Dashi 大食 reconsidered

Abstract

This essay is a critical survey of relevant Song dynasty sources that are essential to an understanding of the term Dashi 大食. Scholars in the nineteenth century identified Dashi in Tang dynasty writings as a designation for Arab Muslims. This definition consequently has been and is being applied to all occurrences of Dashi in Song dynasty texts. However, Dashi in the Song no longer described Arab Muslims, but, as a multivalent term, referred to a variety of peoples and places in Central Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. Contrary to commonly held view, Dashi falls short of providing evidence for an Arab controlled maritime trade from South Asia to China that contemporary scholars suggest. The paper, therefore, calls for a re-evaluation of the alleged Arab influence in Asian maritime trade networks during the tenth to the twelfth centuries, and a closer reading of the Chinese source material.