Why is the folk navigator Wang Dayuan known as the "Marco Polo of the East"?
Several decades after Marco Polo left China, Wang Dayuan embarked on a journey from Quanzhou, the starting city of the ancient "Maritime Silk Road," and ventured abroad with merchant ships. Both explorers completed their maritime journeys by hitching rides on merchant vessels. Reporters from China News Service, Wu Pengquan and Jiang Tao.
When it comes to China's ocean voyages, people often first mention the seven expeditions to the Western Seas by Zheng He in the Ming Dynasty. Less known is that as early as the Yuan Dynasty, Wang Dayuan, a folk navigator from Nanchang, Jiangxi, known as the "Marco Polo of the East," traveled by sea attached to merchant ships, leaving footprints in dozens of countries and regions across Asia and Africa.
Why is Wang Dayuan known as the "Marco Polo of the East"? What distinguishes him from Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas? Associate Professor Zhang Li from Yuzhang Normal University has been conducting research on international cultural and tourism communication. Recently, she was interviewed by China News Service's "East and West" in Nanchang, Jiangxi, where she recounted the story of this Chinese folk navigator.
The following is a summary of the interview transcript:
Reporter from China News Service: Wang Dayuan is known as the "Marco Polo of the East." What do you think are the commonalities between the two?
Zhang Li: At the turn of winter and spring, at the age of twenty, Wang Dayuan set sail from Quanzhou Port, boarding a merchant ship, and embarked on his first voyage along the ancient "Maritime Silk Road." This voyage took him as far as the Arabian and African regions. He returned to Quanzhou after many years. In a later year, Wang Dayuan set sail from Quanzhou Port for the second time, with the focus of his voyage being the countries around the South China Sea islands. He returned to Quanzhou during the summer and autumn of a certain year, also after many years.
After returning from his long voyages, he compiled and wrote "Dao Yi Zhi" based on his observations from two sea expeditions. In the winter of the ninth year of the Zhizheng era (year), Wang Dayuan passed through Quanzhou and happened to meet Wu Jian (a literary and historical scholar of the Yuan Dynasty), who was commissioned to revise "Qingyuan Xu Zhi" (the annals of Quanzhou). Since Quanzhou was the location of the maritime trade administration, it was necessary to document foreign affairs, so "Dao Yi Zhi" was appended to "Qingyuan Xu Zhi". In the spring of the same year, Wang Dayuan returned to his hometown of Nanchang and had the book printed as a standalone edition, asking Zhang Zhu (a Yuan Dynasty poet) to write a preface to "widen its dissemination". Later, "Dao Yi Zhi" was lost, but fortunately, an excerpt titled "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" was included in the "Siku Quanshu" during the Qing Dynasty.
"The Island Barbarians' Chronicles" inherits from the Southern Song Dynasty's "A Brief Account of the Regions Beyond the Mountains" by Zhou Qufei and "Records of Various Nations" by Zhao Rukuo, and paves the way for books like "A Glorious View of the Ocean" by Ma Huan and "A Glorious View of the Stars" by Fei Xin in the Ming Dynasty. It has long attracted the attention of Western scholars and has been translated into English, French, Japanese, and other languages for foreign scholars to study. In the book "Walking the World: Chinese Travel Culture" by Dr. Wei Xiangdong, a professor at Soochow University and a doctoral candidate at the Historical Geography Research Center of Fudan University, Wang Dayuan is referred to as "the Marco Polo of the East."
Wang Dayuan and Marco Polo, I believe they share the following commonalities:
Firstly, Wang Dayuan and Marco Polo had similar family backgrounds, both born into affluent merchant families with no worries about food and clothing.
Secondly, the maritime activities of the two individuals were almost contemporaneous. Several decades after Marco Polo left China, Wang Dayuan set off from Quanzhou, the ancient starting city of the "Maritime Silk Road," and embarked on a long voyage abroad aboard a merchant ship.
Both sailors completed their voyages by boarding merchant ships. They documented their observations and experiences along the way in a documentary style, and upon returning home, they wrote and compiled their travels into books. Their respective works, "Records of the Islands and Barbarians" and "The Travels of Marco Polo," have left a significant mark on the exchange and integration of Eastern and Western civilizations.
Fifth, the contributions of Wang Dayuan and Marco Polo to world history and geography have been recognized by the world, both of whom have promoted the development of human navigation.
The photo shows the Wang Dayuan Memorial Square at the Elephant Lake Scenic Area in Qingyunpu District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Photo by Liu Jiajian.
Reporter from China News Service: Why did Wang Dayuan, who grew up in the inland, develop a desire to explore overseas?
Zhang Li: Wang Dayuan, styled Huanzhang, was a native of Nanchang, Jiangxi, born in the fourth year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty. As a young student, Wang Dayuan was exceptionally intelligent and widely read. He was particularly fond of the "Records of the Historian" by the Western Han historian Sima Qian, especially the "Treatise on Commerce and Industry," where he repeatedly studied the geographical, natural, and product differences between the north and south. While immersing himself in "spiritual journeys through books," he also harbored a deep longing for the outside world. He collected numerous geographical works that recorded various anecdotes and customs, and he was especially fascinated by travelogues of overseas geography.
