Roderich Ptak

Denys Lombard

C. Guillot

Miscellaneous Notes

From the Mediterranean to the China Sea

Jorge Manuel dos Santos Alves

Mirabilia Asiatica

Peter Haberzettl

Geographie, Geschichte, Wirtschaft und Kultur

Macau

Bert G. Fragner

Ralph Kauz

Angela Schottenhammer

English summary: Horses, horse-breeding and horse-keeping, as well as the trade in these animals played an important role in the history of Asia's pre- and early modern civilisations. However, horses were unequally distributed over the Asian continent and their acquisition was usually associated with different expectations. When the knowledge spread that horses could be profitably used in warfare as well as for overland transportation and for agriculture, this did not only promote trade relations, but also led to the emergence of new cultural links, often between distant sites, both by land and by sea. The contributions to this volume, twenty-one articles in all, are based on a conference entitled "Horses in Asia" that was organised by the Institute of Iranian Studies of the Austrian Academy of Sciences in October 2006.The articles are arranged into four regional sections: (1) Iran and West Asia, (2) Central Asia, (3) the Indian Ocean, (4) and China. They are complemented by a preface and two introductory essays. Each article takes its own approach, while, at the same time, opening doors to related academic fields, the main interest lying in the transfer of horses between different regions. German description: In der Geschichte der vor- und fruhmodernen Zivilisationen Asiens spielten Pferde - ihre Zucht und Haltung sowie der Handel mit ihnen - eine herausragende Rolle; sie waren in ungleicher Weise uber den gesamten asiatischen Kontinent verteilt, und ebenso unterschiedliche Erwartungen wurden an ihren Erwerb geknupft. Die Erkenntnis, dass sich Pferde militarisch, als Transportmittel und in der Landwirtschaft gewinnbringend einsetzen liessen, forderte nicht nur den Handel mit ihnen, sondern liess Pferde ganz allgemein zu einem wichtigen kulturellen Bindeglied zwischen Orten und Landern werden, die oftmals weit voneinander entfernt lagen, sowohl uber Land wie uber den Seeweg. Die hier vorgestellten einundzwanzig Beitrage sind das Ergebnis einer gleichnamigen Tagung, die im Oktober 2006 auf Einladung des Instituts fur Iranistik der Osterreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften durchgefuhrt wurde. Sie sind nach Regionen geordnet: (1) Iran und Westasien, (2) Zentralasien, (3) Indischer Ozean (4) und China. Erganzt werden sie durch ein Vorwort und zwei einfuhrende Artikel. Die einzelnen Beitrage gehen das Thema auf der Basis unterschiedlicher Ansatze an und bieten jeweils Anknupfungspunkte zu benachbarten Disziplinen. Das Hauptinteresse gilt jedoch dem Transfer von Pferden zwischen den Regionen.

