A stable and prosperous dynasty of China in power from 1368 until its ultimate decline in 1644.
The Ming dynasty was characterized by an official aversion to commercial overseas trade, although it expanded significantly during this regime despite the bans on it.
The Ming (meaning “brightness”) originated with Zhu Yuanzhang, who was the first Ming emperor and who ruled for thirty years. At one time a Buddhist monk, he joined an existing rebellion that, under his control, overthrew the Yuan dynasty, thereby unifying China. Following Zhu’s rule, the autocratic regime was strengthened, paving the way for more Ming emperors to come. For example, the emperor would assert his authority by exacting embarrassing ultimatums on rulers of neighboring lands, such as demanding groups of female virgins, oxen, and horses yearly from the king of Korea, to preserve diplomatic relations. The preservation of strong rule was carried out in other ways in Ming history as well.
One facet of this strong rule was the fundamental Ming ban on maritime traffic, initially issued in the form of an edict on February 2, 1372. This disapproval of overseas trade existed in one form or another throughout most of the dynasty’s reign in China. Initially, the ban served to alleviate the emperor’s fear that his subjects would ally themselves with foreign powers. For example, because he feared that Srivijaya had sent spies to China, Srivijaya was excluded from tributary relations. (The tribute system referred to trade legally conducted and administered by the state, an imperial prerogative rather than a private right.) However, the control measures (for instance, the 1394 ban on the use of foreign spices and foreign goods) were not carried out in a manner that made them effective on trade.
One element of the Ming court that contributed to the inconsistent application of Ming edicts was its widespread use of eunuchs (castrated males) to carry out court and administrative duties. Eunuch influence in traditional Chinese government reached its climax during the Ming dynasty. The eunuchs, more than mere chamberlains or slaves, often held high offices. They were clearly members of the inner court and were the sole male attendants allowed to reside in the imperial palace. They cared for the needs of the palace females as well as looking after the personal and daily wishes of the emperor. The eunuchs often originated from lower-status social classes and became eunuchs (either voluntarily or at the behest of their parents) to gain the wealth and prosperity that they could not otherwise attain. The eunuchs played such a significant role in the empire’s administration that they would ultimately contribute to its downfall by extorting money and hoarding power, particularly during the latter portion of the reign of the Wanli emperor. Especially during periods when weaker emperors chose to withdraw from public life, leaving eunuchs (numbering in the tens of thousands) as the only emissaries between the outside world and the secluded one of the emperor, the eunuchs’ involvement in the affairs of the state could not be avoided as they decided which messages would be delivered to the emperor and which would not. Until that time, however, eunuchs also made strides in the advancement of the Ming dynasty.
While the Ming dynasty’s use of eunuchs in itself was not extraordinary, what was unusual was the use of eunuchs on assignments outside the palace and the capital.
The Ming dynasty reached its zenith during the Yongle period, from 1403 to 1424. Almost contemporaneously, during the period from 1405 to 1433, the Grand Eunuch Zheng He commanded seven costly naval trading expeditions to Southeast Asia, India, the Persian Gulf, and East Africa. The emperor wished to extend his influence over lands of the South Seas, in the Indian Ocean, and kingdoms farther east. The eunuchs ensured that the vessels contained China’s fine textiles and other luxury goods to present to rulers that they would encounter in distant lands. Eunuchs who conducted foreign affairs and sought imperial treasure on behalf of the emperor organized these voyages, which were manned by a crew of about 27,000 in total for all the voyages. Not only the emperor, but also the coastal provinces of China paid for the high cost of these expeditions. It is not clear why the emperor arranged for these expeditions, although some suggest that they were self-indulgent voyages to seek treasure, to sate his appetite for glory, and to make use of his eunuch staff. The missions succeeded in extending the emperor’s influence, demonstrating Chinese military power, protecting Chinese interests, and bring ing new people into the tribute system. However, the Ming empire failed to follow through and exploit these gains. After 1433, these voyages never recommenced. Nevertheless, eunuchs continued to occupy other positions of commercial significance, such as special tax collectors and supervisors of foreign trade.
