Hai jin ( literally "ocean forbidden") was a ban on maritime activities during
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's
Ming DynastyThe Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history," was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and again during the
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
. It is commonly referred to as
"Sea Ban". Intended to curb
piracyPiracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engaged in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the...
, the ban proved ineffective for that purpose, while imposing huge hardships on coastal communities and legitimate sea traders.
Under the Ming Dynasty,
Hongwu EmperorThe Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by the temple name Taizu of the Ming was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
was the first to propose the policy to ban all maritime shipping in 1371.
Hai jin ( literally "ocean forbidden") was a ban on maritime activities during
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
's
Ming DynastyThe Ming Dynasty , or Empire of the Great Ming , was the ruling dynasty of China from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty. The Ming, "one of the greatest eras of orderly government and social stability in human history," was the last dynasty in China ruled by ethnic...
and again during the
Qing DynastyThe Qing Dynasty , also known as the Manchu Dynasty, was the last ruling dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912...
. It is commonly referred to as
"Sea Ban". Intended to curb
piracyPiracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engaged in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the...
, the ban proved ineffective for that purpose, while imposing huge hardships on coastal communities and legitimate sea traders.
Ming policy
Under the Ming Dynasty,
Hongwu EmperorThe Hongwu Emperor , known variably by his given name Zhu Yuanzhang and by the temple name Taizu of the Ming was the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty of China...
was the first to propose the policy to ban all maritime shipping in 1371. The only way that foreigners might visit Ming China was via the
tributeA tribute is wealth one party gives to another as a sign of respect or, as was often case in historical contexts, of submission or allegiance...
system. The policy contained 3 parts.
- Build a navy of 110,000 to defend coastal provinces
- Engage Japanese authorities to curtail the raiders
- Regulate maritime trade to control smuggled
The English word contraband, reported in English since 1529, from Medieval French contrebande "a smuggling," derived via Italian contrabbando from Latin contra "against" + Middle Latin bannum , denotes any item which, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed,...
goods.
The ban was lifted in 1405 and reinstated in 1550, but then lifted in 1578.
Depending on the state of the policy, the earliest possible date is 1368. The latest possible year which terminated the policy is 1567.
Qing policy
Zheng ChenggongKoxinga is the traditional Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong . He was a Ming loyalist and military leader during of the Southern Ming Dynasty that opposed the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty...
was a military leader from the Ming government situated in the coastal region, capable of threatening the Qing. In 1647, another sea ban was issued to limit foreign trade with severe punishment imposed. In 1655 the
"Frontier Shift" was imposed in
GuangdongGuangdong is a province on the southern coast of People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
,
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
,
ZhejiangZhejiang is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. The word Zhejiang was the old name of the Qiantang River, which passes through Hangzhou, the provincial capital...
,
Jiangsu' is a province of the People's Republic of China, located along the east coast of the country. The name comes from jiang, short for the city of Jiangning , and su, for the city of Suzhou...
and
ShandongFor the people of Shandong, see Shandong people' is a coastal province of eastern People's Republic of China. Its abbreviation is Lǔ, after the state of Lu that existed here during the Spring and Autumn Period....
. It required coastal residents to move in land 30–50
liThe li is a traditional Chinese unit of distance, which has varied considerably over time but now has a standardized length of 500 meters or half a kilometer...
(est. 15 to 25 kilometers). All private boats and ships were burned. Small rafts were not allowed at sea. In 1684, the ban was stopped, trading was reopened under
Kangxi EmperorThe Kangxi Emperor was the third Emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the second Qing emperor to rule over China proper, from 1661 to 1722...
. In 1685 a
"Taxation Rule for Sea Trade" was drafted by Yiergetu.
《南明史》History of South Ming:
- On the second month of the first year (1661) of Kangxi, Qing court issued the emperor's decree: The sea shore inhabitants will be ordered to move inland 50 Li (Chinese:里 translation: mile), to curb their links with Taiwan rebels Koxinga
Koxinga is the traditional Western spelling of the popular appellation of Zheng Chenggong . He was a Ming loyalist and military leader during of the Southern Ming Dynasty that opposed the Manchu-ruled Qing Dynasty...
. Soldiers then moved in and set up the boundary: in just three days, all houses were destroyed to the ground, all inhabitants were evacuated.
- On the second year (1662) of Kangxi, Hua Official came to patrol the border, people were moved one more time.
- On the Spring month of the third year (1663) of Kangxi, the inhabitants of five counties — Panyu, Shunde
Shunde District is a district of Foshan prefecture-level city in the Pearl River Delta, Guangdong Province, southeast China.-Administration:...
, XinhuiXinhui is a City district of the City of Jiangmen in the province of Guangdong in southern China. Xinhui has a population of about 735,500.-Administration:...
, DongguanDongguan is a prefecture-level city in central Guangdong province, People's Republic of China....
