Changes

==Relations with Ryûkyû==

==Relations with Ryûkyû==

When Fuzhou became the home of the ''shibosi'' (office supervising maritime trade) in 1470, it also became the designated port for Ryukyuans entering China on official business (chiefly, related to the paying of [[tribute]]). The ''[[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]]'' (the headquarters provided by the city for Ryukyuan visitors) is believed, however, to have already been in operation at that time, having been first established around 1430-1440. Roughly 200,000 Ryukyuans are believed to have traveled to China over the course of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (the vast majority of them entering via Fuzhou), while a total of 320,000 are believed to have journeyed to Southeast Asian polities during the Ming Dynasty alone.<ref>Takara Kurayoshi 高良倉吉. ''Hosetsu to sankô mondai - Ryûkyû ôkoku-shi no kadai'' 「補説と参考問題」『琉球王国史の課題』. Hirugi-sha ひるぎ社, 1989.</ref> This included officials and students, as well as merchants and, on occasion, castaways who, for logistical and legal reasons often passed through Fuzhou after making shore or being found/rescued.

When Fuzhou became the home of the ''shibosi'' (office supervising maritime trade) in 1470, it also became the designated port for Ryukyuans entering China on official business (chiefly, related to the paying of [[tribute]]). The ''[[Ryukyu-kan|Ryûkyû-kan]]'' (the headquarters provided by the city for Ryukyuan visitors) is believed, however, to have already been in operation at that time, having been first established around 1430-1440. The city also contained halls known in Japanese as the ''Kaido-kan'' and ''Kokushi-kan'' which served similar purposes of hosting and housing foreign dignitaries, scholars, and students. Roughly 200,000 Ryukyuans are believed to have traveled to China over the course of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (the vast majority of them entering via Fuzhou), while a total of 320,000 are believed to have journeyed to Southeast Asian polities during the Ming Dynasty alone.<ref>Takara Kurayoshi 高良倉吉. ''Hosetsu to sankô mondai - Ryûkyû ôkoku-shi no kadai'' 「補説と参考問題」『琉球王国史の課題』. Hirugi-sha ひるぎ社, 1989.</ref> This included officials and students, as well as merchants and, on occasion, castaways who, for logistical and legal reasons often passed through Fuzhou after making shore or being found/rescued.

Tributary relations between Qing Dynasty China and the Ryûkyû Kingdom ended with the [[Ryukyu Shobun|abolition of the latter in the 1870s]], and for a brief period Fuzhou became a center of Ryukyuan activism as a small group of prominent Ryukyuan figures petitioned (though ultimately unsuccessfully) the Chinese government to do something to oppose the Japanese takeover of the Ryukyus.

Tributary relations between Qing Dynasty China and the Ryûkyû Kingdom ended with the [[Ryukyu Shobun|abolition of the latter in the 1870s]], and for a brief period Fuzhou became a center of Ryukyuan activism as a small group of prominent Ryukyuan figures petitioned (though ultimately unsuccessfully) the Chinese government to do something to oppose the Japanese takeover of the Ryukyus.