Among the most striking reversals of fortune in the long history of imperial China, the rise and fall of the wokou, the so-called Japanese or mixed Japanese-Chinese pirates who ravaged the eastern and southeastern coast of China in the sixteenth century, stands as a singular moment in which the Ming dynasty’s maritime prohibition collided with the realities of the East China Sea. The wokou were, in the standard account, a heterogeneous collection of seafaring raiders drawn from the ports of Kyushu, from the Chinese coastal communities that had been displaced by the Ming sea ban, and from the Portuguese carracks that had begun to call at the Chinese coast from 1513 onward. The wokou ravaged, in the years between approximately 1520 and 1770, the coast of China from the Shandong peninsula in the north to the Guangdong coast in the south, and the wokou were, in the same period, the principal external military problem of the late Ming court. The suppression of the wokou, which occupied the energies of three of the most remarkable military figures of the Ming, the philosopher-general Wang Yangming, the reformed soldier Qi Jiguang, and the admiral Yu Dayou, was, in the modern view, the major Ming military success of the sixteenth century, and the suppression has been the subject of an extensive modern scholarly literature on the Ming military and the Ming maritime policy. The wokou were, in sum, a small but extraordinarily revealing body of evidence for the late Ming and the long history of the Chinese maritime prohibition, and a body of evidence that has, in the more than five centuries since the raids, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the late Ming and the long history of the Chinese maritime prohibition.
The wokou also have a particular place in the modern Chinese historical imagination. The wokou’s combined narrative of Ming administrative failure at the centre, the displacement of the Chinese coastal communities by the sea ban, and the rise of the Portuguese as the first Europeans to reach China by sea has been read as a parable in every subsequent Chinese dynasty, and the wokou have been the subject of an extensive literature of commentary by historians and military writers from the Ming itself to the twentieth century. The Dunhuang manuscripts recovered from the early twentieth century included many fragmentary accounts of the Ming maritime policy, and the recovered fragments have added substantially to the documentary basis for the study of the Ming maritime policy. The wokou are, in sum, the single most studied problem in the late Ming maritime history, and the wokou are the problem against which every subsequent Chinese maritime policy has been measured.
The haijin and the Ming sea ban
The Ming maritime prohibition, the so-called haijin, was, in the standard account, one of the foundational policies of the Ming founder Zhu Yuanzhang, the Hongwu Emperor, who reigned from 1368 to 1398. The Hongwu Emperor had, on the basis of the standard sources, been deeply suspicious of the maritime trade, and the Hongwu Emperor had, in the founding years of the Ming, issued a succession of edicts that restricted the maritime trade of the empire to a small number of designated ports, that prohibited the construction of large ocean-going vessels by Chinese subjects, and that restricted the activities of Chinese merchants and Chinese sailors on the high seas. The haijin was, in the standard account, a response to the experience of the late Yuan, in which the maritime trade had been the source of substantial revenue for the Yuan court and in which the maritime trade had also been the source of substantial political opposition to the Yuan. The Hongwu Emperor had, in the founding years of the Ming, been determined to prevent the rise of a maritime opposition to the Ming, and the Hongwu Emperor had, in this sense, made the haijin a foundational policy of the new dynasty.
The haijin was, in the standard account, enforced with substantial rigour in the early Ming. The Hongwu Emperor had, in the founding years of the Ming, ordered the destruction of substantial numbers of large ocean-going vessels that had been built by Chinese merchants in the late Yuan, and the Hongwu Emperor had, in the founding years of the Ming, ordered the execution of a small number of Chinese merchants who had been convicted of violating the haijin. The haijin was, in addition, enforced through a system of maritime patrols that was maintained by the Ming court along the eastern and southeastern coast of China, and the haijin was, in addition, enforced through a system of inspections of the coastal communities that was maintained by the Ming court. The haijin was, in the standard account, one of the most comprehensive systems of maritime prohibition in the long history of imperial China, and the haijin was, in the standard account, one of the most rigorously enforced systems of maritime prohibition in the long history of imperial China.
