Maritime Trade Expansion in Ming-Qing China: Achievements and Constraints

François Gipouloux (CCJ-CECMC) a présenté une communication intitulée “Maritime Trade Expansion in Ming-Qing China: Achievements and Constraints” au colloque “Maritime Asia: Securitization of the China Seas”, qui s’est tenu les 14 et15 mai 2018 à l’Institute of East Asian Studies de l’Université de Berkeley (États-Unis).

Abstract

In 1567, Emperor Longqing lifted the ban on maritime activities. Until the collapse of the Ming Dynasty (1644), China’s maritime trade enjoyed an unprecedented growth. This liberalisation will have long-lasting consequences. It breaks the limits imposed by the tributary trade, allows the influx of silver, and accelerates the monetarisation of the Chinese economy. A growing number of merchants from Fujian and Zhejiang were starting long distance overseas trade. This paper will delineate the profile and function of the main actors involved in maritime trade and examine several pre-requisites of China’s foreign trade in late imperial China: the peculiar relations with customs administration and the involvement of merchant officials. It will also draw some general conclusions on the limitations of Chinese economic institutions, and the failure to distinguish the shipping function from the trading function in maritime trade.

Pour en savoir plus sur le colloque “Maritime Asia: Securitization of the China Seas” (programme, résumés et CV des intervenants) : http://ieas.berkeley.edu/events/2018.05.145.html

Monique Abud

Centre d'études sur la Chine moderne et contemporaine, EHESS, Paris, France

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