ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses Hainan’s position between China and Southeast Asia; it mostly refers to trade and traffic along the great western route. It summarizes the more essential observations in relation to Hainan’s maritime links with both China and Southeast Asia. Ceramics probably played no significant role in Hainan trade during the period – quite in contrast to ceramics from the China mainland, which circulated to many parts of Asia – although small quantities were produced on the island. Under Mongol rule China’s second major trade axis to Southeast Asia, the eastern route linking Fujian via Taiwan with Luzon, the Sulu zone and modern eastern Indonesia, begins to emerge very clearly. The transition from Yuan to Ming rule brought about many changes in China’s coastal areas. The relaxation of trade prohibitions in 1567 brought about a certain “détente” along the China coast.
