THE MUSLIM MERCHANTS OF PREMODERN CHINA 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 Persian and Arab 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 groundbreaking contribution to the history of Asia, the early Islamic world and maritime history explores the networks that helped to shape the premodern world John W Chaffee is Distinguished Service Professor in the Departments of History and Asian and Asian American Studies at Binghamton University He also directs the Institute for Asia and Asian Diasporas He co-edited with Professor Denis Twitchett Volume 5, Part of The Cambridge History of China: Sung China, 960–1279 NEW APPROACHES TO ASIAN HISTORY This dynamic new series publishes books on the milestones in Asian history, those that have come to define particular periods or to mark turning points in the political, cultural and social evolution of the region The books in this series are intended as introductions for students, to be used in the classroom They are written by scholars whose credentials are well established in their particular fields and who have, in many cases, taught the subject across a number of years Books in the Series Judith M Brown, Global South Asians: Introducing the Modern Diaspora Diana Lary, China’s Republic Peter A Lorge, The Asian Military Revolution: From Gunpowder to the Bomb Ian Talbot and Gurharpal Singh, The Partition of India Stephen F Dale, The Muslim Empires of the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals Diana Lary, The Chinese People at War: Human Suffering and Social Transformation, 1937–1945 Sunil S Amrith, Migration and Diaspora in Modern Asia Thomas David DuBois, Religion and the Making of Modern East Asia Susan L Mann, Gender and Sexuality in Modern Chinese History 10 Tirthankar Roy, India in the World Economy: From Antiquity to the Present 11 Robin R Wang, Yinyang: The Way of Heaven and Earth in Chinese Thought and Culture 12 Li Feng, Early China: A Social and Cultural History 13 Diana Lary, China’s Civil War: A Social History, 1945–1949 14 Kiri Paramore, Japanese Confucianism: A Cultural History 15 Robert Peckham, Epidemics in Modern Asia 16 Craig Benjamin, Empires of Ancient Eurasia: The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE–250 CE 17 John W Chaffee, The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China: The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750–1400 THE MUSLIM MERCHANTS OF PREMODERN CHINA The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750–1400 John W Chaffee Binghamton University University Printing House, Cambridge CB2 8BS, United Kingdom One Liberty Plaza, 20th Floor, New York, NY 10006, USA 477 Williamstown Road, Port Melbourne, VIC 3207, Australia 314–321, 3rd Floor, Plot 3, Splendor Forum, Jasola District Centre, New Delhi – 110025, India 79 Anson Road, #06–04/06, Singapore 079906 Cambridge University Press is part of the University of Cambridge It furthers the University’s mission by disseminating knowledge in the pursuit of education, learning, and research at the highest international levels of excellence www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781107012684 DOI: 10.1017/9780511998492 © John W Chaffee 2018 This