Study on the"ChuanYin"(Shipping License)of Maritime Trade in the Late Ming Dynasty
After partially lifting the prohibition on martime trade in early years of Longqing era,the government used"chuanyin"(船引)as the trade license to manage maritime trade.The shipping licenses were divided into two categories:for coastal and overseas trade.About coastal trade,the shipping licenses needed to be inspected at Nan'ao island,located between Fujian and Guangdong provinces,and ships must be exchanged at Sha'cheng,located between Fujian and Zhejiang provinces.As for shipping licenses of overseas trade,only merchants from Zhang'zhou and Quan'zhou in Fujian province can apply for them and depart for southeast Asia to trade.And the shipping licenses became the core of the overseas trade quota system,while"chuanyou"(船由)was used as the permit to build ships,thus forming a coordinated and consistent relationship between them.The application,filling out,and review of the shipping licenses has a complete process and specific regulations,with official supervision throughout every step.When ships leave port,the government must inspect goods and ships according to the shipping licenses and the permit of ships.Furthermore,ships must return to the port within a specified period of time for further inspection.The practice of the shipping license is the core of the maritime trade management system,and also the embodiment of maritime trade in late Ming dynasty.
Late Ming DynastyPartially Lifting the Prohibition on Martime Trade in the Early Years of Longqing EraMaritime TradeShipping Licenses of Maritime TradeHaicheng County
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
