华侨华人与近代海上丝绸之路——基于天一信局的个案考察

Overseas Chinese and maritime Silk Road

明清两代厉行海禁政策,海上丝绸之路逐渐式微。19世纪以后,第一次鸦片战争爆发后,欧美殖民主义者入侵亚洲,使中国和东南亚地区被动地融入世界资本主义市场,这在客观上成为近代海上丝绸之路兴盛的契机。下南洋的广大华侨华人成为近代海上丝绸之路建设的主体,是近代海上丝绸之路的开拓者和经营者。若无华侨华人的筚路蓝缕,胼手胝足,近代海上丝绸之路的繁荣是不可想象的,而以侨批业为主体形成的近代海上汇兑网络则成为近代海上丝绸之路兴盛的关键。

Ming Dynasty and Qing Dynasty＇ rigid implementation of the Boycott policy led to the gradual decline of the maritime Silk Road. After the outbreak of the First Opium War, US and European colonialists invaded Asia, which caused China and Southeast Asia to integrate into the world capitalist market passively and became the opportunity for modern maritime Silk Road to flourish objectively. Overseas Chinese immigrants in Southeast Asia had become the subject of modern construction of the Maritime Silk Road. They were the pioneers and operators. Without hard work of overseas Chinese, the prosperity of modern maritime Silk Road would have been unthinkable. The overseas remittance for the modern maritime exchange network has become the key to modern maritime Silk Road＇s prosperity.