Maritime Silk Road and Cultural Exchange and Dissemination of Chinese and Western Artifacts: From the Perspective of Porcelain Trade

Abstract

Porcelain is the core competitiveness between China and Western trade and representatives of Chinese artifacts. In 16th century the world’s marine trade from the Portuguese made porcelain  become an important link between the East and West culture, in the five hundred years of the sea Silk Road exchange process, porcelain trade promotes the spread of Chinese culture to the world, to build a porcelain culture circle which affects the world. But with the success of European imitation of Chinese porcelain and the development of the industrial revolution, Chinese porcelain which once led the world’s advanced cultural trend faded out of the world trade stage. China, once the porcelain export country, began to import porcelain from Europe and America. Porcelain, which is the representative of Chinese culture, began to be both a reflection of Chinese culture and economy in the context of globalization. It is also an epitome of the awkward position of Chinese artifacts in the process of modernization. Under the Pre-modernization and modernization contexts, porcelain trade embodied the national identity and cultural identity.