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This article is the 260th observation article of our bureau. Today we will tell the story of tribute trade.
Text: | Drawing: Sun Green | Editing: Big Green
The winter in the eighth year of Xuande (1433) was very special for the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Zhanji, Emperor Xuanzong of the Ming Dynasty, was particularly excited. In order to reward the envoys from the Arab kingdom, he decided to greet them with unprecedented gifts.
Comrade Zhu Zhanji was filled with joy.
Because in this year, the messengers of the Arab kingdom paid tribute to Daming. This is the most typical auspicious sign in China's ancient books, and it is also a portrayal of the peaceful and prosperous times of Xuande Dynasty.
However, Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty did not know that the scientific name of the god beast that Tianfangguo paid tribute to was now called "Giraffe".
In the Ming Dynasty, Shen Du wrote "Ruiying Qilin Map".
The "god beast" that can be seen everywhere in the Arab kingdom has become the supreme treasure of Daming. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty gave countless treasures to the Arabian Kingdom.
This is just a microcosm of the "tribute system" in the Ming Dynasty. Overseas countries can exchange some ordinary commodities for countless gold, silver and jewels through "tribute form".
Abundant supply and diverse styles.
But the Ming dynasty didn't think it was a loss. Because in their eyes, what China needs more is symbolic suzerainty.
During the Song and Yuan Dynasties, the South China Sea represented trade and interests; In the Ming Dynasty, the South China Sea represented etiquette and tribute. Two completely different political attitudes eventually led to the different development of its maritime transport and national transport.
Comrade Judy's ideal world?
Zheng he's fleet
After Zhu Yuanzhang, a peasant, came to power, he has been working hard to build an ideal country, a peaceful and prosperous time that can be self-sufficient and recycled. Therefore, the ocean is not so important in his eyes.
Out of sensitivity to businessmen and foreign forces, Emperor Hongwu learned the lesson from the demise of the previous dynasty and issued a decree stipulating that seafarers were not allowed to go out to sea without permission. This imperial edict is another blow to China's booming maritime power (the war at the end of the Yuan Dynasty also played a devastating role in the development of maritime undertakings)
Since then, Haimeng floating in the southeast corner of this huge country has been destroyed, and China has returned to the old road of mainland countries.
In the first year of Yongle (1402), Judy captured Nanjing, and then "mobilized money and grain from thirteen provinces in the world" and gathered hundreds of shipbuilders from Fujian, Jiangsu and Zhejiang to build ships.
State-supported navigation
(The base map is from Atlas of Chinese History)
1405, Zheng He led a huge team of about 250 F ships and nearly 30,000 crew members, and began the largest voyage in the history of the world.
Comrade Zheng He is online.
As one of the symbols of the rise of European marine civilization, Diaz led many sailboats to the Cape of Good Hope, which was 86 years later than the time when Zheng He's fleet arrived at the East African coast from Nanjing.
Although China people acted earlier.
But Europeans have moved to another ocean, while China has not.
The basic "routine" of Zheng He's fleet was that every time the fleet went to a country, it had to read letters and present treasures to the local king. Because "rewarding friendship" is the basic principle of the tribute system, every canonized country can get extremely rich rewards. As gifts are often dozens of times more than tributes, some small countries are very keen on tributes.
Zheng he's seven voyages
Zheng He's fleet has a set of strict, efficient and mature management system. The fleet is mainly divided into five parts: treasure ships, horse ships, grain ships, boats and warships.
Treasure ships are equivalent to the flagship of a large fleet. It is the main part of Zheng He's fleet and the largest ship among them.
Horse boat is a ship in the fleet that is responsible for transporting horses and a large number of goods needed or obtained in South Asia.
Zheng He's Treasure Boat (model)
A grain ship is a ship that stores grain.
Seen from the ship, it is a large warship in the fleet. It is the ship where the generals in Zheng He's fleet sit and the residence of the generals.
Warships are the most "fancy" fleet in Zheng He's fleet, and they are also ships that store weapons.
