A Study Of Overseas Trade Documents In The Southern Song Dynasty

The Southern Song was a period of vigorous development of overseas trade in ancient China.On the one hand,overseas trade was strongly advocated and actively practiced from the central government to local governments and to people,which made the overseas trade of the Southern Song thriving;On the other hand,the income from overseas trade has also fairly filled the state Treasury of the Southern Song,thus became an important guarantee for the government to secure its country and people.The prosperity of overseas trade in the Southern Song could not be separated from the important role played by documents.In the development of overseas trade,a large number of overseas trade documents were produced by the central government as well as local governments.The introduction of policies,expression of political opinions and real records of administrative processes were all themes of trade documents and were a witness of this period of history.They promoted the substantial development of overseas trade in the Southern Song.At the same time,as a social phenomenon,overseas trade often became the subject of public comments and discussions,which further broaden the scope of themes of overseas trade documents.Although these private documents played a less direct role than those of emperors,officials and officers in promoting overseas trade,they were also significant in that they influenced people's judgment on overseas trade-related matters,reflecting the social situation and public opinions at that time.The overseas trade documents of the Southern Song have a wide range of sources,such as historical books,political documents,collections of different authors' works,collections of personal works,local Chronicles and even inscriptions.To study the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song,it is necessary to define their connotation and extension,clarify their differences between diplomatic documents,and further clarify the basic stages and classification of the documents through screening and sorting,so as to make them reflect the overall picture of the overseas trade of the Southern Song clearly and comprehensively.The overseas trade documents of the Southern Song were not only a social production,but also writers' most directly presented works.Since the necessity to develop overseas trade was the consensus of the whole society in the Southern Song,the overseas trade documents' writing group became fairly large.However,the motive of writing overseas trade documents is unified and clear whatever the kind of writing group is.Apart from the fact that overseas trade documents existed as official documents for its practical use of benefitting the country,even the written comments of the folk critics have a clear utilitarian orientation.The writing motivation of this economic orientation and the trade behaviors complement each other,which makes the documents in this period have a distinct utilitarian feature.From the perspective of document writing system,overseas trade documents in Southern Song tend to have more rigorous and standard procedures and a basis in greater accordance with time,thus more typical characteristics – they are standardized by the form of citing documents from government departments and emphasis on the profound significance of reference.And they become unique because of their endowed distinct regional characteristics.The language types used in the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song did not change significantly compared with previous dynasties.It is worth mentioning that gong ping,gao chi and such approval documents became basic tools for overseas trade management and zhu wen was widely used because of the belief of gods.Therefore,some of these documents were presented with a divine image.These different types of overseas trade documents,especially official documents,tend to have distinctive structures and language patterns,reflecting the essence of the practical use of official documents.Compared with overseas trade documents before the Southern Song and other types of documents in the same period of the Southern Song,the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song are special in that they have a unique writing style with artistic touch.The overseas trade documents of the Southern Song are important documents to refer to when observe the development of the overseas trade in this period.Attention should be paid not only to their form but also their content.These documents were rich in subjects and the content could reveal the central government's attitude and way of govern as well as its malpractice in regard of overseas trade.For example,from the documents which recorded the Southern Song government's different ways of management based on different subjects and objects of overseas trade,the government's strong eagerness for overseas trade are sensed.From a large number of documents on forbidding smuggling,the concern and lack of solution to this problem are exposed.From documents on the countermeasures on invaders from the sea,the government's great efforts to ensure the smooth development of overseas trade are proved.The extensive reading and in-depth analysis of the documents can help readers better understand the author's emotional perception and understanding,as well as make up for the lack of details in the macro interpretation of history.Compared with the overseas trade documents in the Northern Song,those in the Southern Song obviously had a new look.Through the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song Dynasty,their form and content both profoundly reflect deep patriotism of the writers,the change of economic concepts,the innovation of the concepts of rule of law and the vivid presentation of cultural integration between the two Song dynasties,which is one of the important reasons for this study to select the Southern Song as the research period.In conclusion,the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song Dynasty have profound historical and practical value.They are not only the presentation of ideology,the witness of historical evolution,the carrier of concept change,the projection of social psychology and the portrayal of customs and culture,but also the restoration of history,the continuation of faith and the reference of reality.Through the interpretation of the overseas trade documents of the Southern Song Dynasty,on the one hand,the overseas trade of the Southern Song Dynasty can be evaluated objectively and fairly;on the other hand,it can provide certain reference and inspiration for the current Belt and Road Initiative.