明代万历后期通番案述论

万历后期的违禁通番贸易,较之嘉靖后期更盛。出海地点自南至北,由福建转向浙江,人员构成由福建为主转向江浙为主。地方各级官府对于通番性质的认定也有所不同。通番之所以屡禁不止,最根本的是因为走私日本利润丰厚,也在于较之合法的“东西洋”贸易利润要高得多,与海防主管部门、税监官员以及巡缉兵丁的劣行也均有关系,明廷的对外贸易政策不尽合理,疏于防范,也是要因。

On the Cases of Illegal Trade with Japan During the Late Wanli Period of the Ming Dynasty

During the late Wanli era, the situation of illegal trade with Japan was severer than that of the Jiajing period. The departing area changed from the South to the North, i.e. , from Fu-jian to Zhejiang. The people involved in the smuggling business came chiefly from Jiangsu and Zhe-jiang, rather than from Fujian. Local officials were often uncertain about the nature of the cases of illegal trade. The business continued despite its illegal nature. The major reason for this was the huge profit from smuggling goods to Japan, which was much higher than from legal trade with other foreign countries at the time. The problems of governmental management of the coastline, corruption of tax officials and smuggling patrols were also responsible for the illegal trade. From the point of government, the Ming court also had a problematic policy of foreign trade. The regime failed to implement its policy and regulations firmly.