广东是海上丝绸之路的重要发祥地，有关海上丝绸之路的文学叙事历史悠久，体裁多样，有诗词、歌赋、戏曲、散文、笔记、碑文、小说、传说等等。

汉代诗人扬雄的《交州箴》记录了汉朝与中南半岛上的越裳国交往历史，与《汉书·地理志》关于汉武帝派遣译使出使黄支国记载相印证，而汉朝使节出使黄支国，通常被历史学家认为是贯通东西方的海上丝绸之路的开端，所以《交州箴》是记录海上丝绸之路早期历史的最早的诗歌作品。

六朝时期南海人张贾、晋人冯融、南朝侯安都均以善诗著名，开“吾粤风雅之先”，尤其出现一批笔记性质的地方文献，记载岭南与南海诸国的海洋交通、海洋物产、海国民俗等，如《临海水土记》记载“金邻”即扶南国（今柬埔寨）。

唐代海上丝绸之路空前繁荣，涌现出大批与海丝相关的诗歌佳作。著名诗人张九龄写下了千古传诵的名句“海上生明月，天涯共此时”。杜甫《送重表侄王砅评事使南海》，张籍《昆仑儿》诗，元稹《送岭南崔侍御》，刘禹锡《南海马大夫远示著述》，白居易《送客春游岭南二十韵》等等。如果说以描述西北边疆大漠与草原风情的“边塞诗”是最具感染力和特色风格的唐诗之一，那么反映南方海疆、海上丝路及海外风情的“边海诗”同样具有魅力。

唐代其他文学作品如传奇、小说、笔记、碑铭等等，对海上丝路也有很多篇章。

唐代广东海丝文学的作者，有广东本地的，也有内地，还有外国作者。阿拉伯世界名著《一千零一夜》关于辛巴达历险记的篇章，就是当时阿拉伯航海家经历千辛万苦，从海路航行至唐朝的写照。9-10世纪阿拉伯商人苏莱曼的《中国印度见闻录》记录了他在印度、中国的旅程，其中对广州社会经济状况特别是海外贸易的记载，成为中古时代中国与阿拉伯世界海路交流的不可多得的重要资料。

宋元时期海上丝绸之路臻于鼎盛，海丝诗歌作品也不少，如张俞、陶弼的《广州》、郭祥正《广州越王台呈将帅待制》、杨万里《南海东庙浴日亭》等。

宋元时期有不少海外商人、旅行家经过海路往来广州，写下不少旅行笔记，影响深远。14世纪20年代意大利旅行家鄂多立克来到广州，宣称它是一个比威尼斯大三倍的城市。元朝末年，伊本·白图泰到中国游历，认为广州是“一大城市”。

14世纪以后世界历史发生重大变革，地理大发现与大航海时代开辟了早期全球化新时代，海上丝绸之路纳入世界海洋贸易体系。广东海上丝绸之路文学内容更加丰富。例如汤显祖的《南海江》、韩上桂的《广州行呈方伯胡公》。

小说是中国古典文学的里程碑。清代“一口通商”时期，众多小说反映了那个时代不一般的“广州故事”。陈忱《水浒后传》描写了梁山泊好汉李俊受招安后“复反”，航海到暹罗称雄立国的故事，反映了明清时期广东、福建等沿海民众大规模移居海外，在东南亚拓殖开发的历史。庾岭劳人《蜃楼志》则是一部以广州粤海关官员，十三行行商与地方社会为题材的历史小说，在中国文学史上有特殊地位。

广州是海上丝绸之路上长盛不衰的东方大港，成为中外文化交流、文学交流的一个中心。1833、1834年，阮朝名臣李文馥等到广东、澳门公干，访问文坛名流。某天，李文馥等九位中越文人在广州海珠寺一艘船上聚会，“作中外群英会。即席连吟，极欢而散”，留下诗篇《中外群英会录》，成为古代文坛少见的中外交流佳话。

明清时期广州地区的刻书业十分发达，省城及附近的南海陈村、顺德马岗等地书坊出现专门销往越南的图书代刻业务，大多属文学作品。广州地区成为中越文学书籍刻印与传播中心，从广州到嘉定的书籍运销海路网络也可称为“书籍之路”。

广东“海丝文学”历史悠久，源远流长，体裁多种多样，文学遗产内容极为丰富，而且广东是中外文学交流的重要平台，文学创作与文学作品具有海洋性、本土性、国际化的鲜明特点，开放兼容，海纳百川，岭南文化具有海洋性、开放性、重商性等等特质，相当程度上就体现在海丝文学上。

Maritime Silk Road Literature In Guangdong: History And Outlook

Li Qingxin (China) 

Guangdong is a major starting point of Maritime Silk Road. Recordings can be found in literature of different genres such as poetry, songs, Chinese opera, prose, note-style novel, tablet inscription, novels, legends and so on.

Yang Xiong, a poet in Han Dynasty wrote in Jiaozhouzhen (Thoughts on Jiaozhou): “Jiaozhou locates itself in seaside wilderness, south to Yuechang. This piece mirrors with History of the Han Dynasty: Journal of Geography: Emperor Wu of Han sent envoys to Huangzhi and according to historians, started the maritime silk road which linked the west and the east. Therefore, Jiaozhouzhen is the earliest literary work to record the early history of the maritime silk road.