Zheng he's nautical chart
As early as18th century ago, many sailors died of scurvy due to lack of vitamin C, but this did not happen in Zheng He's fleet. This is because the fleet planted bean sprouts in a large number of porcelain transported, which can effectively supplement the vitamin content of the crew.
This method not only protects the safety of porcelain, but also protects the safety of the crew, which is called the innovative wisdom of the ancients.
China people will definitely plant this product on Mars in the future.
However, the process of Zheng He's seven voyages to the Western Seas was not smooth sailing. Since the fleet began to be built, there has been constant opposition. On the one hand, because sailing wastes people and money, it does not conform to the ancestral teachings left by Zhu Yuanzhang; On the other hand, it is not appropriate for a eunuch to represent the national image.
Amid fierce opposition, Zheng He, who went to the Western Ocean for the seventh time, died in Guri, west coast of India, on April 1433 and was buried in Semarang, Indonesia. The death of Zheng He symbolizes the end of an era.
In the following hundreds of years, China never sent a fleet of considerable size. Zheng He's voyages to the West are often regarded by historians as the peak of the development of China's ancient marine civilization.
It is worth noting that, in parallel with the voyage to the West, the government forbids people to go to sea. This is the most striking feature of navigation in the Ming Dynasty: "Only state officials are allowed to set fires, and people are not allowed to light lamps".
When the huge Zheng He fleet sailed in the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean, Emperor Yongle still stipulated that "people are not allowed to go to sea". 1in August of 433, merchants, sailors and fishermen at sea frequently violated the ban on going to sea, and Emperor Xuande ordered coastal officials to "strictly prohibit all activities", further strengthening the policy of sea ban.
Emperor Yongle allowed only state-owned enterprises to go to sea, but not ordinary people.
The policy of forbidding the sea reached the most severe height until Jiajing Emperor, which eventually triggered a series of rebellions such as coastal Japanese chaos.
Under the influence of the sea ban policy, the official monopoly of tribute trade became the only form of overseas trade at that time (except for tribute envoys, foreigners were strictly forbidden to trade privately). With the end of Zheng He's voyage to the West, the foreign tribute trade declined gradually, and only neighboring countries could maintain certain ties.
Depressed market company
There were three shipping companies in the Ming Dynasty: Guangzhou Shipping Company (originally near Taicang, but later moved to Guangzhou because it was too close to Beijing, mainly set up by Southeast Asian countries), Fuzhou Shipping Company (originally Quanzhou Shipping Company, later moved to Fuzhou to suppress Quanzhou's sea power, mainly set up by Ryukyu) and Ningbo Shipping Company (mainly set up by Japan). All three shipping companies have experienced the ups and downs of establishment, abolition and re-establishment after abolition.
In the first year of Jiajing (1522), Japan was in the Warring States period, and daily necessities were heavily dependent on Daming's output. Tribute was the only legal way to obtain goods from China at that time.
Two famous missions clashed on the issue of representation, and finally the "Ningbo for tribute" incident broke out. One of the tasks was to attack the local armory, and the other was to work with Ningbo and Ningbo Shipping Company. Many China officials and civilians were killed in the scuffle.
In the second year of Jiajing (1523), a fleet of Fran? ois (Portugal) broke into Jiangtun, Guangdong Province, demanding that the Guangdong government conduct peaceful trade with it and establish relevant strongholds. The Ming official flatly refused and ordered the Japanese official to expel him, and the "Battle of Xicaowan" broke out. The war ended in the total annihilation of the French and German armies.
"Ningbo Tribute" and "Battle of Xicaowan" both dealt a heavy blow to the tribute trade in Ming Dynasty. These two disputes eventually led to the abolition of three shipping companies. However, due to the barbaric performance of the Japanese mission, except for two tributes in Jiajing 18 and Jiajing 26, Sino-Japanese trade was completely interrupted.
However, neither the Japanese nor the Portuguese gave up the opportunity to trade with China. 1557, Portugal illegally occupied a small town called Mazu, which is now Macau, on the grounds of "borrowing dry land".
Macao's "colony" remained until the demise of the Portuguese Empire.
