Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c13.35

v2.c13.35

However, the main feature of this period was the rapid expansion of maritime communications between China and the coastal regions of India. The Song dynasty, facing pressures from the Mongol others such as the Khitan, the Tangut and the Ruzhen (Jurchen) to the north, actively encouraged maritime commerce in order to generate more revenues. They lifted many restrictions on Chinese merchants sailing overseas. They also established and enforced new customs regulations and facilitated overseas commerce in various ways. The result was a huge increase in the revenues obtained by the Song dynasty from overseas trade, amounting to as much as 20,00,000 strings of cash in the 12^th century CE.