Chapter 31 Section 5 Export of Ming and Qing Porcelain

The export of porcelain in the Ming Dynasty was mainly along the trade routes opened up since the Yuan Dynasty.Especially the routes of Zheng He's eight ocean voyages.Not only export by sea, but also export by land. Shen Defu's "Ye Huo Bian" vividly records the export of Chinese porcelain by land. Its special packaging method shows the hardship of exporting porcelain by land and the painstaking efforts of merchants wisdom.He said: "Tartar, Jurchen tribes, and the tributes and barbarians of the heavenly kingdoms contained in the tributes and barbarians, regardless of other things, that is, one item of porcelain, as many as dozens of carts. Yu Chu blamed it for its lightness and brittleness, why it traveled thousands of miles on land. That is, If you tap it carefully, when you first buy it, add a little sand and soybeans to each utensil, choose a few and tie them into a piece, put them in the wetland, and sprinkle them with water frequently. If it is in a solid place, if it is not damaged, it will be loaded on the cart. When it is loaded, it will be dropped from the loaded cart several times. If it is as tough as before, it will be loaded in the past, and its price will often increase by ten times."

In consideration of safety, the Ming Dynasty government implemented the sea ban intermittently since Hongwu, and then the sea ban became more and more severe, reaching the point where even an inch of boat was not allowed to enter the sea, in an attempt to completely close the country's gates.However, these measures by the government can only hit the normal official overseas trade, and the non-governmental trade is still going on as usual, and the people will always have a way to break through the sea ban. "History of the Ming Dynasty" records that some people, especially those in the coastal areas, were bold and reckless. The output styles, types and color varieties are mainly traditional shapes and decorative patterns suitable for Chinese people's living habits.This can be proved by the Ming Dynasty porcelain left over from the Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia in Southeast Asia.After the Europeans headed by the Dutch East India Company dealt with Chinese porcelain in large quantities, Jingdezhen produced many shapes and patterns that met the needs of European life and reflected European cultural customs. , such as heraldic porcelain is a prominent example.

There are three main types of porcelain trade in the Ming Dynasty: First, commodity exchange in the form of gifts and rewards.The government of the Ming Dynasty regarded itself as the central state, and its neighboring countries were regarded as foreign countries and foreign countries because of its strong national power and economic prosperity. The emperors of the court would give rewards with porcelain, not only the kings and envoys of the Fan countries came to the court to ask for rewards, but the Ming Dynasty also sent envoys to these countries to reward them.For example, in the 16th year of Hongwu (1383 A.D.), the Ming court "sent envoys to grant 32 gold weaves and 19,000 pieces of porcelain to the kings of Champa, Siam, and Chenla ("Ming History · Champa Biography · Chenla") pass")".Many countries, such as the King of Ryukyu, Chadu, sent his brother Taiqi to the court from Ryukyu, and specifically stated that their countries did not value rich goods as rewards to the Ming Dynasty, but they valued porcelain, iron kettles and other things.Trade while rewarding.In the eighth year of Hongwu (AD 1375), Li Hao, the minister of the Ministry of Justice, and Liang Yuming, the general officer, went to the Ryukyu Kingdom and gave him 20 horses, 9,000 pieces of pottery, and 10 iron kettles; In addition to the large number of items inside, there are 100 pieces of silk, 50 pieces of yarn and 50 pieces of Luo each, 69,500 pieces of porcelain, and 990 iron kettles.The envoys who came to China donated things and received rewards, and could also go to the market to buy porcelain with permission. "History of Ming Dynasty: Biography of Japan" records: "One tribute per ten years in Japan, no more than a hundred people, and no more than two ships." This was stipulated in the Yongle period. By the Xuande period, there were 300 people and three ships. "Daming Huidian" records that during the Hongzhi period, trade envoys paid tribute to Beijing, and each person was allowed to buy 50 pieces of blue and white porcelain, and a clear price was stipulated, such as 500 guan for each blue and white porcelain plate, 300 guan for bowls, and 500 guan for each bottle. etc.

Zheng He made eight voyages to many countries in Asia and Africa, mainly to publicize the prestige of the Ming Dynasty, establish diplomatic relations, and develop trade.His fleet brought a lot of treasures such as silk and porcelain, and rewarded them wherever they went, and at the same time received gifts in return. This is actually an official form of trade by bartering.Ma Huan said in "Yingya Shenglan" that the Zufar Kingdom (also known as Dhofar, today's Dhofar on the western coast of Oman in the Arabian Peninsula), when the rewards for the opening of the reading are completed, its king sent the leader to send a message to the people of the country, Exchange frankincense, dried blood, aloe vera, myrrh, benzoin, styrax oil, and wood beetle for silk, porcelain, etc.In Ceylon, people are very fond of Chinese musk, silk, colored silk, celadon bowls, copper coins, and camphor, and exchange them for gems and pearls.In some areas like Champa, people exchange light gold for their favorite celadon dishes, and some also use copper coins to buy blue and white porcelain.

