Trade, the Sea Prohibition and the “Folangji” 137
for local military expenses. He proposed that levies be imposed on
merchandise brought by foreign vessels, even when their arrival was
not on the approved schedule.^173 This measure would have allowed
tributary states to visit the country as frequently as they desired and
allowed provincial ofβicials some leeway to accommodate private foreign
merchant shipping.
This new βlexibility was most opportune for the βirst Portuguese
diplomatic mission, that otherwise could have been turned away outright.
At this point, it is necessary to refute a long-held assumption that Wu
Tingju handled the Portuguese application for trade in his capacity as
the Provincial Administration Commissioner of Guangdong.^174 In fact,
Wu no longer held the position when the Portuguese arrived at Tunmen
on August 15, 1517. By that date he had already been promoted and
transferred to Huguang province.^175
Wu’s reforms should not be seen as a measure to promote maritime
trade,^176 but simply as a recognition of the reality and an effort to
regularize a trade that was increasingly βlourishing beyond government
control. As a matter of fact, the state would have suffered a great loss of
revenue had the rigid regulations been enforced, because ofβicials would
have been forced to turn away tributary missions that did not arrive
according to the schedule. Furthermore, it was obvious that such rigidity
only encouraged smuggling and irregularities, and at times smugglers
engaged in plundering activities and brought calamity upon the locality.
When the new sovereign, the Jianjing Emperor, ascended the throne,
he decreed on June 13, 1521, that strict Supervisorate regulations should
be re-imposed. The reason given was that the laxity in the existing
practice had given rise to conβlicts among the tribute bearers and caused
local disturbances.^177 Furthermore, in reinstating the restriction, the
reform-minded young sovereign was responding to a recommendation
- Ming shi, juan 325, “Folangji”, p. 8430.
- Dai Yixuan, Ming shi Folangji zhuan, pp. 11‒2.
- Dai Yixuan is correct to point out the confusion in the various sources and
suggest that Commissioner Wu’s reform was not related to the arrival of the
Portuguese mission since it had been proposed earlier. He also suspects that Wu
was no longer in Guangzhou when the Portuguese arrived, but fails to provide
any direct evidence (ibid.). Under the entry of August 1, 1517, two weeks before
the Portuguese arrival in Guangzhou, the Ming shilu clearly records that Wu was
then the Grand Coordinator of Huguang. See MSL: WZ, 188: 5b. - One indication is his opposition in 1525 to the promotion of coastal shipping
and construction of vessels for such purpose. See MSL: SZ, 41: 24a. - Ibid., 2: 14b.