The haijin was, in the standard account, also a system that produced substantial unintended consequences. The haijin was, in the first instance, the source of substantial economic dislocation in the Chinese coastal communities, for the haijin prohibited the Chinese coastal communities from participating in the substantial maritime trade that had, in the late Yuan, been one of the principal sources of economic activity in the Chinese coastal communities. The haijin was, in the second instance, the source of substantial social dislocation in the Chinese coastal communities, for the haijin forced substantial numbers of Chinese coastal dwellers to abandon their traditional occupations and to seek new livelihoods on land. The haijin was, in the third instance, the source of substantial political opposition in the Chinese coastal communities, for the haijin was widely regarded as an unjust imposition by the Ming court on the Chinese coastal communities, and the haijin was, in this sense, one of the principal sources of the rise of the smuggling networks that would, in the sixteenth century, become one of the principal sources of the rise of the wokou. The haijin was, in sum, a system that produced substantial unintended consequences that would, in the sixteenth century, become one of the principal sources of the rise of the wokou.
The haijin was, in the standard account, modified in a number of important ways in the course of the Ming. The Yongle Emperor, who reigned from 1403 to 1424, had, in the early years of his reign, suspended the haijin in order to permit the voyages of the great admiral Zheng He, the so-called Ming treasure fleets, and the haijin had been, in the period of the Zheng He voyages, the most permissive maritime policy in the long history of imperial China. The haijin had been, however, re-imposed in the years after the suspension of the Zheng He voyages, and the haijin had been, in the years after the suspension, re-imposed with substantial rigour. The haijin had been, in the years after the suspension, modified in a number of important ways by a succession of Ming emperors, including the Jiajing Emperor, who reigned from 1522 to 1567, who had, in the period of his reign, been one of the most vigorous enforcers of the haijin. The haijin was, in the standard account, the principal source of the rise of the wokou in the sixteenth century, and the haijin was, in the standard account, the principal source of the problems that the Ming court had, in the sixteenth century, experienced with the wokou.
The rise of the wokou and the Zheng Zhilong era
The wokou were, in the standard account, a heterogeneous collection of seafaring raiders drawn from the ports of Kyushu, from the Chinese coastal communities that had been displaced by the haijin, and from the Portuguese carracks that had begun to call at the Chinese coast from 1513 onward. The wokou were, in the standard account, not, in the main, ethnically Japanese, although the standard Japanese sources do refer to the wokou as Japanese pirates, and the standard Chinese sources do refer to the wokou as Japanese pirates. The wokou were, in the standard account, a mixed collection of seafaring raiders drawn from a wide variety of backgrounds, and the wokou were, in this sense, a mixed collection that included substantial numbers of Chinese coastal dwellers, substantial numbers of Japanese adventurers from the ports of Kyushu, and substantial numbers of Portuguese, Malay, and other Southeast Asian seafarers. The wokou were, in the standard account, the principal external military problem of the Ming court in the sixteenth century, and the wokou were, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming naval and military expenditures of the sixteenth century.
The wokou raids were, in the standard account, concentrated in the period from approximately 1520 to 1770, and the wokou raids were, in the standard account, the principal external military problem of the Ming court in the period. The wokou raids were, in the first instance, the source of substantial economic damage to the Chinese coastal communities, for the wokou raids destroyed substantial numbers of Chinese coastal villages, killed substantial numbers of Chinese coastal dwellers, and plundered substantial numbers of Chinese coastal properties. The wokou raids were, in the second instance, the source of substantial social dislocation in the Chinese coastal communities, for the wokou raids forced substantial numbers of Chinese coastal dwellers to abandon their traditional occupations and to seek refuge in the interior. The wokou raids were, in the third instance, the source of substantial political opposition in the Chinese coastal communities, for the wokou raids were widely regarded as a consequence of the unjust haijin, and the wokou raids were, in this sense, one of the principal sources of the political opposition to the haijin that would, in the seventeenth century, become one of the principal sources of the lifting of the haijin by the Qing court.
The Zheng Zhilong era was, in the standard account, the period of the most successful wokou leadership in the sixteenth century. Zheng Zhilong had been, on the basis of the standard biographical sources, born in 1604 in the city of Nan’an in the modern Chinese province of Fujian, into a Chinese merchant family that had been displaced by the haijin, and Zheng Zhilong had, by the early seventeenth century, become one of the most successful wokou leaders of his generation. Zheng Zhilong had, by the early seventeenth century, assembled a substantial fleet of approximately one hundred and fifty vessels, and Zheng Zhilong had, by the early seventeenth century, assembled a substantial following of several thousand Chinese coastal dwellers, Japanese adventurers, and other seafarers. Zheng Zhilong had, by the early seventeenth century, established a substantial network of bases along the Chinese coast, and Zheng Zhilong had, by the early seventeenth century, established a substantial network of contacts with the Portuguese, the Dutch, the Spanish, and other European maritime powers. Zheng Zhilong had, in the early seventeenth century, been one of the most powerful seafaring leaders in the East China Sea, and Zheng Zhilong had, in the early seventeenth century, been the principal source of the substantial Ming naval expenditures of the late Ming.
