唐宋时代是我国对外交流空前繁荣的时代。古“丝绸之路”,源于汉朝,盛于唐朝。宋朝是我国古代三大发明——火药、指南针、印刷术完成时期,航海有了指南针,克服了人类远涉重洋航行辨向的困难。 我国东南沿海通往南洋、西洋的“海上丝绸之路”,出现风樯林立,万舸争流的局面。那时,对外经济、文化交流的中心城市,当属长安(今西安市)、泉州、广州、扬州。本刊1995年第1期介绍了 The Tang and Song era was an era in which our country’s foreign exchange was unprecedentedly prosperous. The ancient “Silk Road” originated from the Han Dynasty and flourished in the Tang Dynasty. The Song Dynasty was the three major inventions of ancient China—the period of completion of gunpowder, compass, and printing. Navigation had a compass, which overcame the difficulty of mankind’s long-distance navigation. The “Maritime Silk Road” leading to Nanyang and Western Oceans on the southeastern coast of China has seen a lot of turbulence and competition. At that time, the central cities for foreign economic and cultural exchanges were Chang’an (now Xi’an), Quanzhou, Guangzhou, and Yangzhou. The first issue of this issue was introduced in 1995.