While foreign trade largely meant maritime trade, during the Ming dynasty China also participated in barter with continental neighbors for necessary items. Most notably, China was continually aware of the Mongol threat to the north. Trade served as one way to attempt to improve Sino-Mongol relations, which had deteriorated to a point that prompted the Ming to fortify and add to the wall separating them to the north, known today as the Great Wall. Markets trading tea and horses lined the northern border. In addition to tea, the Mongols wanted silks, luxury items, agricultural items, and ironware in particular—these goods lent stability to the nomadic tribes of the steppe region. The Chinese were in constant need of horses for the empire’s cavalry, and China’s own horses were often of poor quality. Private merchants conducted this barter system along China’s border. In this manner, because of the parties’ mutual needs, trade between the Chinese and the Mongols established a measure of temporary control in a historically tense relationship.
Private merchants played a significant role in the world of trade during the Ming era, from those conducting barter with the Mongols to those engaged in illicit maritime activity. The prevailing view of Ming merchant origins is that they turned to trade when they were unable to survive by tilling fields. They began as peddlers and gradually rose to a more lucrative trade if luck was on their side. Where levels of production were too low to support the growing population, the poorest were left to seek a livelihood through small-time commerce. The dominant Confucian beliefs looked unfavorably on commercial gain. To be a merchant was to be at the bottom rung of the ancient social ladder, though the ability to transcend low social status with great wealth would become much easier for merchants of the late Ming. Before that time, however, even while the Ming regime experienced peripatetic leadership and a negative attitude toward mercantilism, these characteristics did not succeed in stifling foreign trade.
While Ming law allowed maritime trade as long as it was licensed, Ming ideology did not celebrate China as a commercial seafaring empire. Chinese commodities were permitted to travel outside so long as they were not considered strategic items, such as horses, weapons, ironware, and copper coins. Building boats for foreigners was also prohibited under the portion of the Ming Code that barred weapons from leaving the country. Foreign goods could be imported as long as they arrived at designated ports and were valued with an import duty. There was even a limit on foreign boat size intended to constrain the amount of wealth that prominent maritime traders could amass. The regulations were more severe for foreign trade than for domestic trade, so that the regime could collect its rightful share of the former. Later, however, the strict regulations served to discourage foreign trade altogether.
In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, foreign trade came to be regarded with great trepidation. The maritime expeditions of Zheng He were viewed with such distaste that his expeditionary charts, preserved in the Ministry of War, were burned on ministerial order. Chinese merchants in foreign lands were suspected of posing as imperial emissaries for the purpose of gaining an audience with the ruler of that land.
Despite this antimaritime and antitrade sentiment, knowledge of maritime routes and the desire to use them were not entirely gone by the middle of the Ming dynasty. Charts of maritime compass bearings and route maps dating from the fifteenth century continued to circulate among mariners by way of handmade duplications even into the sixteenth century. Even though the state had withdrawn from maritime commerce, coastal merchants traded actively with Southeast Asia during the fifteenth century and continued to do so after the destruction of Zheng He’s charts and maps, expanding their business in scale and in profitability through the middle of the Ming dynasty.
By the end of the fifteenth century, the Southeast Asian economy boomed due in large part to the business with Chinese coastal merchants, who demanded cloves, pepper, sandalwood, perfumes, and sappanwood for their distributors and customers. The trading in Zhangzhou became so lucrative that merchants would sail in dangerous storms, risking the loss of their vessel rather than losing business. This interest in competition also led to the rise of piracy and corruption. Pirate bands procured a livelihood from pillaging, trading, or both. Moreover, customs officials accepted bribes to allow more than the regulatory limit of commodities. The number of merchants expanded beyond the amount of available trade. Foreign trade soon became armed and violent as well, exacerbated by the illicit nature of trading of the time. The Portuguese contributed to the changing face of maritime trading by sinking almost every trading ship they came across between 1500 and 1520, hoping to destroy their competitors and take over the prosperous Indian Ocean trade. They captured the major trading center at Melaka (Malacca) and slaughtered the Chinese merchants there. They achieved their objective of arresting the region’s trade, over which they now had complete control. The spice trade went into a temporary slump.