, ZhongshanZhongshan is a prefecture-level city in the south of the Pearl River Delta in Guangdong province in southern China.-History:...
— were moved again.
- The initial borderline was considered to be too close to the sea; subsequently it was moved inland three times; only then the position of the borderline was settled.
- "Warning was written on notice board: Anyone dare to step over the border line shall be beheaded!"
- "Persons found a few paces over the border line, shall be beheaded instantly."
- "All coastal inhabitants should be living less than 20 Li (Chinese:里 translation: mile) away from the city. Beyond 20 Li, a earthen wall shall be built to serve as a border line; not a single sampan would be allowed to go into the water, no one shall be allowed beyond the border line, any person found shall be executed on the spot. Armed soldiers patrolled the border constantly, would behead anyone caught over the border line.
Pirates
The Ming government first labeled the
Japanese raidersWokou or Japanese pirates were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the thirteenth century onwards...
as "dwarf pirates", and soon discovered many to be renegade Chinese who joined
roninA was a samurai with no lord or master during the feudal period of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege.-Etymology:...
samurai to battle the Ming regime. By the early 17th century, virtually all pirates on China's coast were various Chinese ethnicities such as the
HanHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and, by most modern definitions, the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92 percent of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98 percent of the population of the Republic of China , 75 percent of the...
, though they continued labeled as
wokouWokou or Japanese pirates were pirates who raided the coastlines of China and Korea from the thirteenth century onwards...
.
Forced relocation of coastal population
Controversy
The purpose of the Ocean Prohibition is unclear and disputed; the only certainty is that the law prohibited private ships from sailing in the ocean.
Some have argued that the
Hai jin marked a retreat from maritime activities such as the
voyages of
Zheng HeZheng He , was a Chinese mariner, explorer, diplomat and fleet admiral, who made the voyages to Southeast Asia, South Asia, and East Africa, collectively referred to as the travels of "Eunuch Sanbao to the Western Ocean" or "Zheng He to the Western Ocean", from 1405 to 1433.-Life:Zheng He...
and was symptomatic of a technological decline and stagnation
that would culminate in China's 19th-century humiliation by Europe. This view has been popularized by the Chinese film,
River ElegyRiver Elegy was a six-part documentary shown on China Central Television in 1988 that announced the death of traditional Chinese civilization. The series was strongly supported by the Communist Party leader Zhao Ziyang. It was subsequently denounced by the Communist Party of China and cited as...
.
The ban was also seen as a deceptive proposal, since it prevented the rise of any self-sufficient economies along the coast. Eventually new economies could not be born, and no power was drawn away from the existing imperial courts, thus making this ban a political move.
The law worked a great hardship for coastal dwellers and stimulated
rebellionRebellion is a refusal of obedience or order. It may, therefore, be seen as encompassing a range of behaviors from civil disobedience and mass nonviolent resistance, to violent and organized attempts to destroy an established authority such as the government. Those who participate in rebellions are...
s,
piracyPiracy is a war-like act committed by private parties that engaged in acts of robbery and/or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the...
and a great wave of overseas
migrationHuman migration is movement by humans from one district to another, sometimes over long distances or in large groups....
. Traditionally,
southeast AsiaManila
Bangkok
Ho Chi Minh City
Kuala Lumpur
Singapore
Yangon
Bandung
Hanoi
Surabaya
Taichung
Kaohsiung
Medan|-|}...
was the preferred destination for
Chinese emigrantsWaves of Chinese emigration have happened throughout its history. The mass emigration known as the diaspora that occurred from the 19th century to 1949 was mainly caused by wars and starvation in mainland China, as well as the problems resulting from political corruption...
(see
Liang Dao MingLiang Dao Ming was a 14th century Cantonese Ming abscondee inhabiting Palembang, Srivijaya. According to Ming record, he had thousands of followers and a sizable military troop in Palembang....
).
See also
- Isolationism
Isolationism is a foreign policy which combines a non-interventionist military policy and a political policy of economic nationalism...
- Thirteen Factories
Thirteen Factories was an area of Canton , China where the first foreign trade was allowed in the 18th century since hai jin...
and Canton SystemThe Canton System served as a means for China to control trade with the west within its own country. Seen from the European view, it was a complement to the Old China Trade.-History:...
- Sakoku
was the foreign relations policy of Japan under which no foreigner could enter nor could any Japanese leave the country on penalty of death. The policy was enacted by the Tokugawa shogunate under Tokugawa Iemitsu through a number of edicts and policies from 1633-1639 and remained in effect until...
(鎖国) — policy of maritime trade restrictions in TokugawaThe , or , is a division of Japanese history running from 1603 to 1868 and is the premodern era. The period marks the governance of the Edo or Tokugawa shogunate, which was officially established in 1603 by the first Edo shogun Tokugawa Ieyasu. The period ended with the Meiji Restoration, the...
Japan