| Abstract: |
In the early thirteenth century, the supervisor of maritime customs at the great Song port of Quanzhou (Chuan-chou) in Fujian compiled an account of trade with the barbarian lands to the south. Zhao Rugua (Chau Ju-Kua) drew on the stories of visiting shippers and merchants to describe these southern seas. In Zhao’s account we can recognise different levels of exchange: a north Borneo emporium, the regional hub of Mayi, and the profitable but dangerously ungoverned shores of Sansu. Similar constellations can be found throughout subsequent centuries.
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