Illegal trading, though still armed and violent, increased after 1520, forcing many Chinese merchants to conduct their business on offshore islands where they could not be easily detected, such as those off the coasts of Zhejiang and Fujian. There, the disparate groups of pirates and traders became increasingly organized and formed large fleets to conduct maritime trade. The headquarters of these groups in Zhejiang existed on various islands off of the coast of Ningbo prefecture. In the safe harbors of these islands, the clandestine traders and marauders could unload both legitimate and illicit cargoes, distribute them, make new contacts with foreign traders, store supplies and arms, and make plans to sell and purchase goods at the shore of the mainland. This type of overseas trade took place initially at Shuangyu near Ningbo, which had existed as a trading cooperative since 1525. It was here that Portuguese merchants, banned in Guangzhou since 1522, were led in 1539 to conduct their business.
Japanese trading fleets arrived at the island in 1545, a milestone in Chinese trade because before that time, private trade with Japan had been limited. Most trade with Japan took place in the context of the tribute system, which no longer suited the Japanese in the sixteenth century. At that time, three powerful Japanese families (Ise, Hosokawa, and Ouchi) vied for control of trade with China. They were willing to resort to bribery of eunuchs and piracy to gain this control and to acquire permission to trade. As the trading increased, however, so did the accompanying government bans on overseas trade, climaxing with the Japanese pirate (wokou) raids of the 1540s and 1550s. Local authorities simply ignored imperial edicts and allowed pirates to raid the coast for years without being apprehended. In addition, affluent families involved in the illegal trading declined to pay their debts to groups of maritime traders, sometimes threatening to rely on their influence to compel local officials to take action against their creditors. Overseas traders who served as creditors responded by pillaging and destroying the homes of those who refused to pay what they owed. This period was also racked with famine, forcing people to desperate measures. The turmoil would not be resolved until the reopening of trade in 1567.
Until then, however, the Ming regime held steadfastly to its ban on overseas trade. For three years, from 1547 to 1550, the Ming employed a high official, Zhu Wan, to reduce banditry along the coast. Zhu Wan aggressively sought out trading enclaves to extinguish the seemingly endless piracy. He interpreted his role strictly and executed all those that he succeeded in apprehending. This strict interpretation proved unfortunate for him when one of those executed turned out to be a relative of a prefectural judge. As a result, Zhu Wan’s authority was reduced, and just as he seemed to be achieving considerable success in his efforts, he was dismissed from his office. Zhu Wan was accused of execution without appropriate authority to do so. In the face of embarrassment, possible execution, and his own poor physical health, he committed suicide in 1550.
Zhu Wan’s failed mission set the stage for merchants such as Wang Zhi, who wished to influence the Ming court’s policy on overseas commerce. By assisting the government to stop pirates, Wang hoped to influence the Ming government to lessen its resistance to legitimate overseas trade. Instead, however, the ban became increasingly stringent. This reaction encouraged Wang to employ force, and the raids that occurred thereafter were not only large in scale, but also targeted at official government strongholds, such as offices, treasuries, and granaries. Wang came to be known as the “bandit sorcerer.” After several years, believing that he would be pardoned for his banditry as trade became more common, Wang turned himself in to authorities under the stipulation that his safety would be guaranteed and that he would be granted permission to trade. Two years later, Wang was executed.
Following Wang’s death, China experienced a severe drought that destroyed crops and left people to starve. As suffering was rampant and relief was not, the court finally began to get news of the banditry that had plagued China’s clandestine trafficking of goods. The Ming emperor never relaxed his opposition to foreign trade, as he consistently counseled to remain staunchly against it, but on his death in 1567, the governor of Fujian petitioned that the trading ban be lifted and that a customs administration be established. Piracy ceased to be the great obstacle that it once was.
