The Research On Safety Of Maritime Silk Road During Ming And Qing Dynasties

"Maritime Silk Road",which has existed for a long time in ancient China, refers to a symbol of the silk trade and contains the sea lines of foreign trade and cultural exchanges and the concomitant economic and trade relationships. Maritime Silk Road formed in the Qin and Han dynasties, developed in the Th ree Kingdoms and Sui dynasties, prospered in the T ang and Song dynasties, and tran sformed in the Ming and Qing dynasties. Because the scope of this article is limited to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the focus will be on the transition of Maritim e Silk Ro ad during this period. Early Ming Dynasty experienced a transient peak of Zheng He’ s voyages to the West. From the middle Ming dynasty, owing to the com plex factors of so ciety, governors adopted the isolationist policies, which ser iously obstruct the develop ment of the silk rou te by sea. W ith the development of Maritime Silk Road, m aritime trade security issues are inc reasingly outstanding. Ignore the natural factors, this article m ainly analyzes the technical and human factors. Technical factors mainly refer to the shipbuilding technology. The ship is the most basic form of m aritime trade cond itions. The sa fety of ship’s construction directly affects the success of maritime trade. Before the Ming and Qing dynasties, due to the government’s attention,shipbuilding technology has been in the leading level in the world. During the Ming and Qing d ynasties, governors committed to combating coastal pirates, did not attach impor tance to marine development, and always executed the ban on maritime trade. After Zheng He’ s voyages, the shipbuilding technology has always been a point of stagnation and even retrogression. While the ban on maritime trade was executed, advanced ideas and technology was also blocked outside the country. The western countries entered the Age of Discove ry. The development of the East and W est each entered two completely different tracks, so that China was defeated by the m ilitary advantage of western countries in the Opiu m War. Human factors refer to the coastal pirates. Although the piracy and m aritime coexist, the prevalence of pirates in the M ing and Qing Dynasties even threatened the gov ernor’s ruling. During the Ming and Qing Dynasties,the pirates outbroken three times, but the government could not defeat piracy fundamentally. To protect 21 Maritim e Silk Road, we should strengthen powerful sea length, take part in the international cooperation on Maritime Silk Road.