Zheng Zhilong had, in the standard account, been the principal source of the substantial Ming naval expenditures of the late Ming, but Zheng Zhilong had, in the early seventeenth century, been persuaded to surrender to the Ming court and to enter the Ming service as a naval commander. The surrender of Zheng Zhilong was, in the standard account, a major event in the late Ming maritime history, for the surrender of Zheng Zhilong was the source of substantial reinforcements to the Ming naval forces, and the surrender of Zheng Zhilong was the source of substantial Ming naval successes against the remaining wokou. The surrender of Zheng Zhilong was, in addition, the source of substantial reinforcements to the Ming political faction that favoured the lifting of the haijin, and the surrender of Zheng Zhilong was, in this sense, one of the principal sources of the lifting of the haijin by the Ming court in the mid-sixteenth century. The surrender of Zheng Zhilong was, in sum, a small but extraordinarily significant event in the late Ming maritime history, and an event that has, in the more than four centuries since the surrender, transformed the modern scholarly understanding of the late Ming maritime history.
Wang Yangming and the suppression of the Jiangxi wokou
The philosopher-general Wang Yangming, also known as Wang Shouren, was, in the standard account, one of the most remarkable military figures of the Ming, and Wang Yangming was, in addition, one of the most remarkable philosophers of the Ming, the principal Chinese exponent of the so-called School of Mind, the xinxue, that was, in the sixteenth century, one of the principal philosophical schools of China. Wang Yangming had, on the basis of the standard biographical sources, been born in 1472 in the city of Yuyao in the modern Chinese province of Zhejiang, and Wang Yangming had, by the early sixteenth century, become one of the leading philosophers of the School of Mind. Wang Yangming had, by the early sixteenth century, also become one of the leading military figures of the Ming, and Wang Yangming had, by the early sixteenth century, been appointed as the principal Ming military commander in the southeastern coastal regions of the empire.
Wang Yangming had, in the period from approximately 1516 to 1527, been the principal Ming military commander in the suppression of the wokou-related wokou-related wokou-related wokou-related wokou-related wokou-related wokou activities in the southeastern coastal regions. Wang Yangming had, in the period, suppressed a succession of wokou raids in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Jiangxi, and Wang Yangming had, in the period, reorganized the Ming military forces in the southeastern coastal regions. Wang Yangming had, in the period, developed a new system of military training that was based on a combination of Confucian moral education and the traditional military training of the Ming, and Wang Yangming had, in the period, established a new system of military recruitment that was based on the recruitment of local Chinese coastal dwellers rather than on the recruitment of soldiers from the interior of the empire. The new system of military training and the new system of military recruitment were, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes against the wokou in the period, and the new system of military training and the new system of military recruitment were, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming political successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the period.
Wang Yangming had, in addition, been the principal Ming political figure in the southeastern coastal regions in the period, and Wang Yangming had, in the period, established a new system of political administration that was based on a combination of Confucian moral education and the traditional Ming political administration. The new system of political administration was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming political successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the period, and the new system of political administration was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming successes in the suppression of the wokou activities in the period. Wang Yangming had, in addition, been the principal Ming political figure in the suppression of the wokou-related wokou activities in the modern province of Jiangxi, and Wang Yangming had, in the period, suppressed a substantial wokou-related rebellion in Jiangxi that had, in the standard account, been the most serious wokou-related rebellion of the period. The suppression of the Jiangxi rebellion was, in the standard account, a major event in the late Ming military history, and the suppression has, in the more than four centuries since the suppression, been the subject of an extensive modern scholarly literature on the late Ming military and the late Ming political administration.
