Yan Chen (1916–2016) was professor of Oriental studies at Peking University, adviser to the Chinese Overseas Transportation History Research Association, and honorary director of the Chinese Society for Historians of China’s Foreign Relations.Haitao Mu is associate professor at Hebei University of Economics and Business.Caiyun Gao is associate professor at the Cultural Palace of Nationalities.Chen Chen works in Zhongnan Hospital at Wuhan University.

Yan Chen (1916–2016) was Professor of Oriental Studies at Peking University and played an active role in advancing Mainland Chinese scholarship on the maritime silk trade after the Cultural Revolution. This book is the English translation of eleven well-researched articles that Chen published from the late 1980s. While each essay is a stand-alone chapter based onChen’s careful reading of archaeological findings and Chinese literary sources, one common thread that links all eleven chapters is the transformation of multiple maritime trading and logistics routes that connected China with Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Europe... Chen’s portrayal of the Maritime Silk Road as a cosmopolitan frontier is of great importance at a time when China has weaponized a nationalistic perception of its maritime legacy, viewing control over the sea lanes and the possession of a blue-ocean navy as essential symbols of a rising power, confronting neighbors over disputed waterways, and cutting off rival states’ access to the ocean. The escalation of maritime sovereignty disputes in recent years has prompted a reimagining, in both academic and political circles, of Asia as an oceanic space with greater humanistic connections and partnerships, not regionalcompetitions and conflicts.

• Chapter 1: The Morning Twilight of China’s Marine Culture—the Significance of Hemudu Culture on the Exploration of the Origin of the Maritime Silk RoadChapter 2: On the Rise and Fall of the Silk Road and the Shift from the Overland Route to the Sea RouteChapter 3: On the Maritime Silk RoadChapter 4: The Role of Ancient Zhejiang in East China Sea Silk RouteChapter 5: The South China Sea Route and Cultural Exchange between China and Foreign CountriesChapter 6: The Place of Ancient Countries in Thailand and the Bay of Thailand in the Maritime Transportation between the East and West before the Sixth CenturyChapter 7: The Special Status of the Arab World in the Overland and Maritime Silk RoadChapter 8: The Influence of Zheng He's Expeditions on the Islamic World and CultureChapter 9: The Prosperity of Maritime Silk Road Pushed by Zheng He’s ExpeditionsChapter 10: The Special Status and Influence of Macao Port on the Modern Maritime Silk RoadChapter 11: On the Maritime Silk Road and Cultural