Military conquests of the Ming dynasty

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The military conquests of the Chinese Ming dynasty was the attempt of the dynasty to hold on to power during the early Ming.

Early in his reign, Zhu Yuanzhang (Hongwu Emperor), the founder of the Ming dynasty, laid down instructions to later generations that included advice to the Chief Military Commission on those countries that supposedly posed a threat to the Ming polity, and those that did not. He stated that those to the north were dangerous, while those to the south did not constitute a threat, and were not to be subjected to attack. Yet, the south suffered more from Ming expansion over the following century.

In 1369, not long after Zhu Yuanzhang founded his new dynasty, he sent proclamations for the instruction of the countries of

In 1387, the Hongwu Emperor prepared for an attack on the Baiyi (Möng Mao) polity to the south. Under the command of Mu Ying, the Ming forces attacked the Baiyi with firearms, taking a claimed 30,000 heads.[2] Si Lunfa was subsequently dunned for all the costs of the military expedition against him, as a quid pro quo for recognizing him as ruler of the Baiyi.

The new polities "created" (or recognized) in Yunnan under the first Ming ruler were known to the Ming as "native offices" (tu si), since initially they were usually left under the control of the hereditary rulers, by which the Ming exerted control, and engaged in economic expropriation through tribute demands and other levies. Che-li (Jinghong), for example, was established as a "native office" in 1377.

The Tai-Mao polity of Lu-Chuan/Ping-Mian was demanded by Ming's court for 15,000 horses, 500 elephants and 30,000 cattle from the ruler Si Lunfa in 1397. Subsequently, large silver demands (silver, in lieu of labor) were levied on Lu-Chuan. The annual amount of 6,900 Liang of silver was initially set, and then it was almost tripled to 18,000 Liang. The levy was reduced to the original amount. Other levies were applied to the other polities, enforced through the use or threat of military force.

The region which became known as

In the early 1370s, the coastal people in China were forbidden to cross the oceans, other than on official missions. Fujian military officials, who had privately sent people across the seas to engage in trade, were punished not long thereafter. The prohibition was reinstated in 1381 and 1384, and an imperial command "strictly prohibiting people from having contact with foreigners" was promulgated in 1390. The frequency of these prohibitions was deemed not very effective, and the reason given for the imperial command was that "at this time in Guangdong/Guangxi, Zhejiang and Fujian, there were foolish people who did not know of these prohibitions, and frequently engaged in private trade with foreigners". The prohibition on going abroad for trade privately was reiterated in 1397. Whether these prohibitions actually affected maritime trade between southern China and Southeast Asia is not immediately apparent from the Ming texts.

Knowledge of the reign of the Hongwu Emperor's successor, the Jianwen Emperor (1399–1402), has been almost entirely lost to us as a result of the civil war and coup d'état launched by his uncle, Zhu Di (Yongle Emperor). In the aftermath, Zhu Di tried to eliminate all evidence of his nephew's reign from the historical record.

The period of Yongle, as Zhu Di was to name his reign, is documented. After his father comes to power, Zhu Di orders the Ministry of Rites to send demands to foreign polities, requiring them to bring tribute to the court. In the same year, he also established the Maritime Trade Supervisorates in the provinces of Zhejiang, Fujian, and Guangdong to control sea trade with all foreign polities. In 1405, hostels were established under each of the above-noted provinces to look after the foreign envoys who came from abroad.

The new emperor was anxious to advertise the culture of the Ming to the rest of the known world; he distributed 10,000 copies of the

from this Chinese text have appeared in Southeast Asian literature has not yet, as it appears, been studied. Court calendars were also distributed to Southeast Asian polities by the Ministry of Rites.

Invasion of Vietnam

See also:

Fourth Chinese domination of Vietnam

A number of major military expeditions into Southeast Asia occurred during the Yongle reign. In 1406, in an effort to increase Ming influence and power in

Annam

("Pacified South"), this 21-year period was one of almost incessant fighting.

