curving tails. The lower border line represents a light boat loaded with four men wearing feathered hats and rowing hard. The other side is plain. The whole object is rather shiny.

Guanglingwangxi， gold seal of the Prince of Guangling

Eastern Han Dynasty （25 CE -- 220 CE）

Side length 2.3 cm， thickness 0.9 cm， overall height 2.1 cm， weight 123 g

Now in Nanjing Museum

This is a square gold seal topped by a turtle-shaped knob， with an overall height of 2.1 cm and a weight of 123 g. It bears the intaglio characters guanglingwangxi in neat and elegant seal script carved by a skillful and vigorous hand， which makes it highly rare and precious among Han seals.

The seal belonged to Liu Jing， the Prince of Guangling， of the early Eastern Han Dynasty. As the ninth son of Liu Xiu， or Emperor Guangwu， he was made Duke of Shanyang in 39 CE （the 15th year of Jianwu period） and promoted to Prince of Shanyang two years later. Later he was found guilty of a crime and demoted to Prince of Guangling.

On February 23， 1784， a farmer on Shikano Island in the eastern suburb of Fukuoka， Japan， discovered a square gold seal when repairing paddy canals. It had a snake-shaped knob and bore the intaglio seal-script words “Wonu King of Han”. Wonu refers to a local regime called Nu in Wo （Japan）. It was possible that an envoy from the state of Nu had crossed the Korea Strait and reached Lelang Prefecture， Korean peninsula （now Pyongyang， North Korea）， which was directly under Chinese control， and then arrived in Luoyang to pay tribute to the Eastern Han Dynasty， which bestowed upon him a gold seal with a purple tassel. The Prince of Guangling’s seal is very similar to it in size， weight， designs， carving method and calligraphic style， and the two seals were made only one year apart. It is even possible that they had been made by the same craftsman. If so， the Prince of Guangling’s seal would be the oldest piece of physical evidence for contact between China and Japan.