Introduction

Ancient Chinese society did not form a relatively standardized concept of “Maritime Frontier”. Today, there are many disputes about the definition of the concept of “Maritime Frontier”1, but Maritime Frontier has long existed in ancient China, especially islands play an important role in the study of Maritime Frontier. Zhoushan Islands is the largest Islands in China. Because of its special geographical location, it has played an important role in history of China’s maritime frontier since ancient times. The history of maritime frontier includes the history of maritime fisheries, the history of seawater salt industry, the history of shipbuilding, the history of maritime navigation, etc., especially the history of coastal defense plays an important role in the history of maritime frontier (Yi and Qi, 2019). Zhoushan Islands has always been a coastal defense outpost in ancient China, and its coastal defense status is beyond doubt. The history of coastal areas covers a wide range, among which the regional history of coastal areas and territorial seas is an important part of the history of coastal areas. As the largest archipelago region in China, Zhoushan Islands plays a key role in the eastern coastal region.

The academic research on the history of the maritime frontier in ancient Zhoushan Islands is mainly reflected in two aspects. One is the research on the major historical events in the maritime history of the Zhoushan Islands in a specific period, such as the overseas relations in the Song Dynasty (宋代) , the cultural exchange between Yishan Yining (一山一宁) and Japan in the Yuan Dynasty (元代), the Liampo (宁波) in the Ming Dynasty, the maritime ban and piracy in Zhoushan in the late Ming Dynasty (明代), the Opium War in Zhoushan in Qing Dynasty (清代), etc.2 The study of this trend is of great academic value for understanding the coastal history of Zhoushan Islands in a specific period. However, due to the time limit of the research object, it can only be limited to the embodiment of the coastal characteristics of Zhoushan Islands in some major historical events in a certain period, and it is difficult to have an overall understanding of characteristics of the coastal and territorial seas in the whole ancient Zhoushan Islands. Second, Chinese scholars involved in the development history of Zhoushan Islands in other works, but its theme does not lie in Zhoushan Islands. Because the theme of these studies itself does not lie in Zhoushan Islands, most of them are superficial and rough when they deal with the relevant contents of the maritime frontier history of Zhoushan Islands.3 In foreign studies, Japanese scholars have more research on the maritime frontier history of Zhoushan Islands, but the perspective and scope of these works are not limited to Zhoushan Islands, not a comprehensive and special research with the maritime frontier history of Zhoushan Islands as the main body and starting point.4 The common deficiency of the above researches is the lack of taking Zhoushan Islands as an important part of China’s maritime frontier, placing it in the vision of the whole national maritime frontier and observing its characteristics in different periods.

It is precisely because of the shortcomings of the above researches that this paper has a large research space. From the beginning of human habitation in Zhoushan Islands to thousands of years before the Opium War, the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands has undergone different changes. According to the perspective of “periphery and forefront” of Zhoushan Islands in the national maritime frontier, it can be roughly found that the status of Zhoushan Islands has the following three stages: from ancient times to the establishment of county system in Zhoushan in the Tang Dynasty (唐代), the Song and Yuan Dynasties (宋元时期), and the Ming and Qing Dynasties (明清时期). Different stages reflect the obvious different stage characteristics of Zhoushan Islands. This paper intends to take Zhoushan Islands as a specific regional maritime frontier and investigate its main changes in the three stages under the perspective of ancient China, and explore its main laws and influence in each stage.

From Objective Periphery to Subjective Periphery: The status of Zhoushan Islands before Song Dynasty

China’s state power originated mainland, which was far from Zhoushan Islands. There was no evidence that the initial state power exercised effective administrative jurisdiction over the Zhoushan Islands, and naturally there was no mention of the initial state’s maritime frontier development of the Zhoushan Islands. In the long years since then, although the mainland regime had some knowledge of the Zhoushan Islands, the effective jurisdiction was still not recorded. On the contrary, the attitude reflected in the behavior of the rulers of the mainland regime was that Zhoushan Islands were just remote and barren land.

It is said that King Xu Yan (徐偃王) of the Western Zhou Dynasty (西周) once visited Zhoushan. King Xu Yan, named Dan (诞), was the king of the state of Xu (now Xuzhou) (徐国) during the King Mu of the Western Zhou Dynasty (周穆王). After King Xu Yan came to power, he implemented benevolent government and did not repair military equipment. His national strength was strong, and the number of returnees increased day by day. Awed by the powerful and benevolent rule of King Xu Yan, King Mu of Western Zhou attacked King Xu Yan with the state of Chu (楚国) on the pretext of King Xu Yan’s “arrogation” to become king and “exceeding the state system” to build a city. King Xu Yan was defeated and “fled to the foot of Dongshan (东山), Wuyuan County (五原县), Pengcheng (彭城)”.5 He had never been to Zhoushan. The significance of this legend was not so much to attach celebrities to Zhoushan with a long history as to reflect the remote border status of Zhoushan Islands.

