Digital Humanities

When Quanzhou people describe their city, they use a phrase: “Half city of smoke, half city of immortals.” The first time I heard it, I thought it was just poetic exaggeration. Then I read the Wanli Quanzhou Prefecture Chronicle and the Quanzhou Religious Chronicle. Turns out it’s not poetry at all. It’s journalism. Starting in 1087, when Quanzhou established the Maritime Trade Office, ships from everywhere poured into this port city with goods and wealth. When the money rolled in, people started to have fun — lantern festivals, dragon boat races, weddings, worship ceremonies. Everything done on a grand scale. ...

Here’s a question I couldn’t shake: How does a tree become a business that changes the world? I spent three days digging through the Revised Taiwan Provincial Chronicles: Natural History Volume. I went in expecting a list of native plants. What I found was something else entirely. This wasn’t a botanical catalog. It was a playbook for how a small island at the edge of the world used its trees to break into the global market. ...

I have a friend who is an unapologetic “Quanzhou booster.” Every time travel comes up, he says the same thing: “You’ve never been to Quanzhou? Go. Now.” I asked him what’s so great about it. He thought for a second and said something I’ve never forgotten: “You can walk past six different religious temples in one day in Quanzhou. And none of them have walls between them.” I thought he was exaggerating. ...

Let me ask you a question: Seventy years after Columbus “discovered” the New World, could ordinary Ming citizens legally sail overseas for business? The answer is no. Not only no — doing it without permission could get your head cut off. But there was one exception. Just one. In 1573, the Ming Empire quietly opened a door in Haicheng County, Zhangzhou. It wasn’t a big door. But where it led was Luzon, Manila, Mexico — the entire world. ...

Here’s a question I can’t get out of my head: A city famous as the starting point of the Maritime Silk Road — was it really a port, or was it a fortress all along? I spent three days reading through the Wanli Quanzhou Prefecture Chronicle: Military Defense Volume and the Qianlong Quanzhou Prefecture Chronicle cover to cover. And I found something that sent a chill down my spine: Every tael of silver that flowed through Quanzhou’s harbor had at least one beacon tower watching over it. ...

Geographical Connections: Quanzhou Prefecture, Kaiyuan Temple (West Street), Qingjing Mosque (Tumen Street), Cao’an (Jinjiang), Tianhou Temple, Confucian Temple, Zhenwu Temple (Fashi), Qingyuan Mountain (Laojun Rock), Lingshan Islamic Tombs. Three years. Three buildings. Three faiths. Centuries apart, but crammed into the same small city: Quanzhou. When I opened the Quanzhou Religious Chronicle, I found something that kept me up at night. This southern Fujian city once worshipped Buddha, Allah, Mani, Jesus, and Shiva — all at the same time. Not one after the other. Together. ...

Do you know how Putian got its start on the map? In 568 AD (2nd year of Guangda, Southern Chen), a county called “Putian” appeared on China’s administrative map for the first time. Its exact boundaries? Nobody knows for sure. But one thing is certain: this place has been growing for over 1,400 years. Not by conquest. By taking land from the sea. Two Disappearances and One Promotion Putian’s administrative history was rocky from the start. ...

Do you know which place in Fujian is the source of three major rivers at once? The Tingjiang. The Jiulong. The Min. Three river systems, nearly twenty thousand square kilometers of mountains and valleys, all flowing from a single patch of land. When I first saw this fact in the Longyan Regional Chronicle, I kept checking the map, making sure I hadn’t misread it. 19,000 square kilometers of territory. 77.2% mountains. Flat land: just 8.9%. ...

Did you know that when Europeans “discovered” watertight bulkheads, Quanzhou shipbuilders had already been using them for six centuries? 12th century: Quanzhou craftsmen divided ship hulls into 13 watertight compartments. One compartment floods? The ship stays afloat. 18th century: European mariners finally figured it out. Six hundred years. I found this in The Science and Technology Records of Quanzhou. The deeper I dug, the more I realized Quanzhou wasn’t just a port where “ten thousand nations traded in the sound of rising tides.” It was the ancient world’s “Made in China” headquarters. ...

Geographical Connections Specific locations mentioned in this article include: Quanzhou Prefecture, Licheng District, West Street, East Street, South Street (Zhongshan Road), Jubao Street, Luocheng, Yicheng, Zicheng, Chongyang Gate, and Quanshan Gate. Have you ever seen a city shaped like a fish? I’m not talking about some architect’s fever dream. I’m talking about Quanzhou—an ancient city that started “growing” in the Tang Dynasty and never stopped. Its shape wasn’t drawn by anyone. It was squeezed out, inch by inch, by sea winds, trade routes, wars, and the footsteps of generations. ...