Horses in Asia

The present collection of essays has originally been prepared for an international conference entitled "Maritime Space in Traditional Chinese Sources" which has been convened by the editors at Munich University in February 2005. The contributions included here introduce various aspects related to East Asian seas - from the Japanese Sea to the South China Sea, with the Yellow and East China Seas constituting the core regions of the entire area - and some of its "adjacent" areas. Although Braudelian categories are inherently present in the discussion and directly addressed in one or two papers, the focus lies on a set of more "basic" variables, which are intimately linked to the idea of contact zones, or alternatively, the parallel (and apparently older) notion that the sea should be seen as a protective belt around the mainland. This volume is consequently primarily concerned with the perception of maritime space in traditional Chinese sources, the division of this space into oceans and seas, the existence, usage and management of trade routes, and, above all, of China's coastal waters, or maritime periphery. For this purpose, in addition to textual sources, maps will be examined as well. As the perception, division and management of maritime space cannot be completely disassociated from other themes - such as trade and travel, diplomacy and military controls, or even daily life during a sea voyage - these aspects were also touched upon in the discussion. But they are of secondary importance and subordinated to the general issue of "geography". With this in mind, following an introductory essay by Angela Schottenhammer, the contributions are divided into three sections: (1) Maritime Space: Trade and Defence; (2) Maritime Space: Coasts, Routes, Oceans; (3) Maritime Space and Maps. The articles by Chang Pin-tsun, Jane Kate Leonard and Jung Byung-chul fall into the first category. Those by Chen Bo / Liu Yingsheng, Sally K. Church, Christine Moll-Murata, Li Tana and Mathieu Torck belong to the second group, while the last section is comprised by the papers of Li Xiaocong, Claudine Salmon and Roderich Ptak.There are many "cross connections" between these essays. Geographically, some of them pertain to the northern spheres, especially the Liaodong-Korea region, others look at the South China Sea, or even at areas far beyond these two. Some are case studies, others deal with general dimensions. The military element, usually in the form of coastal defence, is not only present in the first section, but also in the "cartographic" segment, and in one or two contributions which appear in part two. Furthermore, readers will find that the idea of contact zones, associated with a good degree of open-mindedness towards the "outer world", is present in some texts, just as they will discover that in other cases, the sea still appears as a kind of barrier.

The Perception of Maritime Space in Traditional Chinese Sources

Roderich Ptak erzählt in diesem faszinierenden Überblick die Geschichte der Meere zwischen Ostafrika und Japan von den frühesten, archäologisch faßbaren Zeiten bis in die Neuzeit. Er geht den Handelsnetzen in diesem weiten Raum nach, beschreibt den Kulturaustausch zwischen weit entfernten Küsten, die Wanderung von Religionen über das Meer und die Bildung von politischen Netzwerken unabhängig von den großen Landmächten. Als Portugiesen und Spanier in den Indischen Ozean und nach Fernost vordrangen, stellten sie erstaunt fest, daß Araber, Inder und Chinesen schon seit Jahrhunderten auf den asiatischen Meeren verkehrten und über Schiffe verfügten, die ihren eigenen kaum nachstanden. China war lange Zeit eine maritime Großmacht, die ein weites Gebiet beeinflußte. Sie trug entscheidend dazu bei, daß Asiens maritime Zonen zu einem großen Handelsnetz zusammenwuchsen: der maritimen Seidenstraße. Ptak beschreibt Winde und Meerengen, Häfen und Inseln, Seerouten und die Entwicklung der Seefahrt. Nicht zuletzt legt er dar, wie neben Handelswaren auch Ideen und Wissen über die Ozeane verbreitet wurden. Damit wird ein Kapitel der Weltgeschichte sichtbar, das sich abseits von Europa und noch vor der europäischen Expansion abgespielt hat.--Verlagstext.

Küstenräume, Seefahrt und Handel in vorkolonialer Zeit

Die maritime Seidenstrasse

Under the Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties, China's maritime trade went through several stages of rapid expansion. This concerns both activities initiated by the central government and private seafaring: Chinese ships would sail to ports in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean, and foreign merchants would come to China, often declaring themselves as tribute envoys. In the early 16th century, the Portuguese made contact with the Middle Kingdom, leading to the foundation of Macao in the 1550s. The present volume, the third collection by Roderich Ptak, explores important structural features related to China's maritime ventures and Luso-Chinese relations. It also discusses the perception of maritime space in late medieval Chinese texts and the importance of trade routes, especially the so-called eastern route from Fujian via Luzon to the Sulu 'zone'. The third section presents different 'key' regions as seen through Chinese eyes: Hainan, the coral island in the South China Sea, Barus on Sumatra, and finally Wang Dayuan's chapters on the Kerala coast.

Oceans and Routes, Regions and Trades (c. 1000-1600)

China, the Portuguese, and the Nanyang

Sabine Dabringhaus

Richard Teschke

Borders, Visions of the Other, Foreign Policy 10th to 19th Century

China and Her Neighbours

Roderich Ptak

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