Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v1.c5.s1.41

v1.c5.s1.41

During this period, the main products exported to India from China were silk fabrics, porcelain and tea. In the early Ming period, a part of the silk exported to Indian states from China formed part of "tribute trade", that is to say, the gifts given by Chinese emperors to the rulers of Indian countries. These usually included silk products, including luxurious silk fabrics, leno, woolen brocade, coloured silk and clothes, veils and canopies made of silk. From the middle of the 16th century CE, however, the Ming Dynasty implemented a ban on maritime trade or intercourse with foreign countries due to the invasion of Japanese pirates. Thereafter, the export of Chinese silk to India was mainly in the form of private trade.