As soon as the Ming forces took control of the polity, changes were instituted. In the first year, 7,600 tradesmen and

counties, all administered in a Chinese mode but often staffed by Vietnamese. Regardless of the extent to which political hegemony was thrown off in the late 1420s, when the Ming were driven out, the administrative legacy of the Chinese occupation must have had a major and wide-ranging impact on the society of the country. In a claimed effort to further inculcate Chinese ways, Confucian

schools, which existed already from several hundred years before, were re-established in Chinese style, and Chinese were appointed to teach in them. In an attempt to assimilate the country into the Chinese cultural sphere, this period saw an invaluable part of Vietnamese academic and historical works destroyed by the Ming authorities.

In 1407 a new Maritime Trade Supervisorate was established at

Xinping (新平) and Shunhua

(順化) in 1408. Thus, within two years, three maritime trade supervisors had been created in this new province, the same number as existed in the rest of China. This was a clear indication of the desire of the Ming to control maritime trade to the south and exploit the economic advantage of such control.

Other economic exploitation involved

aromatics, and the imposition of monopolies on gold, silver, salt, iron, and fish. In addition, eunuchs were sent to Jiaozhi with the task of collecting treasure for the Emperor, but an equal amount of treasure collection appears to have been done for themselves. The rapaciousness of the eunuchs, at least as depicted in Ming accounts, was such that even the emperors intervened in appointments. The Hongxi Emperor objected to the re-sending of the eunuch Ma Qi to Annam, when he attempted to have himself reappointed to control the gold, silver, aromatics and pearls

of the region in 1424.

By 1414, the Ming was sufficiently well-entrenched in the northern Annam to allow it to push further, establishing four further subprefectures in a region south of Annam, which had formerly been administered by the

Nguyễn Lords

at least two centuries later. The levies and demands made on the new province by the Ming meant that its capacity to feed itself suffered. On numerous occasions in the 1420s, it was necessary to arrange transport of grain from Guangdong and Guangxi into Jiaozhi. Such deficiencies would have had profound effects on the social structure and social stability of the region, compounded by warfare and the imposition of Chinese norms. The range of colonial policies the Ming pursued had wide-ranging effects, both on the society at the time, as well as on the future development of the Vietnamese state.

Conquest of Tai polities

Prior to Yongle's invasion of Ðại Ngu in 1406, he engaged himself in further expansion into the polities of Yunnan. By 1403, he had created new military guards on the distant border, with two independent

Lanna

(Babai).

After some sort of recognition or acceptance of the superior position of the Ming court, Chinese clerks or registry managers were appointed to the "native offices" to "assist" the traditional ruler, and ensure that Ming interests were served. Chinese clerks were appointed to carry out Chinese language duties in the native offices of Yunnan in 1404, while similar circulating-official clerk positions (to be filled by Chinese) were established in seven Chief's Offices in Yunnan in 1406. The "native office" polities were then subject to demands in terms of gold and silver in lieu of labor (差發銀/金), administered by the Ministry of Revenue, and were also required to provide troops to assist in further Ming campaigns. Mubang, for example, was required to send its troops against Lanna (Babai) in 1406.

Conquest of Hami

See also: Ming–Turpan conflict and Kara Del

The Ming–Turpan conflict were a series of conflicts between the Ming dynasty and the Central Asian-based Khanate of Moghulistan (later its division the Turpan Khanate) that erupted due to disputes over borders, trade and internal succession to the throne of Moghulistan (or Turpan). Starting with the Yongle reign, Ming China controlled portions of eastern Xinjiang including Hami (as the suzerain of the Kara Del kingdom) before retreating in the early 16th century.

See also

• Imjin War
• Ming–Kotte War
• Sino-Dutch conflicts
• Yongle Emperor's campaigns against the Mongols
• Ming dynasty in Inner Asia
• Tusi

References

1. ^ Wade, 2004, p. 4; also see Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu, 9 Mar 1369
2. ^ Southeast Asia in the Ming Shilu, 6 May 1388

External links

• Southeast Asia in the Ming Shi-lu: An Open Access Resource, Geoff Wade
• Wade, Geoff (2004) "Ming China and Southeast Asia in the 15th Century: A Reappraisal"
• Map of Mainland Polities Mentioned in the Ming Shi-lu
• Southeast Asian Polities Mentioned in the Ming Shi-lu