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新加坡与海上丝绸之路
本书从历史考古学的角度研究新加坡的崛起及其与海上丝绸之路的关系，其论证之严谨、史料证据之丰富，是近年来的相关研究中少见的。本书第一部分讲述中古时代（1300—1800年，即英国殖民者来到新加坡以前）的新加坡及其周边海域的兴衰史，尤其详述了古代中国与东南亚国家的文化、经济交流情况，结合考古证据与文献材料，深入探讨了海上丝绸之路在不同历史时期为新加坡商业和城市生活所起的作用；第二部分图文并茂地展示了考古成果，对于文物和遗址均做了细致说明。
- GenresHistory
680 pages, Hardcover
First published November 30, 2011
About the author
John N. Miksic
31 books6 followersJohn N. Miksic is Professor in the Department of Southeast Asian Studies at the National University of Singapore and the Head of the Archaeology unit, Nalanda-Sriwijaya Center at the Institute of Southeast Asian Studies. His other works published by NUS Press include Philippine Ancestral Gold and Earthenware in Southeast Asia.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 24, 2014
Singapore and The Silk Road of the Sea is the result of a collaboration between the National Museum of Singapore and author Professor John N. Miksic’s employer, the National University of Singapore. The book is the culmination of 28 years of in-depth historical and archaeological research in Singapore and around Southeast Asia.
The main objective seems be to systematically dispel the myth that Singapore has no “historical depth” prior to the arrival of the British in 1819. In so doing, Miksic has given Singaporeans a more comprehensive view, new perspectives and perhaps a greater appreciation of the people who inhabited and worked on the island before the arrival of the British and colonialism.
“The Silk Road of The Sea” is the evocative term given to the maritime trade between East and West from 1300 onwards. The route comprised the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, the Java Sea and further east into Polynesia. While the overland Silk Road trading activity has been well documented and studied, the equivalent sea route has remained relatively obscure. The book sheds light on the historical background to the growth and nature of the sea trade around Southeast Asia, using much relevant archaeological data from Singapore. A final section puts Singapore in its larger regional context. Overall, Miksic tells a fascinating story and delivers some surprising insights.
There is now strong evidence that around two thousand years ago Southeast Asians formed a nascent long-distance maritime trading block, which spanned from China and Malayo-Polynesia to the Indian subcontinent and extending to the Persian Gulf. Several ports emerged during this period, with the Straits of Malacca being the hub. Miksic and his team analyzed thousands of archaeological data at sites all over Asia to piece together a clearer picture of the key features of the sea trade. Luxuries like jewellery and everyday items such as cooking utensils were traded extensively using both barter and money systems.
Despite the fact that trade with western cities declined somewhat from the 7th to 12th centuries, the Song Dynasty’s loosening of internal Chinese trade restrictions by 1300 helped seaboard commerce to rise again, this time to even greater prominence. By 1350 Singapore was “a transfer port for cargoes from India and China” and as bustling an entrepot as any, leaving behind coins, stoneware jars, and thousands of other artifacts and fragments that have been excavated and analyzed over the past quarter century.
The surprising conclusion is that Singapore was a manufacturing center and one of the oldest urban settlements in Southeast Asia, founded earlier than Kuala Lumpur and Manila, for example, though not with the same continuous history.
News to many will be the fact that the name Singapura was not unique in Southeast Asia. From the 5th to the 15th century it has been found to refer to settlements in Vietnam, Thailand, and Java. The name Singapura (which has origins in Sanskrit) also appears in the Ramayana, the epic Indian Hindu poem. In any case, Temasek was the original Malay name for the island. It is unclear why the name change occurred—the speculation is that it was prompted by the Sumatran takeover of the island in the late 14th century.
The role of the Chinese in the flourishing of the Silk Road of the Sea is discussed at length. Documentary evidence and new archaeological discoveries show that Chinese traders were prevalent in Southeast Asian urban areas, including Singapore, where they even had their own designated residential enclave. The huge quantity of artifacts (in particular Chinese ceramics) suggests Chinese traders brought all sorts of goods from their homeland and soon settled there to play a vital role in the city’s development.
While there is no evidence that Singapore played a pivotal role in the Silk Road of the Sea and Miksic states that it was “never a major political center”, according to the extensive Malay Annals, Singapore was the first great Malay port. Raffles himself talked of reviving what he believed to be an ancient entrepot. He was well aware of its place in Southeast Asianantiquity, calling it “the site of the ancient maritime capital of the Malays” and was convinced of its strategically advantageous location. The undulating Fort Canning area has been extensively excavated and it is now clear that it was an old temple-palace complex where local Malay rulers were buried (most Malay peoples having converted converting to Islam from Buddhism not long before).
Singapore and The Silk Road of The Sea is replete with photographs of excavation sites and their findings, old diagrams of the island, pictures of artifacts and even technical geological drawings. It comes in at over 500 pages including an extensive bibliography and index. The sheer volume of data analyzed, original documentation investigated and historiography considered is astonishing.
But even in such a meticulously researched book, there are inevitably some major gaps and the picture is unlikely to ever be complete. The author states that due to lack of data will probably never know much about some of the people who populated Singapore over the centuries. He is also candid about having no firm information on the causes of the 200 years hiatus between 1600 and 1800 when Singapore’s population shrank and it morphed into a sleepy fishing village.
However, Miksic provides much that will resonate with Singaporeans, in particular the wealth of evidence that suggests the 14th-century port city was a flourishing center of seaboard commerce; it had a trade and service based economy with a sophisticated money system, a strong local authority; a driven, multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-lingual population co-existing in relative harmony; solid defenses; and close relations with its near neighbors.