publication is in copyright Subject to statutory exception and to the provisions of relevant collective licensing agreements, no reproduction of any part may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press First published 2018 Printed in the United States of America by Sheridan Books, Inc A catalogue record for this publication is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Chaffee, John W., author Title: The Muslim Merchants of Pre-Modern China : The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750–1400 / John Chaffee Description: Cambridge ; New York : Cambridge University Press, 2019 | Series: New Approaches to Asian History | Includes bibliographical references and index Identifiers: LCCN 2017061450| ISBN 9781107012684 (hardback) | ISBN 9781107684041 (paperback) Subjects: LCSH: Muslim merchants – China – History – To 1500 | China – Commerce – History – To 1500 Classification: LCC HF3835 C43 2019 | DDC 381.088/2970951–dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017061450 ISBN 978-1-107-01268-4 Hardback ISBN 978-1-107-68404-1 Paperback Cambridge University Press has no responsibility for the persistence or accuracy of URLs for external or third-party internet websites referred to in this publication and does not guarantee that any content on such websites is, or will remain, accurate or appropriate Contents List of Figures List of Maps Acknowledgments Introduction Merchants of an Imperial Trade The Reorientation of Trade The Maturation of Merchant Communities The Mongols and Merchant Power Endings and Continuities Bibliography Index Figures 1.1 Arab merchants sailing to India (from Hariri’s Maqamat Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris Ms Arabe 5847) 1.2 Tang merchant figures (Macao Museum) 1.3 Graffiti-caricature of a west Asian merchant on a brick, early eighth century (courtesy of Fine Arts Department and John Guy) 1.4 West Asian merchant head, eighth century (courtesy of Fine Arts Department and John Guy) 1.5 Tang Muslim tombstone from Hainan (Guangzhou Museum) 3.1 Houzhu ship, Quanzhou – photo of the wreck (courtesy of John Meckley, 2006) and ship model (Shanghai Maritime Museum, 2015) 3.2 The Guangta at the Huaisheng Mosque in Guangzhou 3.3 Ashab Mosque, Quanzhou, and mosque faỗade 3.4 Quanzhou Muslim cemetery 5.1 Su ancestral temple, Quanzhou Sassanid empire, 14 sayyed (descendant of the Prophet), 142 Sayyid ‘Ajall Shams al-Din, 152 Sayyid Bin Abu Ali, 134–137 Sayyids of Golconda, 31 Schafer, Edward, 9, 16, 32, 47–49 schools, 98, 102 prefectural, 102 schools for foreigners (fanxue), 110–112 Schottenhammer, Angela, 64 Sea Transport Tower (haiyunlou), 117, 148, 150 Sěmarang, 170 Sěmbung/Cěrbon, 170 Semu people, 11, 140, 146, 154, 157 true vs false semu people Sen, Tansen, 78 Shafuding, see Shihab al-Din Shaikh al-Islam, 141, 143, 145 Shailandra dynasty, 52 Shandong, 88 Shangdu, 155 Shanghai, 85, 88, 127, 138 Sharaf al-Din, 143 Sharaf al-Zaman al-Marzawi, 21 Sharif al-Din Hatib (Shelafuding Hetibu), 145 shayk, 142 Shengyousi, see Ashab Mosque Shi Nuowei, 90, 109–110, 121, 169 Shiba Yoshinobu, 87 shibo shi, see commissioner for trading with foreign ships Shihab al-Din (Shafuding), 148, 150–153 