The ocean is the cradle of all the world’s organisms, with a history far longer than that of land, and there is a huge quantity of cultural relics accumulated at the ocean floor. China has 3 million square kilometers of territorial seas, more than 18 thousand kilometers of coastline and vastly inland water areas. Its brilliant nautical history has left abundant cultural relics underwater awaiting people today to explore.
Ancient China’s marine trade began in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-AD24) and ended in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). From the 10th century to the 13th century, Chinese merchant vessels carrying silk, porcelain and tea sailed across the Indian Ocean and reached as far as the Persian Gulf. However, struck by fierce winds and waves, a large amount of ancient ships, together with their delicate porcelain and other precious cargo, sank into the seas. After thousands of years, these ancient sunken vessels and cargo have become cultural relics, recording China’s ocean civilization.
Unfortunately, in the beginning, the Chinese government didn’t pay much attention to this underwater archaeology. In May 1984, an English man took ten weeks to explore a sunken ship and finally got out 150,000 pieces of Chinese porcelain. A year later, these delicate porcelains were auctioned at Christie’s in Holland for nearly 9 months, splattering a hammer price of 20 million dollars.
Print
Save