Chapter One Departure: The Ancient Chinese Set Sail from the Orient / 001 I. Origin of the Maritime Silk Road / 001 II. East Sea voyages / 006 1. The northern route of the East Sea voyages: Departure from the Shandong Peninsula port group / 008 2. The southern route of the East Sea voyages: Departure from the port group along the coast of Jiangsu and Zhejiang / 012 III. ��The Road from Sichuan to Sindhu��: From Sichuan and Yunnan provinces to Myanmar by land and then going to the sea / 024 IV. The South Fujian�CSouth Sea route: Departure from Fuzhou, Quanzhou and Zhangzhou / 033 V. Sea route from Guangzhou to foreign countries: Departure from Guangzhou Port / 042 VI. Routes from the ports of Hepu and Xuwen in the South China Sea: Departing from the port group in the Beibu Gulf / 065 Chapter Two Extension: Phoenicians as the Mediterranean Continuators of the Maritime Silk Road / 088 I. Phoenicians excelled at maritime trade / 088 II. The Sinai Peninsula / 097 III. Northern routes from the Sinai Peninsula to T��rkiye and Greece / 108 Chapter Three New Seaways: European Maritime Expeditions / 128 I. Great geographical discoveries by maritime explorers / 128 II. Development of trade by European colonists / 135 Chapter Four Contribution: The Maritime Silk Road's Importance in History / 144 I. Cultural dissemination / 144 1. Religious cultures prevalent worldwide / 144 2. Chinese culture expands across Southeast Asia / 172 3. Chinese culture spreads in Europe / 178 II. Great social development / 185 1. Science and technology exchanges between China and the West led to improved living conditions and social development / 186 2. The spread of different plant and animal species between the East and the West improved the ecology / 215