Zhang Jia, Feng Rong, Hou An were famous poets during the Six Dynasties and led the literary pursuits of Guangdong. Local note-style literature also flourished and recorded marine transportation, products and folk customs in Lingnan region and countries in South China Sea. Notes on Coastal Nature noted that “Jinlin (also known as Funan, today’s Cambodia) produces silver and has a big population. 

The maritime silk road boomed in Tang Dynasty and many related poems were created at this time. The famous poet Zhang Jiuling wrote a famous phrase: “A moon rises at sea, a moment enjoyed by the whole world.” Du Fu wrote in Poem to South Sea Envoy Wang Li that “Panyu’s marine generals devise smart strategies and command thousands of ships.” Zhang Ji wrote in Kunluner that “Kunlun lives in the oceanic land. Southern merchants visited China. Zhang Ji wrote in Farewell to Zheng Quan to South Sea that “Foreign sounds echoes in the costal night market.” Yuan Zhen once mocked foreign fake pearls in Poem to Lingnan Cui Chengfu. Liu Yuxi depicted the solemn navy and busy merchant ships to his friend Ma in South Sea. Bai Juyi described spring in Lingnan and mentioned neighbor countries. Poetry flourished in Tang Dynasty, also known as “a country of poetry”. Poems depicting the South, maritime silk road and the marine life are as charming as those depicting deserts in northwest China and prairie charm.

Maritime silk road can also be found in Tang Dynasty’s legends, novels, notes and inscriptions.

Writers of Maritime Silk Road Literature in Tang Dynasty were either Guangdong locals or inlanders or foreigners. The Arabic masterwork The Thousand and One Nights described an Arabic voyager’s perilous journey to China in “The Adventures of Sinbad”. Arabic merchant Suleiman in 9th to 10th century wrote about his travels in China and India. His recordings of Guangzhou’s social-economic conditions, especially overseas trade became an important resource to study China and Arab’s maritime exchange.

Following the development of Tang Dynasty, the Maritime Silk Road reached its climax in Song and Yuan Dynasties and many poems emerged during this time. Zhang Yu wrote in Guangzhou that “Ships can reach foreign lands; distant to hometown like a lonely cloud.” Tao Bi wrote in Guangzhou that “Foreign clothes became trendy and changed the central plain.” Guo Xiangzheng wrote in a poem about King of Yue’s residential palace in Guangzhou that “Ships traveled to the South Sea one by one to trade. Yang Wanli’s On Bathing Sunlight Pavilion in South Sea: “South Sea is the top of the four Seas. What a wonder of Fusang! Sunlight shifted at Ruomu’s trees and tides returns from the city of Zhancheng.” 

In Song and Yuan Dynasties, many foreign merchants and travelers passed Guangzhou by marine routes and wrote down many travel notes, which influenced the world a lot. Italian traveler Odoric in 1420s traveled to Guangzhou and claimed its size is three times larger than that of Venice with vast quantities of ships. In the end of Yuan Dynasty, Ibn Battuta travelled to China and described Guangzhou as “a big city” .

World in changed greatly after the 14th century, when the Great Geographical Discoveries opened a new page in early globalization and the maritime silk road was included into the global maritime trade system. Guangdong maritime silk road literature at this time was also enriched. Tang Xianzu described foreigners and well-equipped merchant ships in South Sea. Han Shanggui described the lively ports with ships to and fro and the busy clamorous markets with coral reefs, hawksbill, ivory, rhino horn and pearls in Trip to Guangzhou. 

Novels are a milestone of Chinese classical literature. When Canton System was adopted in Qing Dynasty, Guangzhou became the main port and bridge to foreign countries and this was recorded in many novels. Chen Chen’s Sequel to Heroes of the Marshes is about a Liangshan Marsh Hero called Li Jun who leaves the imperial court and travels to Siam and founds a country there. This story shows that in Ming and Qing Dynasties, many costal residents in Guangdong and Fujian moved to foreign lands and developed the South East Asia. Yuling Laoren’s Journal of Mirage is a history novel, which is based on custom officials and itinerant merchants and secures a special place in history of Chinese literature.

Guangdong has been an important gateway of China to foreign countries and Guangzhou became the long-standing port and exchange hub along the Road. In 1833 and 1834, famous minister of Nguyen Dynasty Li Wenfu had his official visit to Guangdong and Macau. One day, Li Wenfu and other eight scholars from China and Nguyen gathered on a ship in Guangzhou’s Oceanic Pearl Temple. They “sang songs and wrote poems happily” and left three pieces of famous poems, namely “Overseas close friends” “We must cherish our meeting” “It is sad to part but happy to reunion” and compiled them into an anthology, leaving a much-told story of ancient cultural exchanges.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the engraving industry in Guangzhou was very developed. In its capital city and nearby Chen Village in South Sea and Ma Gang in Shunde, workshops engraved many books that were mostly literature works shipping to Vietnam. Guangzhou thus became the engraving and selling center of literary works; the route from Guangzhou to Jiading can be called “the book road”.

Maritime Silk Road Literature in Guangdong has a long history and various styles. It is a rich literary legacy as well as an important platform for cultural exchanges with foreign countries. Its literary works crossed various disciplines and its influence was spread to various regions. Culture here is oceanic, inclusive, both local and global and attaches great importance to trade. These characteristics are reflected in its Maritime Silk Road Literature.