The second type is that foreigners, including officials sent by envoys, do not follow the above-mentioned methods and come to China to buy porcelain privately in disregard of Chinese laws and regulations. It is recorded in "Records of Emperor Taizong", Li Yugang, Minister of Rites, etc. He ordered Bai Jin to go to the city's porcelain, and he should be arrested and questioned.Emperor Yongle said that people from afar only know how to seek profit, so how do you know the ban?It is not a crime for the imperial court to be cherished by people far away. The third type is private trade.Although there was a strict sea ban since Hongwu, folk trade still broke through it, and the trend of porcelain export was unstoppable, and the quantity of export was increasing. "East and West Foreign Studies" records that during the time of Chenghua and Hongzhi, there were people who traded overseas on giant ships among the wealthy and powerful families.Henry Yuer recorded in the first volume of "Ancient Chinese Hearings and Experiences". In 1514 (the ninth year of Zhengde) Andrew Geshalis wrote to the Duke of Lulunchu Meide Banner: "The trade of Chinese merchants reached the ocean and the Great Bay, and shipped out. The goods included medicinal materials, porcelain, tin, pearls, raw silk and various textiles, as far as Manga.There are also Portuguese ships sailing to China, selling their goods and returning with big profits.Because some people violated local customs and routines, Chinese officials forbade them to go ashore.With the strengthening of the Portuguese maritime trade power, they occupied the Strait of Malacca in 1511 and Shangchuan Island in Macau in 1517. Since then, a large number of Chinese porcelains have been sold to Europe.The rise of the Netherlands has also turned many cities into trade centers, and the trade power has developed to Asia. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company was established. With the support of the government, it monopolized the trade from the Cape of Good Hope in the east to the Strait of Magellan in the west.The establishment of the Dutch East India Company mainly saw that China's trade, especially China's ceramics trade, could bring them huge profits.The company has successively started trade with China in Taiwan, Guangzhou, Fuzhou, Xiamen, Kinmen and other places. T. Folke wrote "Porcelain and the Dutch East India Company" based on the diary of the Dutch East India Company in Batavia, the records of Hirado and Dejima in Japan, and other first-hand materials, which introduced the company's operations in detail. Chinese porcelain, Japanese porcelain and Persian pottery were added later.The company's merchant ships shipped these porcelains to the Netherlands, Persia, Arabia, India, Burma, Malaya, Indonesia and other places for sale.This company alone shipped more than 16 million pieces of Chinese porcelain in just 80 years from 1602 to 1682.In addition, there are Arabs, Japanese, Burmese, Malayans, Indians, British and Portuguese who are particularly good at doing business and have been engaged in the Chinese porcelain trade for a long time. But any country will have more than the Dutch East India Company.The Jingdezhen area has long spread: "Craftsmen come from all over the world, and the wares are made all over the world." There are many people who like Chinese porcelain. The Dutch East India Company trafficked Chinese porcelain and sold it to other countries in the country, Europe, and Asian countries.Common people, bureaucratic nobles and even princes and nobles all like to use Chinese porcelain.In addition to buying through general trade channels, people are even more eager to buy if they encounter an auction. In 1604, the Dutch captured a merchant ship. It is said that the ship contained 60 tons of porcelain, which was auctioned in Amsterdam.Due to the profitability, the Dutch East India Company became more and more active in the Chinese porcelain trade, and the growth rate was astonishing. For example, in July 1610, only one ship carried 9,227 pieces of porcelain to the Netherlands. 38,641 pieces in 1612. 69,057 pieces in 1614. 366,000 pieces in 1639.In the half century to 1657, according to archive statistics, there were 3 million invoices and shipping orders, and the actual number must be far more than this.In addition to the Dutch East India Company, Britain established the East India Company in 1698 and France in 1719.Among the large-scale trade activities it carried out, Chinese porcelain had the largest share.

There are many kinds of China's export porcelain. In addition to the traditional blue and white, five-color and other varieties, there is also a kind of porcelain specially for export called Clark porcelain. content.Some foreign businessmen also brought samples, or screwed out the patterns with wood, and let Chinese businessmen bring them to Jingdezhen for production.For example, in 1635, the Governor of Taiwan’s report to the Amdadam Company mentioned that he had handed over wooden large plates, salt boxes, small cups, mustard bottles, large cups, large bowls, coolers, bottles, large cans, etc. to Chinese merchants. Tableware, flat plates with wide sides, washbasins with jugs, and various styles of Chinese paintings.In the mid-Qing Dynasty, "Guangcai" porcelain appeared in Guangzhou specifically to meet the purchases of foreigners, that is, the plain white porcelain fired in Jingdezhen was transported to Guangzhou, and another craftsman was hired to imitate Western painting methods, paint them, and bake them in the south bank of the Pearl River. dyed to make wonderful colored porcelain.Many exported porcelains are preserved in various European countries today, but are rarely seen in mainland China.As mentioned above, the lovely set of tableware bought by Emperor Henry IV at the Amsterdam auction includes soup plates, dinner plates, fruit plates, boat-shaped sauce dishes, salad bowls, soup bowls with saucers and lids, etc. , this is obviously a set of western tableware.

A kind of high-quality porcelain ordered and fired in China through trading companies such as the Dutch East India Company is called heraldry porcelain.According to the needs of foreigners, special coats of arms are drawn, such as provincial emblems, family emblems of noble duke families, scepters, and king's crowns.Some heraldic porcelain books have production dates.In addition to heraldic porcelain, many export porcelains are painted with pictures showing European customs and customs. These works are beneficial to the study of European history at that time.