After Gou Jian (勾践), the king of Yue (越国), destroyed Wu (吴国), he did not kill Fu Chai (夫差), the king of Wu, and “wanted to place Fu Chai in Yongdong (甬东) (one ancient name of Zhoushan)” and “to end Fu Chai’s life”. However, Fu Chai did not go to Yongdong, but “killed himself with a sword”. There are records about Gou Jian’s “desire to send Fu Chai to Yongdong” in many ancient books, such as Guoyu · Wuyu (《国语·吴语》) (Xuefeng and Dekao, 2007: 361), Guoyu · Yue language (《国语·越语》) (Guo Yu. 2007: 373), Historical Records · Gou Jian Family (《史记·勾践世家第十一》) (Qian, 1959: 1745-1746), Wu Yue Chun Qiu · the Biography of Fu Chai (《吴越春秋·夫差内传第五》) (Ye, 1999: 71), Wu Yue Chun Qiu · Gou Jian attacks Wu (《吴越春秋·勾践伐吴外传第十》) (Ye, 1999: 143-144). In the eyes of Gou Jian, the king of Yue, it was possible to exempt Fu Chai from capital punishment, but he had to be exiled. The place of exile could not be the center of wealthy region. That is the reason why Gou Jian, the king of Yue, chose Zhoushan as the the exile place of Fu Chai. At that time, it could be seen that Zhoushan belonged to the periphery of the territorial seas, which may be irrelevant to the king of Yue’s politically and militarily. History as a Mirror (《资治通鉴》) described the story of Fu Chai as “Yongdong’s regret” (Guang, 1956: 3210). Old Tang History Book (《旧唐书》) also said that it was “Yongdong’s sigh” when describing the “five kings of restoring the state” of Tang Dynasty (Xu, 1975: 2943). These “regrets” and “sighs” were not only the lamenting Fu Chai, but also reflected the political and military status of Zhoushan Islands at that time. During the Warring States period (战国时期), Zhoushan Islands had not been incorporated into the administrative system of the mainland regime, which clearly reflected the status of Zhoushan Islands as a maritime periphery for a long time.

In order to obtain the medicine of immortality, the first emperor of Qin Dynasty (秦朝) “sent Xu Fu (徐福) to lead thousands of young boys and girls to the sea to seek immortals.” (Qian, Sima, 1959: 247)  It is recorded in the Song Dynasty that Xu Fu had visited Penglai (蓬莱), “Penglai mountain is in Chang Guo County (昌国县), surrounded by oceans, and Xu Fu begged immortals to taste it.” (Mu, 2012: 101) Recently, some scholars believe that Xu Fu’s hiding place and departure place before he crossed to Japan is Xiangshan (象山) Mountain in Ningbo, Zhejiang Province (浙江省). If Xu Fu hid in Xiangshan and crossed the seas to Japan from there, there is no doubt that Xu Fu’s fleet would go eastward through Zhoushan Islands. Daishan (岱山) is named Penglai. Xu Fu may have landed at the mouth of Dongshajiao (东沙角) mountain in the northeast of Daishan. No matter whether Penglai mountain was located in Changguo county or not, at least in the Qin Dynasty, Zhoushan Islands was only a remote and mysterious periphery, and its political and Military Maritime status was not prominent in the state power. If Xu Fu’s fleet went eastward through Zhoushan Islands, there was no doubt that it would leave the maritime frontier of the Qin Kingdom and went to Japan.

According to the records in Book of Han Dynasty (《汉书》), in the sixth year of Yuanding (元鼎) (111 BC), “in the autumn, Yu Shan (余善), king of Dong Yue (东越), rebelled and attacked and killed Han (汉朝) generals. Wudi (汉武帝) sent General Han Yue (韩说) and Lieutenant Wen Shu (温舒) to attack Yu Shan at Kuai Ji (会稽), and sent general Yang Pu (杨仆) to attack Yu Shan at Yu Zhang (豫章).” If the record is true, the Western Han (西汉) Army’s attack on Dong Yue at sea should be carried out in the sea area between today’s Zhoushan Islands and the northeast of Zhejiang land. This was the war that took place in the eastern frontier of the Western Han Dynasty.