Shiluowei, 110 ship owners (bozhu), 69, 130, 136 ships, see Chinese junks, dhows ships, numbers of, 30, 45 shipwrecks, 38 Belitung, 7, 23, 29, 82 Cirebon, 57, 82 Houzhu, 83, 114, 116 Intan, 56–57 Karawang, 56 Nanhai No 1, 82 Phanom Surin, 23–24, 29 shipyards, 81 Sichuan, 42, 51, 63 Silk Route, 79 Sin Kalan (Guangzhou), 138; see also Guangzhou Sind, 4, 58 Sindan, 28 Sinf, 34 Sino-Muslims, 11, 122, 136, 144, 146, 169, 172, 173, 176, 177 Siraf (Sanawei), 7, 22, 27, 31, 34, 52, 54, 74, 77, 108–109, 142 slaves, 39, 44, 51, 77, 80, 89, 96, 101, 130, 133 smuggling, 119 So, Billy K L [Su Jilang], 6, 65, 110, 118, 119, 155 soldier-households, 168 Sogdians, 16 Sohar, 31 Somers, Robert, 47 Song dynasty, 9, 59, 60, 65–75, 76–123; see also Southern Song conquest of southern China, 62 economic dynamism of, promotion of trade, 78, 83–89 relations with continental neighbors, 79 restrictions on private trade, 63, 79 war against the Mongols, 117 Song History, 65, 69, 96, 116 Song huiyao, 112 Song imperial clan, 83, 103, 114, 159, 176 South Branch or Office of the Imperial Clan Court, 103, 114, 116 clanswoman’s marriage to a foreign merchant, 113 economic costs of, 119 Song-Yuan transition, South China Sea, 121, 173 South Fukien merchant group, 114 south Indians, South Seas, Southern Seas (Nanhai), 15, 30, 33, 34, 37, 59 southeast Asia, 2, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, 23, 24–30, 49, 51–61, 68, 78, 80, 133, 169–175 southeast Asian merchants, 56, 90 southern Chinese (Nanren), 140 Southern Han, 9, 57, 63–64, 65, 67, 176 Southern Kingdoms, 54, 62–65 promotion of trade by, 64 Southern Song, 10, 83, 87, 104, 118, 120, 124, 131 Southern Tang, 63 Soyudu (Soudu), 147–148 spies, 126, 131–132 Sri Lanka, 4, 58, 75, 78, 93 Sribuza, 53, 55–56; see also Palembang Srivijaya (Sanfoqi), 2, 9, 24, 52, 55–56, 62, 63, 66, 68, 72, 73, 74, 75, 78, 87, 90, 176 decline of, 118 Srivijayan headman, 95 Srivijayan merchant, 109, 121 Standen, Naomi, 63 Stargardt, Janice, 57 stone carvers, 101 Straits of Malacca, 56 Strange customs (yisu) stupa (sudupo), 105 Su family of Yanzhi, 154–155, 161, 164, 177 ancestral temple of, 179 Su Song, 155 Su Tangshe (Ahemo), 154, 161, 164 Su Zhuanzhe, 164 Sulayman, 21, 23, 35–36, 95 Sulu Sea, 173 Sumatra, 23, 24, 26, 31, 53, 55, 57, 170, 172 Sun Shenfu, 149, 167 Sun Zi, 155 supervising money bureau, see Quanfuyuan supervising money office (Quanfusi), see ortoy affairs office supervisor (panyuan), 122, 169 Tabriz, 143 Taghazghaz, Turkish King of, 49 Taicang (Zhejiang), 162 Taiping guangji, 44 Taishan (Guangdong), 82 Taj al-Din of Ardabil, 143 Talas, Battle of, 18, 44 Tambralinga (Danliumei), 73 Tamils (Kelings), 58, 173 Tamil-Hindu community, 91 Tang dynasty, 12–50 Imperial court of, Tang-Abbasid trade, see Abbasid-Tang trade Tanguts, 132 Tarim Basin, 17 tax farmers, 126 Tazaka Kōdō, 59 teachings of the ancestors (zujiao shuo), 164 temporaray marriages, see mut’a Ten Kingdoms, 51, 62 Teng Taiming, 97 Theodosius the Great, 39 Thomaz, Luis Filipe, 173–174 Tian Zhenzi, 117 Tianzhu, see India Tibbetts, G R., 53, 121 Tibet, 72 Tibetans, 18, 43, 150 Tiyumah, 27, 53 Tokharestan (Tuhuoluo), 17 tombstones, 122–123, 141, 168 inscriptions on, 142 tower (lou), 105 