The Muslim Merchants of Premodern China
The History of a Maritime Asian Trade Diaspora, 750–1400

An ambitious but accessible look at the Muslim merchants of pre-modern China and the flourishing trade links of medieval maritime Asia.

John W. Chaffee (Author)

9781107684041, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 23 August 2018

224 pages, 14 b/w illus. 5 maps 1 table
22.9 x 15.3 x 1.2 cm, 0.32 kg

'… a nuanced and refreshing picture on the ways in which Muslims influenced the oceanic commercial cultures of the world's two largest populated countries.' Mahmood Kooria, Global Maritime History

In this major new history of Muslim merchants and their trade links with China, John W. Chaffee uncovers 700 years of history, from the eighth century, when Muslim communities first established themselves in southeastern China, through the fourteenth century, when trade all but ceased. These were extraordinary and tumultuous times. Under the Song and the Mongols, the Muslim diaspora in China flourished as legal and economic ties were formalized. At other times the Muslim community suffered hostility and persecution. Chaffee shows how the policies of successive dynastic regimes in China combined with geopolitical developments across maritime Asia to affect the fortunes of Muslim communities. He explores social and cultural exchanges, and how connections were maintained through faith and a common acceptance of Muslim law. This ground breaking contribution to the history of Asia, the early Islamic world, and to maritime history explores the networks that helped to shape the pre-modern world.

Introduction
1. Merchants of an imperial trade
2. The reorientation of trade
3. The maturation of merchant communities
4. Mongols and the concentration of merchant power
5. Endings and continuities.

Subject Areas: Middle Eastern history [HBJF1], Asian history [HBJF]