Maritime Silk Road in the Tang dynasty (7th–10th centuries)

1. Tang unification boosts long-distance commerce

   Jun 18, 618Labels: Tang dynasty, China

   • Britannica

2. Guangzhou emerges as major seaport

   Jan 1, 700Labels: Guangzhou, South China

   • Britannica
   • Cambridge

3. Kaiyuan era policies encourage overseas exchange

   Jan 1, 713Labels: Emperor Xuanzong, Kaiyuan era

   • Britannica
   • Brill

4. An Lushan Rebellion disrupts Tang trade networks

   Dec 16, 755Labels: An Lushan, Tang military

   • Britannica
   • MetMuseum

5. Arab and Persian raid sacks Guangzhou port

   Jan 1, 758Labels: Guangzhou, Arab-Persian raid

   • Chaffee
   • Wikipedia

6. Yangzhou massacre targets foreign merchant communities

   Jan 1, 760Labels: Yangzhou, Tian Shengong

   • Wikipedia

7. Quanzhou begins rising as a later-Tang seaport

   Jan 1, 800Labels: Quanzhou, Fujian

   • Britannica

8. Tang export ceramics scale up for sea trade

   Jan 1, 820Labels: Tang ceramics, Changsha kilns

   • RootsSG

9. Belitung shipwreck captures Tang-era ocean trade

   Jan 1, 826Labels: Belitung shipwreck, Indonesia

   • RootsSG
   • Wikipedia

10. Muslim travel accounts describe Guangzhou trade

    Jan 1, 850Labels: Muslim merchants, Guangzhou

    • NYU Press
    • Wikipedia

11. Huang Chao captures Guangzhou; foreign trade collapses

    Jan 1, 879Labels: Huang Chao, Guangzhou

    • Britannica
    • Wikipedia

12. Tang dynasty ends; maritime networks reconfigure

    Jan 1, 907Labels: Tang collapse, Five Dynasties

    • Britannica