Spanning 122 hectares in Taicang County, Jiangsu Province, Zheng He Park celebrates the legendary 15th-century explorer’s seven voyages. Its architecture revives the grandeur of Ming Dynasty maritime history, blending cultural heritage with modern design. Photo: TUCHONG

Maritime civilization forms an integral part of Chinese civilization. To understand the developmental stages and defining features of ancient Chinese maritime civilization, several foundational concepts must be clarified. First, maritime civilization is inherently diverse and cannot be equated with Western models, nor is it necessarily more advanced or open. Second, the coastal regions where Chinese maritime civilization took shape were under the direct rule of dynastic states centered on agricultural civilization. The relationship between maritime and agricultural civilizations was not a dichotomy of opposites—advanced versus backward—but rather a process of integration and coexistence. Third, the stage-by-stage developments in maritime civilization reflect changes, or even shifts, in livelihood systems and governance models, the impacts of which should be understood in historical context rather than through simplistic value judgments.

Accordingly, the development of ancient Chinese maritime civilization must be examined through the interplay of the dynastic system, marine-based livelihoods, and external influences.

Six elements

The development of ancient Chinese maritime civilization was shaped by six fundamental elements: system, trade, livelihoods, knowledge, ideas, and beliefs. From their initial emergence to their eventual systematization and consolidation, these elements provide a framework for dividing the development of maritime civilization into three stages: the formative period (Pre-Qin, Han, and Tang), the period of maturity (Song and Yuan), and the phase of cyclical development (Ming and early Qing).

In the formative stage, certain elements of maritime civilization began to appear and evolve, though not yet in a comprehensive or systematic form. During the Song (960–1279) and Yuan (1206–1368) dynasties, these six elements became systematized and stabilized, marking the maturity of traditional Chinese maritime civilization. Key milestones included Emperor Gaozong’s establishment of a formal coastal defense system in the Song Dynasty (1127–1162), the implementation of pragmatic maritime policies, the conferral of titles to the sea goddess Mazu, and her promotion as a transregional deity. In the Ming (1368–1644) and early Qing (1616–1911) periods, maritime civilization entered a phase of cyclical development. While prohibitions on maritime activity and restrictions on overseas trade hindered sustained growth, certain aspects of maritime civilization continued to deepen, and contact with Western nations introduced new influences. The modern transformation of Chinese maritime civilization has been shaped by the inheritance and adaptation of these foundational elements.

‘Tianxia’ order vs. private trade

Folk actors played a central role in the development of ancient Chinese maritime civilization, while the state’s direct involvement remained relatively limited. Under the dynastic system, however, the imperial court held significant authority to regulate private maritime activities. In agricultural dynasties—excluding the Song, which drew substantial revenue from industry and commerce—land taxes were the primary source of state income. This diminished the incentive for dynastic states to proactively cultivate maritime markets. Direct state involvement in maritime trade was rare and largely confined to the Yuan Dynasty’s official ship trade, which operated intermittently for over three decades. In this model, the state supplied the funding and vessels, while merchants managed the operations—an early example of state-supported international trade. By contrast, even dynasties like the Song, which valued overseas trade for its economic returns, refrained from directly participating in maritime commerce.

The primary purpose of official maritime endeavors was to establish the “Tianxia” (All Under Heaven) order. Central to this order was the idea of foreign states “coming to pay tribute.” The court rarely dispatched envoys abroad; over the course of two millennia from the Qin (221–206 BCE) and Han (206 BCE–25 CE) onward, official missions were mostly limited to the Korean Peninsula and Annam (present-day Vietnam) due to georgraphical needs, with only a handful of expeditions to more distant overseas regions. Notable exceptions include several Yuan Dynasty missions to Southeast Asia and the famed voyages of Zheng He during the Ming Dynasty. Although their primary aim was to uphold the tributary system and elevate national prestige, these diplomatic missions also stimulated trade.

Private trade remained the dominant form of maritime commerce in ancient China. During the Han and Tang (618–907) dynasties, overseas trade by Chinese citizens was prohibited by law, restricting most commerce to coastal areas and leaving foreign merchants as the main drivers of international trade. By the Song Dynasty, Chinese merchants had become a major force in both domestic and international maritime trade, a trend that persisted even during the Ming Dynasty’s maritime prohibitions. However, such private maritime activities were inherent in the dynastic state system, operated within the constraints of the dynastic state.

Official maritime activities in ancient China were primarily intended to assert political order. The core ideals behind the Tianxia system emphasized universal inclusion: the world as a one family. This worldview fostered a generally open and inclusive attitude toward foreign nations. First, foreigners were always permitted to enter China, even during the maritime bans of the Ming and early Qing when foreign tributary missions were still permitted. Second, those who arrived were treated with particular favor. Third, religions and cultures introduced from abroad were broadly tolerated.

