A Study On The Sino-Ryukyu Trade In The Ming And The Qing Dynasties

In the Ming and the Qing Dynasties, Ryukyu had close vassal relationship with China. Since the establishment of official diplomatic relation in 1372, the trade between the two countries has become more and more frequent and holds an important place in the history of China's foreign trade.The Chinese governments at different times of history have provided extremely favorable conditions for the development of the trade between China and Ryukyu, not only giving Ryukyu the most-favored status but offering them a large number of vessels for the trade.In order to expand tribute trade, in 1392, the ruler of the Ming Dynasty sent from Fujian 36 families with advanced techniques in production . As a result , it helped Ryukyu make immense progress in shipbuilding and increase their maritime trade to such a degree that Ryukyu was among the developed maritime trade powers in the worlAThe special diplomatic relation between the two countries was the important factor to the development of Sino-Ryukyu trade, which was no match in the world then. The Sino-Ryukyu trade owed its development to the changeable situation of maritime trade . It gave Ryukyu an extraordinary opportunity in history for Ryukyu-China trade.During the time when ban on maritime trade was strict . official and unofficial trades in China were in depression, and fewer and fewer foreign countries came to China for trade, the Ryukyu trading ships , supported by the Chinese government , were privileged to sail between China and other foreign countries for trade.giving maritime trade a prominent place in history. As the Sino-Ryukyu trade continued to develop , trade institutions such as Fujian Customs Office, Ryukyu Mansion, the Tribute Warehouse, the Interpreters Institute , the Appraisal Department and Embassy in Ryukyu were established accordingly and trade systems were also perfected.The trade between China and Fujian took various forms, of which there were chartered trade, tribute trade ,and private trade. There also appeared some Fuzhou merchants who specially engaged in the trade with Ryukyu. They were known in history as Ryukyu tradesmen. The Sino-Ryukyu trade was rich in contentAccording to historical data, there were as many as 1,184 kinds of commodities.In view of the historical changes of all these commodities, it is evident that the change of the Chinese governments7 policies on maritime trade, the development of Ryukyu social productivity, the restrictions imposed by Kyushu on Ryukyu, Fujian handicraft industry and commercial markets were the very important factors to the changes in Sino-Ryukyu trade structure. Furthermore, an estimation of Sino-Ryukyu trade quota and interest rate will make it visible the gravity of this in Chinese overall maritime trade.The development of the Sino-Ryukyu trade greatly raised Ryukyu's status in the world maritime trade. Especially , during the time when ban on maritime trade in the early Ming Dynasty, the function of Ryukyu's intermediate trade was worth great notice in history. At the same time, the development of Sino-Ryukyu trade played an important role in promoting the development of Fujian handicraft industry and prosperity of commercial markets ?and offering employment opportunities to the inhabitants of Fujian coastal areas .Apparenth/,it gave a boost to Ryukyu's social progress, and above all, to the spread of Chinese culture in Ryukyu.