Georgia Pok Guy

One means by which ancient connections are shown is through place names. Instead of Deutschland we call it Germany, a vestige of the days when England was nothing more than a distant Roman province. And so it is with the Chinese city of Quanzhou. In the Middle Ages it was known to Europeans as Zaitun (or Zaiton), as shown in this map from 1474:

This name came to Europe by way of the Arabs, Quanzhou being the final destination in the sea journey from the Middle East.  Quanzhou was established during the Tang Dynasty, and even in those days one could expect to see Persian, Arab, and nascent Muslim traders plying the waters.  These traders, along with those that came to the Middle Kingdom via the Silk Road, were the progenitors of one of China’s major ethnic groups, the Hui.  During later dynasties Quanzhou would grow to become one of the largest ports in the world, showing the significance of the trade links between China and the Middle East.