At the same time, ancient Chinese maritime civilization—though largely driven by private actors—demonstrated a strong degree of openness. Livelihoods like fishing, salt production, navigation, trade, and related handicrafts and market-oriented agriculture were relatively simple in structure, making exchange a natural and necessary part of life for coastal communities. Over time, trade became their most vital source of livelihood, embedding openness into the very fabric of maritime society.

Nevertheless, the agricultural foundation of the dynastic system and the emphasis on Tianxia ideology placed constraints on this openness. First, maritime policies fluctuated unpredictably between dynasties. Second, the hierarchical nature of the tributary system hindered the establishment of equal trade relations, ultimately limiting policy openness.

Ancient Chinese maritime trade was primarily driven by private trade, making peace the fundamental characteristic of maritime commerce. Before the arrival of foreign colonizers, trade in the Asian seas involved competition and occasional armed conflicts, but it was predominantly characterized by peaceful private trade. From the Song Dynasty onward, both Arab and Chinese merchants were key players, operating independently of state authority.

In contrast to colonial expansion, ancient China’s Tianxia order was mainly pursued through tribute-based trade, attracting foreign nations through economic and cultural advantages, and the principle of “giving foreign nations lavish gifts as signs of generosity with little expectation of immediate return.” Coastal defense systems were designed primarily for protection, focusing on nearshore and territorial waters. The Southern Song Dynasty (1127–1279) laid the institutional and ideological groundwork for this defensive orientation, which remained consistent through the Ming and Qing periods.

In essence, China’s enduring engagement with foreign nations was built on the idea of sharing the fruits of civilization. The basic structure of maritime trade in ancient Asia centered on the reciprocal exchange of Chinese goods—porcelain, silk, iron, copper coins—for resources-based commodities such as spices, gems, ivory, and rhinoceros horns from Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean. These exchanges were rooted in complementary differences in geography and technology. Regional powers like Japan, Korea, Annam, and other Southeast Asian states regarded China as a model of institutional, political and cultural learning, absorbing its political, economic and social systems, as well as its intellectual and cultural achievements. The pursuit of mutual benefit created a self-sustaining mechanism for long-term engagement.

From margins to center

Ancient Chinese maritime civilization emerged and developed in the coastal areas at the periphery of the direct administration of the dynastic states, making it geographically marginal. The marginality of maritime civilization was further reinforced by the state’s governance model. The history of ancient Chinese maritime civilization is a story of how this civilization, from the margins, gradually became integrated into, and influential within, the core structures of national governance. This integration involved the fusion of agriculture and commerce, land and sea, with distinct pathways blended together. 

Following the Song Dynasty, the rapid growth of maritime livelihoods in coastal areas gave rise to new patterns of economic activity and a worldview centered on the sea. These regions began to exhibit distinct maritime characteristics. Over time, socio-economic development and changing dynastic policies deepened the interaction between maritime and agricultural civilizations, as well as between coastal and inland areas.

First, under the dynastic system, coastal and inland regions shared common institutional frameworks, resulting in overlapping and interwoven structures rather than sharp divides. Second, shifts in economic centers and patterns of regional exchange propelled the fusion of these civilizations. The Song Dynasty marked the first major shift in economic power from the north to the southeast, elevating maritime civilization to its peak. During the Ming and Qing, a second shift occurred—from inland to coastal regions—fostering an economy increasingly driven by industry and commerce, in contrast to traditional agrarian models. Third, the dynastic state institutionalized overseas trade through formal taxation and gradually rebalanced the relationship between coastal livelihoods and state objectives, creating a dynamic of reciprocal influence between government and maritime activities.

This process of interaction and integration proved mutually reinforcing. Maritime civilization, once peripheral, began exerting greater influence on the dynastic state. Imported trade goods impacted daily life, religion, and medicine, while Western knowledge—particularly in geography, astronomy, and military technology—shaped Chinese society. These developments demonstrated how maritime civilization influenced the interior.

Since the Southern Song, the southeastern regions emerged as China’s leading region for economic and cultural development. Its thriving commerce, profit-oriented social structure, and new frameworks for mutually beneficial exchange with foreign civilizations played a guiding role in broader societal trends. In particular, when the dynastic state faced serious threats from foreign powers, globalization brought with it various shocks—new institutions, ideas, and technologies—catalyzing the transformation of maritime civilization from a marginal force into a central actor at the forefront of China’s military, political, and cultural evolution. The characteristics of ancient Chinese maritime civilization were thus essential to China’s transition from tradition to modernity.

Huang Chunyan is a professor from the Department of History at East China Normal University.

Edited by YANG XUE