trade commodities, 28–30, 77, 80 agate, 86 aloes-wood, 28, 41 alum 80 ambergris, 80, 83 Arabian bottles, 60 aromatics, 30, 80, 83, 120, 127, 133; see also trade commodities: xiangyao asafetida (a gum resin), 80 bamboo, 28 betel nut, 83 bintie steel, 86 brass, 82 books, 80 brocade, 77 bronze and bronzes, 57, 118 camphor, 28, 87 cardamom, 28 cauldrons, 133 ceramics, 24, 29, 34, 49, 57, 80–81, 83, 133 cinnabar, 82, 83 cinnamon, 28 cloth, 28 cloves, 28, 80 cobalt for use in porcelain production, 133 coconuts, 28 coinage, 57, 82 copper, 80, 118, 133 coral, 86 cotton, 71, 80, 82 cowries, 83 crystal, 28 diamonds, 28 dragon blood, 82 ebony, 28, 80 elephants, 28 emery, 28 foodstuffs, 80 frankincense, 30, 71, 80, 86, 87, 115 furs, 28 glass and glassward, 57, 59, 77 gold, 15, 28, 44, 51, 82 grape wine, 133 gums, 82 hawksbill turtles, 44 horses, 133, 136 incense, 83, 87 iron, 71, 82, 118 isinglass, 82 ivory and elephant tusks, 13, 30, 44, 63, 71, 80, 86, 87, 120, 133 Javanese bronze fittings, 57 jewelry mold, 57 jewels, 133 kendi (containers), 57 kingfisher feathers, 30, 127 lapis lazuli, 57 lead, including coins, 57, 118 medicinal ingredients, 63 Muslim wooden beads, 57 musk, 28, 31 myrrh, 30 nutmeg, 28 palm fibers, 82 panther (bao), 132 pearls, 8, 13, 18, 28, 30, 40, 63, 80, 87, 127, 128, 132–133, 138 pepper, 13, 28, 80, 83, 139 perfumes, 63, 133 porcelain, 28, 29, 31, 34, 57, 82, 86, 133, 173 relics, 82 rhinoceros horn, 8, 30, 44, 63, 80, 86, 132–133 rice, 34 rosewater, 59, 60, 71, 104 rosin, 82 rubies, 28 saddles, 28 saffron, 77 sandalwood, 28, 133 sappan-wood, 28, 80, 87 silver, 82, 118 steel, 77 tortoise shells, 30, 86, 87 silk, 13, 28, 31, 34, 48, 51, 71, 77, 80, 81, 86 silver, 57, 133–134 specie, 13, 133 spices, 51, 63, 83, 133 sword hilts, 57 textiles, 59, 87, 133 timber, 82 tin, 80, 118 tortoiseshell, 83 verdigris, 82 water lizard skin, 86 xiangyao, 80; see also trade commodities: aromatics yellow lead, 82 yuenuo cloth, 71 trade diasporas, 2, 31 Arab, 72 Jewish trading diaspora, Muslim, 4, 10, 42, 52, 58, 75, 76, 93, 98, 120–123, 142, 144, 160, 161, 162, 174, 175–177, 180 Sino-Muslim, 10, 169 Tralaya, 172 Transoxiana, 54 tribute envoys, 15, 113, 115, 135 tribute missions, 17, 66–74, 87–88, 99, 120, 162–163, 177 limitations on the size of, 73 tribute mission official personnel, 73 Tse Tsun/Grěsik, 170 Tuban, 170 Tunesia, 107 Tuopoli, 95 Turen (local inhabitants), 37 Turkestan, 142 Turks, 18 Twitchett, Denis, 57 Uighurs, 43, 126, 140, 148, 150 ‘Ubullah, 54 ‘Umar, 151 Umayyad Caliphate, 12, 17, 21 Vietnam, 10, 72; see also Dai Viet Wade, Geoff, 59, 78, 169, 173 Wan’an prefecture, 44 Wang Chao, 63 Wang Dayou, 96 Wang Dayuan, 137 Wang E, 33, 36 Wang Gungwu, 24, 34 Wang Huanzhi, 96 Wang Shenzhi, 64 Wang Xianzhi rebellion, 47 Wang Yanbin, 64 Wang Yuanmao, 91–92 Wang Zhenping, 32 Wangbo xunjiansi, see Inspectorate for Observing Ships Waqwaq, 28 Wassaf Taqqi al-Din, 135 wealthy merchants, 101, 102–103 insecurities of, 110 lives of, 104 Wei Lijian, 12, 44 Wenzhou (Zhejiang), 138 west Asia, 12, 24, 29, 41, 55, 75, 80, 99 west Asian states, 61, 68, 74 west Asians, 19, 24, 27, 35, 36, 37, 42, 45, 49–50, 52, 60, 64, 65 Western Regions (xiyu), 13, 30, 45, 148, 158 Wheatley, Paul, 