琅琊港:古代“海上丝绸之路”最早的起点之一?

Langya harbor-one of the earliest gates to the antique "maritime silk road"?

大概在二十年前(1997年9月17 0),中国国家天文台在位于河北省的兴隆观测站发现了一颗新的小行星。2015年1月5日,国际天文联合会(International Astronomic Union-IAU )才把这颗小行星命名为"Langyatai"(琅珈台星),在此之前进行了很长时间的专家鉴定①。

North China and today's Shandong Province may be seen as one of the core areas of early Chinese seafaring and maritime activities since high antiquity. This coastal region experienced the first naval warfare and overseas trade. The ancient Langya harbor at the foot of the ominous Langya mount, one of the five eldest sea-bound harbors at all, held a key position at the coast of the so-called Eastern Sea (today's Yellow Sea). Langya was one of the starting points of sea expeditions to unknown oversea destinations motivated among other things by Daoist aspirations to find the elixir of longevity. China's First Emperor Qin Shihuang as well as the Emperor Wiidi of the Han dispatched cosdy fleets on expeditions to seek for the legendary three isles of immortals, which might have had colonial tasks as well. In focusing on the Langya area within a timefirame of the Zhou to the early Han dynasty, the article aims to explore how ancient Chinese maritime activities and the beginnings of a so-called "Silk Road” might have enhanced each other and how diverging interests in maritime enterprises were mutually dependent or even contributed to this end. How did Langya and its harbor get entangled with the maritime history of Shandong and how might its fate even have been symptomatic for the coastal development of the province? Is there enough evidence to consider Langya a verifiable starting point or even a nautical hub on an antique Maritime Silk Road"? What happened to the harbor and the surrounding area later on? This paper attempts to find a few preliminary answers, while still leaving further questions.