Hai jin

• Chinese: 海禁 (hai jin)

Hai jin, literally "maritime restrictions" or "sea prohibitions," was a system of maritime trade proscriptions put into place during the Ming Dynasty, and lasting from 1371 until 1567.

Chinese overseas activity, including trade, was not cut off entirely, but was merely limited in certain ways; in particular, trade outside of that associated with tribute missions was strongly proscribed. That said, unofficial, or private, trade continued in great volume - just in a less official, less "above board" manner.

The volume of Chinese goods flowing out of China decreased dramatically, increasing the market for goods such as Southeast Asian ceramics and silks. The number of active Chinese merchants on the seas and in the ports similarly decreased, creating greater opportunities for Southeast Asian, Japanese, and especially Ryukyuan merchants to expand their activity and revenues. The end of official tally trade between Ming China and Ashikaga Japan after 1523 allowed for the development of Nihonmachi (Japantowns) in Southeast Asia, and the expansion of Japanese maritime activity in the 16th century, while also providing for the increased prominence of the Kingdom of Ryûkyû as an intermediary or entrepot for Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian goods being provided to Southeast Asian, Japanese, and Chinese markets.

Though piracy (see wakô) is generally cited as the key impetus for the implementation of this policy, Angela Schottenhammer argues that it was instead a new political philosophy initiated by the Hongwu Emperor, and a shift from overseas trade to domestic trade via the Grand Canal which served as the main causes for this shift in policy.

References

• Schottenhammer, Angela. "The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges - China and her neighbors." in Schottenhammer (ed.) The East Asian maritime world, 1400-1800: Its fabrics of power and dynamics of exchanges. Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007. pp1-83.