On the whole, the sixteenth century experienced abundant if erratic economic activity despite the empire’s efforts to stifle it. Furthermore, the establishment of Manila and Nagasaki as major trading centers in the 1570s increased the maritime trading traffic in East Asian waters even further. By the late sixteenth century, silver began to flow into China in large quantities, augmented by supplies from mines in Mexico and Peru. Every member of Chinese society at every level began to use silver freely for all transactions. An estimate from the turn of the sixteenth century indicates that between 165 and 380 tons of silver were shipped from Acapulco annually. Chinese traders of this time also became aware of the Western demand for Chinese textiles, silk in particular, and porcelain. Chinese traders operating from the Philippines sent massive quantities of silver back to China. The Portuguese also brought significant quantities of silver to China by way of Macao.
European demand for Chinese textiles remained high thanks to the abundant variety of cloth not available elsewhere: silks of every type and color, velvets (both plain and with detailed embroidery), brocade fabrics, damasks, satins, taffetas, grass linen, and white cotton cloth. Chinese merchants sold a wide range of other goods as well: musk, benzoin, ivory, bed ornaments, wall hangings, coverlets, tapestries, tablecloths, cushions, carpets, horse ornaments, pearls, rubies, sapphires, crystal, metal tubs, copper kettles, cast-iron pots, nails, sheet iron, tin, lead, saltpeter, and gunpowder. Foodstuffs and animals also figured prominently in merchandise from China: wheat flour; preserves made from orange, peach, pear, and other Chinese fruit; salted meat; live fowl; fresh fruit; nuts; buffaloes; geese; horses; mules; donkeys; and spices. Until the seventeenth century, however, porcelain may have been the most precious Chinese commodity, of which the truly fine pieces came to be known in Europe as “china.”
By the beginning of the seventeenth century, China was the most sophisticated and the largest of any cohesive realm in the world. For the first time in its history, west European explorers, traders, and missionaries sailed to China in notable numbers. China had quite clearly experienced the rise of consumerism. Upper-class and wealthy Ming homes were decorated with paintings, sculptures, fine furniture, and other luxury goods, partly because of the great influx of silver. All the silver that foreigners had brought to purchase Chinese goods traded at a much higher value in China. Even silver dust was profitable. This reliance would prove detrimental by the end of the Ming dynasty.
Even before the emperor Wanli died in 1620, China had begun to decline. The great flow of silver into China had negative repercussions. When the Portuguese blockaded Moon Harbor in 1623 in an effort to force the Chinese government to open trade officially, Chinese merchants felt the effects of the reduced income of silver. Traditional economic patterns were suddenly plagued by inflation, business speculation, and erratic economic expansion. In addition to these factors, Ming merchants who had effectively distributed luxury items throughout China and developed a sophisticated banking system began to suffer, contributing to economic decline. China had never efficiently or successfully taxed its trade because of the continuing emphasis on agriculture, rice production in particular. Eunuch commissioners and their agents had been increasingly corrupt and often kept the taxes remitted for themselves. Poor flood control and lack of famine relief (the situation was grim enough that cannibalism and selling of women and children was not unheard of) also reduced the amount of arable land that could be taxed.
During the final years of the emperor Wanli’s reign and the successors that followed after his death, Chinese peasants were in crisis. In addition, strife in the West, with the Dutch and British seeking to overtake and destroy the commercial trading operations of the Spanish and Portuguese, caused a substantial decrease in the influx of silver. As a result, specie was hoarded. The value of copper declined sharply as its ratio to silver suffered, and peasants, who were required to pay taxes in silver, had no way of coming up with enough copper to exchange for the precious silver. The internal strife, in combination with increasing taxes, war, the lack of civil improvement projects, and the continuing struggle between commercialism and Confucian morality, set the stage for the Ming to lose control.
During the Ming dynasty, Ming policy established control over the Manchus by bestowing titles of honor on the Manchus and by granting them trading privileges. The Manchu conquest of China occurred following a series of incompetent emperors, oppressive taxation, governmental disunity, and peasant revolts. In Beijing, the Qing dynasty had proclaimed its success and its conquest of China in the spring of 1644. The last Ming remnant was extinguished in Burma (Myanmar) in 1662.
Sanchitha Jayaram
See also: China; Iron; Manchu Dynasty; Silk; Srivijaya Empire; Tea.
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