Global Trade and the Legend of Crafts: Deep Decoding the Commercial Map and Traditional Arts of the Xinghua Plain
Geographic Links: Hanjiang (Shuimentou), Jiangkou Town, Sanjiangkou, Ninghai Sluice, Huangshi, Pinghai, Meizhou Bay, Sanqiao (Hanjiang), Nangshan, Yingxian Town, Qiulu Creek, lower Mulan River. 600 shops. 78 wholesale houses. 50 sailboats at the dock daily. 2 million silver dollars in annual trade. These numbers made me realize something: Putian was never just a city of scholars. After combing through 23 local chronicles—the Hanjiang District Records, the Jiangkou Town Records, the Putian Forestry Records, and more—I found a different Putian. A commercial empire wrapped in the scent of lychees and the hum of saws. Its map starts at the Mulan River, runs along 343.6 kilometers of coastline, crosses the South China Sea, and reaches all the way to Malacca. ...