Merchant identities, trading nodes, and globalization: Introduction to the Special Issue. (7th December 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marsden, Magnus; Skvirskaja, Vera
• Is Part Of: History and anthropology. Volume 29(2018)Supplement 1
• Page Start: S1
• Page End: S13
• Publication Date: 2018-12-07
• Subjects: Yiwu -- trading nodes -- port cities -- trading networks -- China -- One Belt -- One Road; Anthropology -- Periodicals; History -- Periodicals; 301
• DOI: 10.1080/02757206.2018.1497622
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0275-7206

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The contributors to this Special Issue are concerned by the nature of transregional Asian interactions taking place in the field of commerce. They explore this concern through an examination of the experiences, activities, and histories of commodity traders whose life trajectories criss-cross Asia. The articles share a common geographic point of reference: Yiwu – an officially designated 'international trade city' located in China's eastern Zhejiang province. The introduction to the Special Issue analytically locates the individual papers in relationship to a long-standing body of work in anthropology and history on port cities and trading nodes. In so doing it suggests the importance of considering multiple historical processes to understanding Yiwu and its position in China and the world today, as well as, more generally, for the anthropology of 'globalization from below'.