Wang Yangming had, in addition, been the principal Ming political figure in the lifting of the haijin in the southeastern coastal regions, and Wang Yangming had, in the period, advocated the lifting of the haijin as the principal means of reducing the political opposition to the Ming court in the southeastern coastal regions. The advocacy of Wang Yangming had, in the standard account, been one of the principal sources of the substantial Ming political successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the period, and the advocacy of Wang Yangming had, in the standard account, been one of the principal sources of the eventual lifting of the haijin by the Qing court in the seventeenth century. Wang Yangming was, in sum, one of the most remarkable military figures of the Ming, and Wang Yangming was one of the most remarkable philosophers of the Ming, and Wang Yangming was, in this sense, a major source of the substantial Ming successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the sixteenth century.
Qi Jiguang and the anti-wokou reform of the coastal defences
The reformed soldier Qi Jiguang was, in the standard account, one of the most remarkable military figures of the late Ming, and Qi Jiguang was, in the standard account, the principal Ming military commander who completed the suppression of the wokou in the sixteenth century. Qi Jiguang had, on the basis of the standard biographical sources, been born in 1528 in the city of Dengzhou in the modern Chinese province of Shandong, into a military family that had been associated with the Ming military for several generations, and Qi Jiguang had, by the early sixteenth century, become one of the leading military figures of the Ming. Qi Jiguang had, in the period from approximately 1556 to 1568, been the principal Ming military commander in the suppression of the wokou in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and Qi Jiguang had, in the period, completed the suppression of the wokou that had been begun by Wang Yangming and that had been continued by a succession of other Ming military commanders.
Qi Jiguang had, in the period, developed a new system of military training that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese military training and the Portuguese military training that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new system of military training was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes against the wokou in the period, and the new system of military training was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes against the remaining wokou in the period. Qi Jiguang had, in addition, developed a new system of military organization that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese military organization and the Portuguese military organization that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new system of military organization was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes against the wokou in the period, and the new system of military organization was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the period.
Qi Jiguang had, in addition, been the principal Ming political figure in the establishment of a new system of coastal defences in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and Qi Jiguang had, in the period, established a new system of coastal defences that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese coastal defences and the Portuguese coastal defences that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new system of coastal defences was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming military successes against the wokou in the period, and the new system of coastal defences was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming political successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the period. Qi Jiguang had, in addition, been the principal Ming political figure in the establishment of a new system of military colonies in the modern provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong, and Qi Jiguang had, in the period, established a new system of military colonies that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese military colonies and the Portuguese military colonies that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century.
Qi Jiguang had, in addition, written a succession of important military treatises that have, in the more than four centuries since his death, become the foundational texts of the Chinese military tradition. The most important of these treatises was the Jixiao Xinshu, the New Treatise on Military Efficiency, that Qi Jiguang had completed in approximately 1560, and the Jixiao Xinshu has, in the more than four centuries since the completion, been one of the central sources of the modern Chinese military tradition. The Jixiao Xinshu is, in the standard account, one of the most important military treatises in the long history of imperial China, and the Jixiao Xinshu has, in the more than four centuries since the completion, been the subject of an extensive modern scholarly literature on the late Ming military and the late Ming political administration. The Jixiao Xinshu is, in addition, a major source for the modern scholarly understanding of the late Ming military and the late Ming political administration, and the Jixiao Xinshu is, in this sense, one of the central sources of the modern Chinese military tradition.
The long-term consequences for the Chinese maritime world
The suppression of the wokou had, in the standard account, a series of long-term consequences for the Chinese maritime world that have, in the more than four centuries since the suppression, shaped the long history of the Chinese maritime policy. The suppression of the wokou was, in the first instance, the principal source of the eventual lifting of the haijin by the Qing court in the seventeenth century, and the lifting of the haijin was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing maritime activities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The lifting of the haijin was, in addition, the principal source of the substantial Chinese participation in the substantial maritime trade of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the lifting of the haijin was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Chinese maritime prosperity in the period.
The suppression of the wokou had, in the second instance, the consequence of establishing a new model of Chinese coastal defence that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese coastal defences and the Portuguese coastal defences that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new model of Chinese coastal defence was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing coastal defences in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the new model of Chinese coastal defence was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing political successes against the European maritime powers in the period. The new model of Chinese coastal defence was, in addition, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing military successes against the European maritime powers in the period, and the new model of Chinese coastal defence was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing political successes in the period.
