The ancient “Maritime Silk Road” went through several dynasties with distinct vicissitude. And meanwhile the geopolitical environment along the “Maritime Silk Road” had also changed significantly. The prosperity of the ancient “Marine Silk Road” needed geopolitical security，and concretely speaking，it relied on an open，mutually beneficial relationship of the regional economic and trade exchanges，and the political and security interaction among countries and their positive open，cooperative political-security concept，and regional and bilateral political security order with China as the “center” and other sub-regional hierarchy. Whereas the wane of these conditions directly resulted in shrinking gradually of the ancient “Marine Silk Road” and it eventually got replaced. It is concluded that the concept of economic opening and mutual benefit，active political and security cooperation as well as the formation of a stable order，has become the historical experience and spiritual heritage which should be referred and inherited by China and the countries along the routes in the process of jointly building the 21^st century “Maritime Silk Road”.