Wang Dayuan's birthplace (Shiyao Village, Qingyunpu District, Nanchang City today) had a well-developed water transportation industry, serving as an ancient local maritime transportation hub and cargo distribution center. The poem "South Bank Ancient Ferry, A Bend in the River Flows into the Stream; Rows of Willows Border Three Thousand Homes, Countless Boats Anchor Around the City Walls" by Song Dynasty poet Zong Bijing in his work "Nanpu" vividly depicts the bustling shipping scene in the Shiyao Village area. Although Wang Dayuan's homeland was not along the coast, it was a place where mountains connected to the sea. The frequent external shipping environment provided him with the information foundation for long-distance ocean voyages.
After reaching adulthood, Wang Dayuan set out on a journey, following the Gan River upstream, and arrived in Quanzhou, Fujian. The ancient name for Quanzhou Port was "Zayton Port," and at that time, Zayton Port was experiencing unprecedented prosperity in maritime trade, known as the "Number One Port in the East" where merchants from all over the world gathered. In the 29th year of the Zhiyuan era of the Yuan Dynasty (year), the famous Italian traveler Marco Polo, who departed from Quanzhou for his journey, later wrote: "We arrived at the city of Zayton, which is very large... Zayton Port (Quanzhou Port) is in this city, where all the ships from India carry spices and other valuable goods... The amount of merchandise, gems, and pearls entering is unimaginable..." It was the bustling scene of merchants at Quanzhou Port that further ignited Wang Dayuan's interest in exploration and adventure, leading to his two remarkable feats of long-distance ocean voyages.
Aerial view of Wang Dayuan Memorial Square in the Elephant Lake Scenic Area, Qingyunpu District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Photo by Liu Jiajian.
Reporter from China News Service: What are the differences between Wang Dayuan's voyages and Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas?
Zhang Li: Unlike Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas, which were entirely funded by the imperial court for shipbuilding, Wang Dayuan completed his maritime expeditions almost entirely through his own efforts using merchant ships. His story predates Zheng He's by more than half a century.
Wang Dayuan made two sea voyages, both of which were on merchant ships. He did not have his own dedicated vessel or business; he simply relied on hitching rides on merchant ships to continue his journey, moving from one destination to the next. It can be said that Wang Dayuan's voyages were entirely based on the activities of civilian navigation supported by merchant ships, which is the main difference between Wang Dayuan's voyages and Zheng He's expeditions to the Western Seas.
It is worth noting that Wang Dayuan's voyages provided valuable lessons for Zheng He's expeditions to the Western Seas. Ma Huan, who served as an interpreter and accompanied Zheng He on multiple voyages, documented his experiences during these expeditions in the book "Yingya Shenglan." In the preface to this book, Ma Huan expressed his reflections: having accompanied Zheng He to various countries, he experienced firsthand the weather, climate, geography, and people, and thus realized that the accounts in "Dao Yi Zhi" by Wang Dayuan were indeed truthful and accurate. Ma Huan's firsthand observations confirmed the authenticity and precision of Wang Dayuan's records.
Aerial view of Wang Dayuan Memorial Square in the Elephant Lake Scenic Area, Qingyunpu District, Nanchang City, Jiangxi Province. Photo by Liu Jiajian.
Reporter from China News Service: What is the value of the historical sites and anecdotes recorded in "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" for current research on ancient economic and cultural exchanges between China and foreign countries?
Zhang Li: During his maritime voyages, Wang Dayuan meticulously and rigorously recorded the geographical features, mountains and rivers, local customs, scenic spots, strange occurrences, and trade goods of every place he visited.
The extant "Dao Yi Zhi Lue" consists of approximately ten thousand words. Among the numerous country and place names recorded in the book, some are first-time mentions, and some are even unique to this text. These detailed records hold significant historical, geographical, cultural, and international trade value, serving as invaluable historical materials for contemporary experts and scholars to understand the ancient "Maritime Silk Road."
The "Records of the Island Barbarians" also mentions that Taiwan and Penghu are part of China's territory. At that time, Taiwan was under the jurisdiction of Penghu, which in turn was under the administration of Jinjiang County in Quanzhou. Salt taxes and revenues were collected by Jinjiang County. This is precisely a gap in Zheng He's voyages to the Western Seas and one of the historical records of the Chinese people about the island of Taiwan before the turn of the century.
Reporter from China News Service: What is the practical significance of studying Wang Dayuan's voyages in the present day?
Zhang Li: Empathy-driven emotional flow between nations is a feasible approach to international communication in the present context. In the process of human interaction with the ocean, Wang Dayuan undoubtedly stood at the forefront as a brave pioneer. Based on the shared emotional experiences of humans in maritime exploration, using Wang Dayuan, a folk navigator, as an emotional label for international communication can provide international audiences with "opportunities for empathy" to understand the achievements of world maritime civilization.
Interviewee Profile:*
Zhang Li. Photo courtesy of the interviewee.
章丽，豫章师范学院副教授、文化与旅游学院新闻系主任，江西高校国际传播研究中心研究员，江西省文化与旅游研究推广协会会员。发表学术论文10余篇，参与完成国家社科基金项目1项，主持或参与完成各类省、市级课题10余项，获得省级智库研究成果1项。
原标题：《章丽：民间航海家汪大渊为何被称为“东方的马可·波罗”？| 东西问》文字编辑：王肃宁图片编辑：崔楚翘排版：韩娇娇审校：魏园责编：宋方灿
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