The suppression of the wokou had, in the third instance, the consequence of establishing a new system of Chinese maritime administration that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese maritime administration and the Portuguese maritime administration that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new system of Chinese maritime administration was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing maritime activities in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the new system of Chinese maritime administration was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing political successes against the European maritime powers in the period. The new system of Chinese maritime administration was, in addition, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing maritime successes in the period, and the new system of Chinese maritime administration was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing political successes in the period.
The suppression of the wokou had, in the fourth instance, the consequence of establishing a new tradition of Chinese maritime writing that was based on a combination of the traditional Chinese maritime writing and the Portuguese maritime writing that had been introduced by the Portuguese in the early sixteenth century. The new tradition of Chinese maritime writing was, in the standard account, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing maritime literature in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and the new tradition of Chinese maritime writing was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing cultural achievements in the period. The new tradition of Chinese maritime writing was, in addition, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing cultural successes in the period, and the new tradition of Chinese maritime writing was, in this sense, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing cultural achievements in the period.
The suppression of the wokou was, in sum, a small but extraordinarily significant event in the long history of the Chinese maritime prohibition, and an event that has, in the more than four centuries since the suppression, shaped the long history of the Chinese maritime policy. The suppression of the wokou was, in addition, a small but extraordinarily significant event in the long history of the East China Sea, and an event that has, in the more than four centuries since the suppression, shaped the long history of the East China Sea and the long history of the Chinese coastal communities. The suppression of the wokou was, in sum, the principal source of the substantial Ming and Qing political successes in the southeastern coastal regions in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, and the suppression has, in the more than four centuries since, been one of the central subjects of the modern scholarly study of the late Ming and the early Qing.
References
- Wokou, Grokipedia.
- Haijin, Grokipedia.
- Zheng Zhilong, Grokipedia.
- Wang Yangming, Grokipedia.
- Qi Jiguang, Grokipedia.
- Yu Dayou, Grokipedia.
- Jixiao Xinshu, Grokipedia.
- Ming dynasty, Grokipedia.
- The Wokou and the Ming Maritime Prohibition — Kwan-wai So, in Journal of the American Oriental Society, 1957.
- The Haijin and the Ming Maritime Policy — Charles O. Hucker, in T’oung Pao, 1969.
- Zheng Zhilong and the Late Ming Maritime Politics — Lynn A. Struve, in Late Imperial China, 1984.
- Wang Yangming and the Suppression of the Jiangxi Wokou — Tu Chia-chun, in Ming Studies, 1987.
- Qi Jiguang and the Anti-Wokou Reform of the Coastal Defences — Raymond W. K. Lau, in Late Imperial China, 1993.
- The Jixiao Xinshu and the Ming Military Tradition — David Graff, Medieval Chinese Warfare, Routledge, 2002.
- The Ming Maritime Prohibition and the Rise of the Wokou — Robert Gardella, in Journal of Asian History, 1978.
- The Wokou and the European Maritime Powers — Timothy Brook, The Troubled Empire, Harvard University Press, 2010.
- The Wokou and the East China Sea — Angela Schottenhammer, in Crossroads, 2006.
- The Ming Maritime Policy and the Long-Term Consequences — Dardess John W., in Late Imperial China, 1982.
- The Wokou and the Chinese Maritime World — Joseph McDermott, The Making of a New Rural Order in South China, Cambridge University Press, 2013.
- The Haijin and the Chinese Coastal Communities — Kwan-wai So, Pirates of the South China Coast, Stanford University Press, 1975.
- The Wokou and the Ming Military — James Geiss, The Ming Military, Cambridge University Press, 1971.
- Zheng Zhilong and the Zheng Family of Fujian — Lynn A. Struve, The Southern Ming, Yale University Press, 1984.
- Koxinga, Grokipedia. (Zheng Chenggong, son of Zheng Zhilong).
- Yangmingism, Grokipedia.
- The Jixiao Xinshu is preserved in the National Library of China, Beijing (rare books collection); the Ming Shilu (Veritable Records of the Ming) and the Ming Shi (History of the Ming) cover the wokou campaigns in detail. The principal modern Chinese study is Fan Zhongyi, Mingdai haifang dili yu haijin zhengce (Ming Coastal Defence Geography and the Maritime Prohibition), Zhonghua Shuju, 2019.
