118 Boundaries and Beyond
The Destruction of the International Mart
at Shuangyu
The most βlourishing centers of trade and smuggling, places that
attracted traders from far and wide, were the Shuangyu Island near
Ningbo (Liampo) in Zhejiang, and Wuyu and Yuegang (Moon Anchorage)
in southern Fujian.^90 Since the early 1520s, the Portuguese had regularly
visited or even remained for a time at Shuangyu.^91 The poor in the region
welcomed the presence of these foreigners, who provided them a living
by purchasing their provisions.^92 Those Chinese merchants who came
with the Portuguese helped arrange for the local merchants to bring
their goods for sale and, as intermediaries between the Portuguese and
the local merchants, reaped a great reward from their role.^93 Shuangyu
“attracted traders of all nationalities, including especially Japanese and
Portuguese, but also a number of Southeast Asian traders”.^94 A memorial
submitted by Zhu Wan in 1548 testiβies that, “treacherous people from
the interior ... gang up with foreigners like the Japanese, Folangji and
those from Pahang and Siam. Their ships are moored at Shuangyu in
Ningbo. The evil people of the interior trade with them and supply them
necessities. This has been a long-standing practice.”^95
Trade at Shuangyu βlourished especially after 1540. In that year, two
former pirate chiefs, Li Guangtou (Li Qi) from Fujian and Xu Dong (Xu
Er) from Anhui, accompanied by more than a hundred fellow-inmates
escaped from a prison in Fujian. They went to the sea and joined Wang
Zhi and others at Shuangyu. Xu Dong had earlier traded in Malacca and
had established close connections with the Portuguese.^96
遠 (1599‒1665) 等選輯 (Orig. 1638; reprint,Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1962),
205/1: 13b.- Boxer, South China, p. xxxiii.
- Zhu Wan’s memorial in 1548 states that the Chinese and other foreigners,
including the Folangji, had occupied Shuangyu for more than 20 years. See
MJSWB, 205/l: 13b, 17b. - Cruz, “Treatise”, pp. 192‒3.
- Ibid., p. 92.
- Higgins, “Piracy”, p. 167.
- MJSWB, 205/1: 13b.
- Zhejiang tongchi 浙江通志 [A general gazetteer of Zhejiang Province] (Jiajing
[1522‒66] ed.), 60: 14a; also Tanaka Takeo 田中健夫, Wokou—haishang lishih
倭寇—海上历史［倭寇·海の歷史］[The Wo pirates—a maritime history],
trans. Yang Hanjiu 楊翰球 (Wuchang: The Wuhan University Press, 1987;
Japanese ed. 1982), p. 67.
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