In the late Ming dynasty, the relative stability of shipping companies was mainly due to three reasons: the degree of chaos in Japan decreased, Japan under the control of Tokugawa shogunate became stable, and Daming needed financial subsidies for its financial shortage.
Of course, the interests of local officials also played a decisive role, and the local demand for maritime trade forced the central government to maintain the existence of the company.
Canceling the city shipping company is not just a simple matter on the surface.
At the same time, the restoration of tribute can also restrict private maritime merchants, which mainly depends on the strong naval strength, and Ming warships are even equipped with weapons such as "mines".
"Preparing for the Japanese government" and "preparing for Japanese officials" were both officials set up to prevent the sea at that time. They not only shoulder the heavy responsibility of fighting against the Japanese pirates, but also have the function of suppressing the folk forces at sea and ensuring the stability of the coast.
Here is a story about a cultural relic of the Ming Dynasty.
Click the picture below to open it.
Qing dynasty tribute
The Qing government inherited the maritime ban policy and shipping company system of the Ming government. But unlike the Ming dynasty, the rulers of the Qing dynasty were not faced with the original situation of the Ming dynasty.
The international environment in which the Ming Dynasty lived was relatively calm, and foreign expansionist forces dared not covet it, but the international environment in the Qing Dynasty became more and more sinister. Many small countries that once paid tribute to China were colonized by foreign countries. By the Qing Dynasty, the tributary system had been completely confined to neighboring countries.
Ryukyu, for example, was gradually eroded by Japan.
The Qing dynasty tried several times to break the sea ban, but in the end it was blocked again because of coastal instability. After all, controllability must be the most important thing to maintain the smooth operation of such a huge country. In the eyes of the Qing emperors, the chaotic coastal political situation was as annoying as that of the Ming Dynasty.
Behind the uncontrollable situation, I am afraid it is the weakness of the Qing navy. This is mainly affected by the following three factors:
First, the positioning of the Qing navy was very low.
The founding of the Ming dynasty was applicable to the water army (such as the crucial Poyang Lake water war, although it was inland), so the rulers of the Ming dynasty attached importance to the construction of the water army. The founding war of the Qing Dynasty mainly relied on foot cavalry. As far as the importance of sea power is concerned, the Qing dynasty is definitely not as good as the Ming dynasty.
Gan Long version Qingqi
However, have you seen the Qianlong version of the navy?
Second, the navy had little effect in the early stage.
In the Ming Dynasty, the war in Japan was serious, and Japan was in a chaotic Warring States period, and the coastal pressure was great. During the Qing Dynasty, Japan adopted a closed-door policy, and Taiwan Province Province was recovered. Therefore, the coast is relatively stable, and the water army has little influence.
But 200 years later,
Japan once again developed into a maritime power and invaded the mainland.
This is unimaginable for the rulers of the Qing Dynasty.
Third, the southeast Han people who are familiar with the ocean are not trusted.
The rulers of the Qing dynasty could never fully trust the Han people, and naturally they would not allow a large number of Han people to go to sea. They are not sure whether these Han Chinese who seem to have surrendered to the Qing Dynasty will master the military power at sea and become an unstable factor. It is better not to develop the water army than to risk unrest for petty profits.
Under the influence of these factors, Qing's ocean thought was very closed, and it was not until westerners sighed that they reached their eloquence.
In a positive sense, a well-functioning tributary system is a sharp weapon for the prosperous central dynasty to maintain the stability around it.
The kingdom of heaven is like the elders of a family, accepting tributes and bowing down from neighboring small countries and giving back more gifts. The apparent loss has actually brought peace and stability to the whole East Asia and even the Indian Ocean region.
However, in a negative sense, the lack of competitive marine environment made the ruler of China indulge in his illusory dream of clearing Haiyan.
China has completely lost the opportunity to go from the mainland to the ocean because of the avoidance of pressure from foreign countries.
China suffered heavy losses at sea in modern times, and both the Ming and Qing Dynasties were essentially responsible. The main carrier of this responsibility is the tribute system.
end
Extended reading
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