Early western influence in Fujian

Lore & Background

Marco Polo, in about 1285, visited Fujiu (Fuzhou) and observed that the people were subjects of Kublai Khan, were 'idolaters', and much engaged in commerce and manufacture. He noted the production of ginger, galangal, and other drugs, and claimed the people were addicted to eating human flesh, esteeming it more delicate than any other, provided the person had not died of disease. Polo dictated his book in prison years after returning from China, and some suggest he did not visit this part of China at all. He claims to have visited Quanzhou after leaving Fuzhou, though the standard text of his travels does not mention a detour through Guilin and Guangzhou in that sequence, nor does it state that Quanzhou is fifteen miles from Guangzhou.

Reader's Guide

Ibn Battuta, a Moroccan traveler, arrived in China in April 1346 from Sumatra. His travelogue, the Rihla, describes landing in Quanzhou and later meeting a Chinese envoy who had met him previously. He received word to go to Beijing to meet the emperor, and is thought to have taken a northward route through the canal system, possibly stopping at Qanjanfu (commonly called Fuzhou) and Hangzhou. He stayed in Hangzhou for a few weeks before returning to Quanzhou and leaving in the fall monsoon of 1346. Historians note that his account of China appears superficial, describing his concern with paganism and his dislike of most of what he saw, tending to stay at home as often as he could. The locations of some stops remain unknown and are thought to have not existed at all.

Did You Know?

• Marco Polo visited Fujiu (Fuzhou) in about 1285 and claimed the people were addicted to eating human flesh.
• Some scholars suggest Marco Polo did not actually visit this part of China.
• Ibn Battuta's travelogue of China appears superficial and he disliked most of what he saw.
• Ibn Battuta's trip to China from Sumatra took four months, possibly with stops at unknown or non-existent ports.

The Nestorian Missionary and the First Christian Footprint

The earliest documented Western presence connected to Chinese territory traces to 635 CE, when a Nestorian missionary named Alopen arrived in Chang'an, the Tang dynasty capital, having traveled the Silk Road under the commission of the Church of the East. The Nestorian Stone, discovered in Xi'an, preserves his name as the earliest known Christian missionary in China. Emperor T'ai Tsung personally received Alopen, escorted him to an imperial library, and ordered the texts the missionary carried to be rendered into Hokkien. Most of the earliest surviving Christian works in China are attributed to this period. By 638, just three years after Alopen's arrival, the first Christian church had been erected in Chang'an, accompanied by the documented presence of twenty-one Nestorian monks of Persian origin operating within the Tang Empire. This brief but significant episode established a precedent for Western religious and cultural penetration into Chinese lands, predating later European contacts by more than six centuries.

Marco Polo's Contested Account of Fujian

Around 1285, Marco Polo recorded his observations of Fujiu, now identified with Fuzhou, in what stands as the first tangible written record of a Westerner in that city. Under the rule of Kublai Khan, Polo described a population deeply engaged in commerce and manufacturing, noting the abundant production of ginger, galangal, and various medicinal substances. However, his account also contains deeply troubling and widely disputed claims, including allegations of cannibalistic practices among the local people. Polo dictated his travelogue while imprisoned, years after his return from China, which has led some scholars to question whether he ever actually visited this region. He claimed a route from Fuzhou through a detour at Guilin and Guangzhou to Quanzhou, which he placed fifteen miles from Guangzhou. Despite these uncertainties, his description remains a foundational, if contested, primary source for understanding the commercial and cultural landscape of Fujian during the Yuan dynasty.

Ibn Battuta's Canal Route Through Fujian

In April 1346, the Moroccan scholar Ibn Battuta departed from the Samudra Pasai Sultanate on Sumatra aboard a junk provided by its ruler, Al-Mailk al Zahir. His four-month voyage to China, as recorded in The Rihla, likely involved stops at ports in eastern Malaysia, Champa, or Tonkin, though the exact locations remain unidentified and some scholars doubt they existed. Upon landing in Quanzhou, Battuta encountered a Chinese customs chief who had previously met him during earlier travels and had arrived in China before Battuta himself. This connection may have facilitated Battuta's subsequent journey northward through the canal system to meet the Yuan emperor as a diplomat of the Sultanate of India. He is believed to have stopped first at a city he called Qanjanfu, now commonly identified as Fuzhou, before continuing to Hangzhou, where he remained for several weeks. His travelogue, while noted by historians as somewhat superficial, reveals a traveler who preferred to stay at his lodging as often as possible and expressed concern over what he perceived as the dominance of paganism in Chinese society.

Threads of Continuity and the Question of Faith

The narrative of Western contact with Fujian spans nearly seven centuries, from Alopen's arrival in 635 to Ibn Battuta's departure in the fall monsoon of 1346. What unites these episodes is a recurring question about the origins and transmission of belief. When the Nestorian monks in the Tang Empire were asked about the source of their faith and rule, their answer was simply, 'From our forefathers.' This phrase encapsulates a broader pattern: Western religious and cultural traditions arrived in Chinese coastal regions not as isolated events but as continuations of earlier transmissions along the Silk Road and maritime routes. The legacy of these early encounters extends beyond the medieval period, connecting to later developments such as the Opium Wars and the Unequal Treaties that would reshape Fujian's relationship with the West. The earliest Christian works in China, the commercial observations of Polo, and the diplomatic ambitions of Battuta together form a layered record of how Fujian's ports and cities served as points of convergence for ideas, goods, and people moving between East and West.

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