In the Song Dynasty, the northwest land traffic was blocked and the government was difficult to operate, so the foreign trade was more vigorous than in previous dynasties, and it was the most developed country in the world at that time. "History of Song Dynasty, Food Records" says that "the benefits of the southeast are among the benefits of foreign businessmen". From this point of view, foreign commercial and trade activities in the south were more active at that time.
1. Economic development is the basis for the formation of the Maritime Silk Road.
After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, he was politically stable and economically implemented a series of reform measures such as currency, writing and weights and measures, which greatly promoted the development of production and scientific and technological exchanges in the Qin Dynasty. However, due to cruel rule, the Qin Dynasty only existed for 14 years. In view of the disadvantages of the Qin Dynasty, the rulers of the early Han Dynasty implemented the "rest and recuperation policy" for a long time, regarded farming and mulberry as the foundation of all things, and vigorously supported and developed agriculture. With the rapid development of agriculture in the Han dynasty, the textile industry in the Han dynasty has also developed significantly, and the government-run and private textile industries have begun to take shape at this time. Under the condition of highly developed agriculture and handicrafts, there has been commercial prosperity. The stable social environment and developed land and water transportation in the Han Dynasty promoted more convenient and rapid economic and cultural exchanges, created conditions for the formation of regional and national commodity markets, and laid an important material foundation for the formation of the Maritime Silk Road.
2. The development of navigation technology provides a guarantee for the development of the Maritime Silk Road.
First of all, China started the raft age in the Suiren era. During the Warring States Period, the performance of China warships, represented by paddle-driven warships, gradually caught up with and surpassed that of Mediterranean countries at that time. The Han Dynasty introduced wind power as the driving force of ships. At that time, sailboats had paddles, paddles, anchors, rudders, sails, watertight partitions and other facilities, so they could sail at sea [1]. Secondly, China has long been driven by the wind and used sails to assist navigation; During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were written records of sailing by monsoon, and the southeast monsoon that appeared after the rainy season every year was called "foreign wind". After the Tang and Song Dynasties, monsoon navigation was widely used. In addition, in the canoe era, navigators already knew how to observe the sun, moon and stars to determine the correct direction; Later, China invented the compass and used it for navigation. The new route brought by the compass is faster and more convenient, the trade cost is greatly reduced, and the earth has shrunk at once.
Since the era of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, China merchants have opened up the Maritime Silk Road in the South China Sea by relying on advanced navigation technology. These sailboats set out from Guangzhou or Beihai and reached the Roman Empire as far as possible, mainly transporting bulk goods such as silk, jewelry, spices and minerals. Technically, Zheng He's triumphal navigation project in the early Ming Dynasty concentrated the highest achievements of China's shipbuilding and navigation technology, including compass, log, sounder, star guide, needle track and chart.
3. The development of the Silk Road on land was intermittent, with many shortcomings, which promoted the formation of the Maritime Silk Road.
The ancient Romans actively explored the road of maritime trade and promoted the formation of the Maritime Silk Road.
The Maritime Silk Road is not only the inevitable result of China's own political and economic development, but also the product of the need to strengthen ties between the East and the West. After China's silk was introduced into ancient Rome, it was quickly loved by the ancient Romans, and the demand for China's silk in ancient Rome was increasing. However, there have always been obstacles in the land trade between ancient Rome and the East. In the case that the Silk Road on land could not be opened, ancient Rome could only seek to open up the silk trade channel from the sea. By 1 century BC, ancient Rome had conquered the Mediterranean and discovered the law of sailing by monsoon. The ancient Romans actively explored the road of maritime trade, which strongly promoted the formation of the Maritime Silk Road. Liu Zuoquan wrote in the book "The Port of Origin of the Maritime Silk Road and Its Cultural Implication": "Roman merchants set sail from the ancient port of Maiohome in Egypt. Every year, they set off 100 ships and sailed to the Indian Ocean, reaching the Malabar coast in the east and the landmark of India (Sri Lanka). In Indian ports, merchants from China, India, Persia and Rome trade goods. China people mainly use silk as a commodity in exchange for incense, ivory, jewelry, rhinoceros horn and other commodities. Roman merchants carried the silk to the Red Sea port, then carried it to the Nile by camel, and then returned to Alexandria, Egypt. Alexandria is the transshipment center of the Mediterranean, from which it is transported to the capital of the Roman Empire (now Antamuya, Turkey) and then connected to the western end of the Silk Road across the Asian continent. "