The trade patterns of the South China Sea during the Song period

This paper aims to outline two different trade patterns in the South China Sea during the Song period by examining the distribution pattern of cargos on the Intan, Cirebon, Nanhai No.1 (南海I号) and Quanzhou Bay 泉州湾 wrecks. Through the detailed analysis, it is argued that the voyage of some merchant ships would be conducted at the request of a single authority, from a few available, who handled bulk selling while the remaining spaces on the ship would be leased to some individual traders who did retail business. The major cargo on board would be aimed toward a single directional destination, as is represented by the Inan and Cirebon wrecks. In other cases, the sea-going journey would be a joint operation involving multiple traders and the major cargo would be handled by peddlers and possibly sold at a number of ports-of-call, as is seen with the Nanhai No.1 and Quanzhou Bay wreck.