海洋文明的初曙——中国早期海上商业力量发展述评

A Review of Early Development of Chinese Maritime Commercial Power

与陆地文明相比,中国海洋文明的发展同样具有悠久的历史,而海上商业力量的发轫则承载了早期海洋文明的更多内容。先秦时期贝丘文化遗址和众多渔盐舟楫遗物的发现表明了沿海地区商贸交通网络的初步形成,闻名于世的海上丝绸之路则成为秦汉时期海上商业力量发展的光辉篇章。同样,分裂、对峙和纷争的魏晋南北朝时期并没有使海上商业力量停下前进的脚步,新航线的开辟和沿海商港的兴起,赋予了海上商业力量鲜明的时代特征。

Compared with the land civilization, the development of Chinese maritime civilization also has a long history; while the start of the maritime commercial power implies more about the early ocean civi- lization. The findings from shell mound sites of the pre-Qin period and from numerous cultural relics of fish- ing and salt-carrying boats indicate the initial formation of the transport network for coastal trade, and that the world-famous maritime Silk Road is a glorious chapter in the development of maritime commercial power during the Qin and Han Oynasties. Similarly, maritime commercial power did not halt in the Wei, Jin, Northern and Southern Dynasties ravaged by division, confrontation and disputes, because the opening-up of new ship routes and the rise of coastal commercial harbours have endowed the maritime commercial power with distinct epochal features.