A Critical Examination Of Ancient Economic

Economics are essential to the understanding of history. World history proves that economic changes continually affect the political and cultural nature of a country. Local exchanges based on requirements later on spread across borders and are transformed to an international trade based on money and profits.Such International trade first began overland and developed along with human knowledge, attitudes, and technical skills. International maritime trade began later, with the prime objectives of achieving more profitable exchanges, through more efficient exchange of innovative new products and materials, which are important criteria in money-based economies.Due to the natural location of Sri Lanka, western and eastern mariners arrived there for water, food and other necessities. Documentary evidence has shown that, due to the arrival of international traders from both East and West, they accepted the country as a very important center of maritime trade. According to historical artifacts and the above mentioned reasons, the Chinese came to Sri Lanka as a key hub in their international trade. This led to economic, political, social and cultural changes in both countries. Therefore, this research study aims to investigate reasons for above changes based on maritime trade and their economic relationships.With the intention of establishing the reality of a trade relationship between China and Sri Lanka, the paper is titled:"A Critical Examination of Ancient Economic Relationships between China and Sri Lanka based on Sri Lankan Artifacts."The discussion has been mainly carried out in six chapters. In the first chapter, the selection of the topic, exploration of empirical research studies, and research methodology have been examined. Most previous research has been based on historical documents. Researchers have used materials translated from Chinese to English in those studies and have repeated mistakes made by the translators.Ceramics-based research on archaeological digs have usually been undertaken by foreign researchers with their main focus to identify the technology and time period, and they were not much concerned with identifying the inter-relationship between countries.When considering Chinese coins they demonstrated only a weak relationship between the various trading countries. Although more than 100 years has passed, all Chinese coins found in archaeological sites have not yet been examined. Only selected coin groups have been identified by foreign researchers. Consequently, there is no detailed description on China-Sri Lanka trade relationship, although there is some mention of the discovery of Chinese coins in the book, Ancient Ruhuna (Part II). (2008), by Hans-Joachim Weisshar, which is one of the key research books on ancient Sri Lanka. Furthermore, research has discovered many historical documents which have not yet been examined.Because of these gaps in our knowledge, this research study will focus on identifying the Ancient economical relationship between China and Sri Lanka based on archeological evidence.The second chapter discusses Chinese and Sri Lankan political and economic history. It aims to present a better understanding of history, time periods and contacts between both countries. This should also help us to understand the missing or not recorded parts in the documents of both countries.This will help avoid the patchy historical understanding and problems encountered with previous research and emphasize the effectiveness of newer research. The period from the beginning of Sri Lankan history until the Kotte kingdom dynasties, is described in this chapter with special focus on developments such as Buddhism, cultural changes, etc., related to social, traditional, economic and political facts. Also, when presenting Chinese history, the evolution of Chinese dynasties has to be taken into account. More importantly, the situation on the economy and international trade of both countries has been carefully analyzed here.The third chapter has focused on the documentary evidence used for the research. Special consideration has been given to Chinese documents from the Han dynasty to the Ming dynasty. Additionally, Sri Lankan historical documents and other foreign information has discussed in this chapter. Archeological evidence has been considered in more detail than the evidence in literature, with separate examinations of conservation, and the scientific findings of the excavations. Numismatics, epigraphic and other evidence and artifacts are reexamined.The fourth chapter discusses Chinese historical artifacts found in Sri Lanka. These are primarily coin finds are discussed, especially those which have not yet been examined. For the first time, this research study has revealed that large collections of Chinese coins found in the south Asian region came from Sri Lanka, particularly various types of coins produced in Han period.Further, the chapter also discusses ceramics. A very large number of ceramics have been found in Sri Lanka and a specially selected sample has been used for this research. Moreover, this chapter also discusses a Chinese inscription found from Sri Lanka. This is going to be tested in the very first time by a Sri Lankan. The readings used so far by scholars are corrected and new definitions added which present a critical point in Chinese-Sri Lankan relationships. Pre-reading and re-reading of the inscription has been discussed and problems faced during the research are dealt with at the end of the chapter.Chinese and Sri Lankan trade relationships in the Indian Ocean are discussed in the fifth chapter. Definitions of trade are taken into consideration and the importance of the geographical location of Sri Lanka with its harbors. The foreign trade of Sri Lanka and traded items are also discussed in this chapter. Although previous researchers have focused their attention on limited trading items, this research has quantified them and identified local productions. For example, five types of cloths are discussed in this chapter for the first time.The sixth chapter is the conclusion. The core new findings and new historical evidence which helps to rebuild the history of China and Sri Lanka is outlined here.Based on Chinese sources, there are 35 other names which were used to refer to Sri Lanka, and this research has revealed 50 names which are most important when studying the history of Sri Lanka. Also, Chinese coins found 100 years ago from Yapahuwa are considered in this study. Moreover, research discloses for the first time that wu zhu and ban liang coins from the South Asian region have also been found in Sri Lanka. Further, ancient Sri Lankan import and export trade, trade instruments and special information on trade in Indian Ocean have also been discussed. The Dissertation concludes with an appendix and coin reports.