This definitive volume is by any measure a colossal achievement; it has something for everyone. And herein lies its main problem: it follows that the entire book is unlikely appeal to every reader. The long archaeology-based sections are minutely-detailed and include how digs were organized, the methods of data analysis, the means of extraction and so on. These are strictly “for the benefit of specialists”, i.e. those in academia (archaeologists, anthropologists, history professors, etc.).
That said, the book has more than enough historical narrative and analysis to deserve a spot on the bookshelves of all Singaporeans interested in their island’s ancient history.
The main objective seems be to systematically dispel the myth that Singapore has no “historical depth” prior to the arrival of the British in 1819. In so doing, Miksic has given Singaporeans a more comprehensive view, new perspectives and perhaps a greater appreciation of the people who inhabited and worked on the island before the arrival of the British and colonialism.
“The Silk Road of The Sea” is the evocative term given to the maritime trade between East and West from 1300 onwards. The route comprised the Indian Ocean, the South China Sea, the Straits of Malacca, the Java Sea and further east into Polynesia. While the overland Silk Road trading activity has been well documented and studied, the equivalent sea route has remained relatively obscure. The book sheds light on the historical background to the growth and nature of the sea trade around Southeast Asia, using much relevant archaeological data from Singapore. A final section puts Singapore in its larger regional context. Overall, Miksic tells a fascinating story and delivers some surprising insights.
There is now strong evidence that around two thousand years ago Southeast Asians formed a nascent long-distance maritime trading block, which spanned from China and Malayo-Polynesia to the Indian subcontinent and extending to the Persian Gulf. Several ports emerged during this period, with the Straits of Malacca being the hub. Miksic and his team analyzed thousands of archaeological data at sites all over Asia to piece together a clearer picture of the key features of the sea trade. Luxuries like jewellery and everyday items such as cooking utensils were traded extensively using both barter and money systems.
Despite the fact that trade with western cities declined somewhat from the 7th to 12th centuries, the Song Dynasty’s loosening of internal Chinese trade restrictions by 1300 helped seaboard commerce to rise again, this time to even greater prominence. By 1350 Singapore was “a transfer port for cargoes from India and China” and as bustling an entrepot as any, leaving behind coins, stoneware jars, and thousands of other artifacts and fragments that have been excavated and analyzed over the past quarter century.
The surprising conclusion is that Singapore was a manufacturing center and one of the oldest urban settlements in Southeast Asia, founded earlier than Kuala Lumpur and Manila, for example, though not with the same continuous history.
News to many will be the fact that the name Singapura was not unique in Southeast Asia. From the 5th to the 15th century it has been found to refer to settlements in Vietnam, Thailand, and Java. The name Singapura (which has origins in Sanskrit) also appears in the Ramayana, the epic Indian Hindu poem. In any case, Temasek was the original Malay name for the island. It is unclear why the name change occurred—the speculation is that it was prompted by the Sumatran takeover of the island in the late 14th century.
The role of the Chinese in the flourishing of the Silk Road of the Sea is discussed at length. Documentary evidence and new archaeological discoveries show that Chinese traders were prevalent in Southeast Asian urban areas, including Singapore, where they even had their own designated residential enclave. The huge quantity of artifacts (in particular Chinese ceramics) suggests Chinese traders brought all sorts of goods from their homeland and soon settled there to play a vital role in the city’s development.
While there is no evidence that Singapore played a pivotal role in the Silk Road of the Sea and Miksic states that it was “never a major political center”, according to the extensive Malay Annals, Singapore was the first great Malay port. Raffles himself talked of reviving what he believed to be an ancient entrepot. He was well aware of its place in Southeast Asianantiquity, calling it “the site of the ancient maritime capital of the Malays” and was convinced of its strategically advantageous location. The undulating Fort Canning area has been extensively excavated and it is now clear that it was an old temple-palace complex where local Malay rulers were buried (most Malay peoples having converted converting to Islam from Buddhism not long before).
Singapore and The Silk Road of The Sea is replete with photographs of excavation sites and their findings, old diagrams of the island, pictures of artifacts and even technical geological drawings. It comes in at over 500 pages including an extensive bibliography and index. The sheer volume of data analyzed, original documentation investigated and historiography considered is astonishing.
But even in such a meticulously researched book, there are inevitably some major gaps and the picture is unlikely to ever be complete. The author states that due to lack of data will probably never know much about some of the people who populated Singapore over the centuries. He is also candid about having no firm information on the causes of the 200 years hiatus between 1600 and 1800 when Singapore’s population shrank and it morphed into a sleepy fishing village.
However, Miksic provides much that will resonate with Singaporeans, in particular the wealth of evidence that suggests the 14th-century port city was a flourishing center of seaboard commerce; it had a trade and service based economy with a sophisticated money system, a strong local authority; a driven, multi-ethnic, multi-national and multi-lingual population co-existing in relative harmony; solid defenses; and close relations with its near neighbors.
This definitive volume is by any measure a colossal achievement; it has something for everyone. And herein lies its main problem: it follows that the entire book is unlikely appeal to every reader. The long archaeology-based sections are minutely-detailed and include how digs were organized, the methods of data analysis, the means of extraction and so on. These are strictly “for the benefit of specialists”, i.e. those in academia (archaeologists, anthropologists, history professors, etc.).
That said, the book has more than enough historical narrative and analysis to deserve a spot on the bookshelves of all Singaporeans interested in their island’s ancient history.
Read
September 17, 2016Long detailed history. Useful for my classes, but not a book for the armchair reader.
Want to Read
August 9, 2016Reviewed by Asian Review of Books
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews