as it might seem. The ships were constructed and sailed with the benefit of
generations of salt-water knowledge behind them. And, although the Chinese
state abandoned the sea, the fleets may have opened the eyes of many individuals
to new commercial possibilities.
Using fresh water—with lakes, rivers, and canals fused into a vast and efficient
network for the cheap carriage of raw materials and goods—made south China
themostproductivepartoftheempire,helpingmakeChinaamajornodeof
global prosperity.
Although salt water became an avenue for a significant, fruitful commercial
relationship with Southeast Asia, continental worries kept the government
from fully realizing the nation’s maritime capabilities. And the incursion of the
Atlantic world in the nineteenth century brought further discouragement,
posing a profound new oceanborne threat far more serious than any from pirates.
The Atlantic world menaced not only the imperial regime but also the very bones
of the culture. To contemporary Chinese, the ocean seemed to provide opportu-
nity only for outsiders.
In the late twentieth century, the collapse of the Soviet Union enabled the
Chinese to face in a different geographical direction for the first time in their
history. Using salt water as the medium to build a flourishing economy based
on manufacturing and overseas trade is now enabling hundreds of millions of
Chinese to move from desperate poverty to decent prosperity. This surely is
one of the great events of our time.
Imperial China and the Sea 31