248 Boundaries and Beyond
the form of gifts and bribes by turning a blind eye to the smuggling.^20 The
above account is quoted again at length to show such illegal transactions:
The inferior Louthias^21 of the sea coast received also great proβit
of this trafβic, for they received great bribes from the one and from
the other, to give them leave to trafβic, and to let them carry and
transport their goods. So that this trafβic was among them a long
while concealed from the king and from the superior Louthias of
the province.... The superior Louthias of the province ... commanded
presently to make a very great armada in the province of Fuque
(Fujian) to drive the pirates from all the coast.... They went to the
coast of Chincheo, where βinding some ships of the Portugals, they
began to βight with them, and in no wise did they permit any wares
to come to the Portugals, who stayed many days there (βighting
sometimes) to see if they could have any remedy to dispatch their
business. But after many days had passed, and seeing that they
had no remedy they determined to go without it. The captains of
the armada knowing this, sent a message to them very secretly by
night, that if they would that any goods should come to them that
they should send them something. The Portugals were very glad
with this message, prepared a great and sumptuous present, and
sent it by night because they were so advised. From thence forward
came many goods unto them, the Louthias making as though they
took no heed thereof, and dissembling with the merchants. And
thus in this way was done the trade for that year, which was the
year 1548.^22Evidently, the most prominent βigure among the “superior Louthias” was
Zhu Wan, Governor (xunfu) of Zhejiang concurrently taking charge of the
Zhejiang-Fujian coastal defense. The “secret message” affair is conβirmed
by Lin Xiyuan in a letter^23 that g ives the same story. Doubtless the βirst
thing Zhu Wan did after his appointment was to exert pressure upon Ke
Qiao, the haidao (Coastguard Commanding Ofβicer), to take action against
smuggling. Ke immediately passed the information to Lin who was not
only an inβluential member of the local gentry but, as was common
practice among the people like him, also had a stake in the seagoing
transactions. Ke knew very well that he could not conceal anything
- T.T. Chang, Sino-Portuguese Trade, p. 70.
- Louthia 老爹 (老爺？), the title of the head of the family, gentry and high-
ranking mandarins. Here it refers to mandarins. - Cruz’s account, in C.R. Boxer, South China in the Sixteenth Century, pp. 192‒3.
- Cited in Chang Wei-hua, “Ming shi folangji, Lusong, Helan, Yidali zhuan zhushi”,
pp. 43‒7.
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