The Year 1000: When Globalization Began

by Valerie Hansen

Zhu Yu is the only writer in the Song dynasty who mentions slaves brought from other countries. He explains that some were originally crewmen captured by pirates and that they possessed an unusual skill: “the foreign slaves are good at swimming; they enter the water without closing their eyes.” The slaves knew how to fix leaks in ships by using “wadding to repair the ship’s exterior.” The slaves had difficulty adjusting to Chinese ways. Since they were accustomed to eating raw food, cooked food gave them such severe diarrhea that some died. Zhu Yu tells us the slaves “are black as ink. Their lips are red, and their teeth are white. Their hair is curly as well as yellow.” Yellow? This word in Chinese can indicate the color of aging hair, but it is also possible that the slaves suffered from a nutritional disorder called kwashiorkor, which is caused by a severe lack of protein. Sometimes those who eat only raw foods suffer from this disorder, which can leave their hair rust-colored.