John W. Chaffee has published several studies on the port city of Quanzhou in Song and Yuan times, and on China's maritime past more generally. The present monograph draws on this earlier research and may be read as a synthesis of a theme that one may consider a major issue in world history: the presence of Muslim merchants in various locations along the China coast from the mid-Tang period through to the early Ming period, just prior to the expeditions of Zheng He 鄭和. Scholarly books and articles on individual aspects of this theme abound. Many of these works relate to the so-called Pu 蒲 clan, other titles deal with the foreign quarters in places like Guangzhou and Quanzhou, still others focus on the structure of trade and the role of Muslims in Chinese politics. The present volume combines all these subjects inside one cover. In fact, it is an attempt to structure the history of the Muslim diaspora by looking at its activities from a bird's-eye view and by trying to define the characteristics of its performance in distinct periods. This certainly requires a general knowledge in diaspora studies. Besides that, it is also necessary to link individual cases such as the present one to larger models of Asian maritime history. Chaffee takes account of that, mainly by reminding readers of the work by Philip D. Curtin, Janet L. Abu-Lughod and certain others, but he abstains from pushing his audience through a theoretical jungle. His occasional references to K.N. Chaudhuri's Indian Ocean model are acceptable, although some elements of that model, India-centred as it is, may no longer be valid today.
A more important matter than avoiding the pitfalls of model-making is this: Chaffee undertook respectable efforts to combine data drawn from Chinese sources with the information contained in Arabic and Persian accounts (known to the author through translations). Indeed, this is of relevance because relying exclusively on the Chinese material can easily lead to a very one-sided picture. The clashes between coastal Muslims and Han-Chinese occurring under the Tang are cases in point. We have to consider both sides for a balanced view. Yet, as Chaffee repeatedly tells us, the available sources are fragmentary, many questions remain open, and very often one has to rely on conjectures. Recent archaeological discoveries, including research on various wrecks found in different parts of Asia, may assist us in solving certain problems, as readers will learn while going through this book; however, not infrequently material artefacts provoke new discussions which tend to complicate our current panorama.
As was mentioned, the first chapter deals with the Tang period, i.e. mainly with the presence of Muslim merchants in Guangzhou. Chaffee thinks that in those early times most of Guangzhou's inhabitants were non-Han. Chinese scholars may be more prudent in that regard. Whether Guangzhou really was a “frontier city”, as the author suggests, is a delicate issue because it raises further questions. For instance, which direction would processes of acculturation take at that time? Who would adjust to whom? How can we relate the early stages of the Guangzhou fanfang 番坊 to similar foreign quarters in other Asian ports? Further problems pertain to the role of Feng Ruofang 馮若芳 on Hainan and, more generally, the distribution of Muslim trade groups along China's shores. As we proceed to later periods, especially the Wudai and Shiguo “interregnum”, one observes a growing presence of foreigners in Quanzhou. Evidently, that city (and the state of Min) became very attractive, probably more attractive than other locations in the South. However, to be frank, I have not understood the mechanics behind that development. Chaffee touches many of these issues, offering a courageous outline, but the sources do not allow us to generate a precise picture.
We are in safer waters when dealing with the Song and Yuan. Now it also seems easier to link the Muslim diaspora in coastal China to the rest of maritime Asia. Still, here as in other sections of the book, the author often becomes involved in tricky problems, for example the question of Kalah. When seeking suitable ways to accommodate such issues into his account, he mostly relies on secondary sources. Clearly, this is not the place to put in doubt current assumptions regarding the Chola raids, or the many problems related to Srīvijaya, to mention just two prominent topics, but we should not forget that making use of certain “categories” such as these involves some risks. Notwithstanding, Chaffee is definitely correct when telling us that maritime Asia gradually moved into a multipolar age, dominated by the Song. Now exchange across the oceans flourished, thanks in part to developments in China herself. Here again the author moves through a multitude of sources, discussing, among other things, the role of different members of the Pu family. That in turn links to the Mongol period and, of course, once again, to Quanzhou. These sections are all fine – Chaffee is very familiar with this subject.
Symbolically, Chaffee closes his account with the exodus of Muslims from Fujian in the 1360s and the policy of the Hongwu emperor. Interestingly, Yusuf Chang is cited – not unexpectedly. Should we pay attention to Empress Ma 馬? The curtains are down, there is no clear answer. Well, then, here I may cut short my remarks by repeating that this is an admirable introduction to a complex theme, a carefully arranged book based on many sources. Nevertheless, one would wish to add certain titles to the bibliography; these include several representative works by O. Wolters, P. Wheatley, E. Schafer, Cl. Salmon, P. Pelliot, J. Kurz, H. Bielenstein, Ph. Beaujard, and others. Moreover, the standard lament applies: Gallica, Germanica et Rossica vix leguntur.