80 White foreigner (baifanren), 100 White Lotus Sect (Bailianhui), 164 Wink, André, 4, 31, 58, 93 Wotuo zongguan fu (general administration for the supervision of the ortoy), 127, 153 Wu Cheng, 139–140 Wu Jian, 145–146 Wu Wenliang, Wu Youxiong, 160, 161 Wushidian, 120 Wuxun, see Muscat Wuyue, 63 Wyatt, Don, 89 Xi’an, see Chang’an Xiangda, king of Brunei, 68 Xiangyang, battle of, 124 Xie Yuli, 145 xing-quanfusi, see provincial ortoy affairs office Xinghua (Fujian), 157–158 Xinya Tuoluo, 94, 101, 115 Xiongnu, 155–156 Xiuzhou, 85, 88 Xixia dynasty, 79 Yamauchi Shinji, 79 Yambo, 53 Yaishan, naval battle of, 118, 124 Yan Gongnan, 152 Yang Benchu, see Pu Benchu Yang Fa, 127 Yang, lady, 167 Yang Yiweng, 168 Yangzhou (Qantu), 2, 8, 20, 28, 29, 32, 33, 42, 52, 141, 147 massacre in, 9, 18, 34, 42–43 Persian community in, 43 Yangzi Delta, 63 Yellow River Valley, 62 Yemen, 77, 136, 142 Yemeni merchant, 109 Yezdegerd III, 17 Yijing, 15 Yingtianfu, 114 Yingyai shenglan, 171 Yisibaxi, see Ispah Yokkaichi Yasuhiro, 131, 133–134, 148 Yongchun county (Quanzhou), 160 Yongle Emperor (Zhu Di), 11, 163, 168 You Yongxian, 149 Yu Ali, 156 Yu Ji, 132 Yuan dianzhang, see Institutes of the Yuan Yuan dynasty, 124 alliance with the Il-Khanate, 137 anti-Muslim measures, 150, 157 ban on private maritime trade, 128–129 conditions in late Yuan, 137 management of trade, 126–132 patterns of commerce, 132–138 promotion of trade, 125 treatment of merchants, 131–132 Yuan History, 127, 129, 153 Yue Ke, 100, 101, 104–107, 110 Yuluhedi (Al-Katif, a port in Bahrein), 95 Yunlu Village, 150 Yunnan, 152, 171 Muslims in Yunnan, 171–172 Zabaj, 52–54, 69, 177 Zabedj or Zabaj, 34, 52 Zaitun (Zaiton), see Quanzhou Zanj, 22 Zanzibar, 77, 87 Zeng Tingdan, 112 Zhancheng, see Champa Zhang Mu, 64 Zhang Shijie, 117 Zhang Xuan, 148, 151, 153 Zhangpu county (Changzhou), 160 Zhangzhou (Fujian), 91 Zhao Kuangyin (Emperor Taizu), 65 Zhao Rukua, 109 zhaofushi, see master of pacification Zhejiang, 29, 63, 83, 89, 154, 160, 162 Zhen Dexiu, 119 Zheng He (Ma He; Sam Po Bo), 11, 168, 169, 170, 171 voyages of, 168, 170–171 Zheng Jingshan, 42 Zheng Xia Zheng Zai, 99, 101 Zheng Zuo, 97 Zhenjiangfu, 141 Zhenzhou, 44 Zhou Mi, 117, 136–137 Zhou Qufei, 86 Zhu Daoshan, 162 Zhu Di, see Yongle emperor Zhu Jian, 155 Zhu Mu, 100 Zhu Qing, 148, 151–152, 153 Zhu Xi, 101, 102–103 Zhu Yu, 85, 87, 89–90, 92, 93–94, 95, 99, 104, 115 Zhu Yuanzhang (Emperor Taizu), 11, 162–163, 167 Zhuan Zide, 102 Zhuang Weiji, 116 Zhufan zhi, 109 Zhunianguo, see Chola Zou Yana, 120 Zoroastrians, 42, 48; see also Mazdeans zujiao shuo, see teachings of the ancestors ... Trade Diaspora, 750 1400 THE MUSLIM MERCHANTS OF PREMODERN CHINA The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750 1400 John W Chaffee Binghamton University University Printing House, Cambridge... Modern Asia 16 Craig Benjamin, Empires of Ancient Eurasia: The First Silk Roads Era, 100 BCE–250 CE 17 John W Chaffee, The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China: The History of a Maritime Asian Trade. .. from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Chaffee, John W., author Title: The Muslim Merchants of Pre-Modern China : The History of a Maritime Asian Trade