The uprising of Sun En (孙恩) and Lu Xun (卢循) broke out in the third year of Long’an (隆安) in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (东晋) (399 AD), which lasted until the seventh year of Yi Xi (义熙) (411 AD), causing great shock to the imperial court of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. When Sun En and Lu Xun were at their peak, they had more than 100,000 soldiers and more than 1,000 ships. They once occupied coastal counties in Zhejiang and Guangzhou (广州) and killed many aristocratic families represented by Wang (王氏) and Xie (谢氏). Finally, they failed under the suppression of aristocratic families, especially General Liu Yu (刘裕). Sun En and Lu Xun gave a fatal blow to the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Ten years later, Liu Yu, who started by suppressing Sun En and Lu Xun, took the opportunity to change the Dynasty and establish the Liu Song Dynasty (刘宋王朝). Sun En and Lu Xun had a great influence on the political trend in the late Eastern Jin Dynasty. During the war, Once Sun En and Lu Xun encountered difficulties or lost eastern Zhejiang, they often fled to the sea and continued to fight against Han Dynasty. Sun En and Lu Xun fought on the islands in the Zhejiang for four times. The reason why Sun En and Lu Xun chose Zhoushan Islands as one of their bases was the special geographical location of Zhoushan Islands. Another important significance of Sun En and Lu Xun’s uprising was that although Zhoushan Islands is on the periphery of the Central regime, it reflects its important position in the national sea territory.

Since the establishment of the mainland regime, Zhoushan Islands has been the marginal land (periphery) under the jurisdiction of the state regime. It is said that King Xu Yan was defeated and fled to Zhoushan Islands, which actually reflects the marginal position of Zhoushan Islands far away from the center of political power. The exile of Fu Chai, king of Wu, reflected in the “Yongdong’s regret” and “Yongdong’s sigh”, also shows that in the eyes of the king of Yue, Zhoushan Islands is a remote and barren land, which is not a threat to the state power, and can be safely sent as a place of exile. Xu Fu led boys and girls to the sea to seek immortals. In theory, the place he went to has exceeded the land territory of Qin Dynasty and entered the ethereal sea territorial. The rebellion against the king of Dong Yue in the Western Han Dynasty took place in the waters of Zhoushan Islands, which also reflects the remote status of Zhoushan Islands. The important reason for the long-term persistence of Sun En and Lu Xun’s uprising is that it is difficult for the state to control the remote and strange sea base camp of the insurgents. Therefore, since ancient times, Zhoushan Islands have been in the periphery position of the country. On the one hand, this periphery position is caused by the weakness of the mainland regime itself, and on the other hand, it is determined by the remote geographical location of Zhoushan Islands. The periphery status of Zhoushan Islands was caused by objective reasons at that time, which was “objective periphery” or “passive periphery”.

In the ninth year of Kai Huang (开皇) (589 AD), Emperor Wen (隋文帝) of Sui Dynasty (隋朝) conquered Chen Dynasty (陈朝) and merged Yu Yao (余姚) to Ju Zhang, which was subordinate to Wu Zhou (吴州) and later subordinated to Yue Zhou (越州). In the fourth year of Wu De (武德) of emperor of Tang Dynasty (621), it began to divided Ju Zhang and to set up Yao Zhou (姚州) and Yin Zhou (鄞州). In the seventh year (624 AD), Yao Zhou was abolished and entered Yu Yao. In the eighth year (625 AD), Yin Zhou was abolished and set up Mao Xian (鄮县) and subordinated to Yue Zhou. In the 26th year of Kai Yuan (开元) of the Tang Dynasty (738 AD), “Hai Zhong Zhou (海中洲)” in Mao Xian was set up Weng Shan county (翁山县). (Xiu and Qi, 1975: 1061) At the beginning, the central city of Weng Shan was at the side of Cha River (𩑐河) and was moved to the foothills of Zhen Ao Mountain (镇鳌山) (Zhixun and Yizhou, 2011: 568-569). The establishment of Weng Shan county was the beginning of Zhoushan Islands’ county-level administrative system. The establishment of the county system of Zhoushan Islands was of great significance in the administrative history of the Tang Dynasty, and it was more prominent for Zhoushan Islands. It shows that Zhoushan Islands has been officially incorporated into the vision of the central government as the country’s county-level administrative system, and Zhoushan Islands, as an important part of the country’s maritime territory, has been officially valued by the state. Its important political and military status has been recognized by central government. In the administrative sense, Zhoushan Islands has evolved from the periphery of the country’s sea territory to the forefront of the country. This forefront status reflects the change of the country’s understanding of the sea territory of Zhoushan Islands. It is a subjective or active forefront, which is of great significance.

In 763 AD, due to the uprising led by Yuan Chao (袁晁) in Weng Shan county, the officers and soldiers were unable to conquer it for a long time, so Weng Shan county was abolished, and the land still belonged to Mao Xian county. Although Zhoushan Islands, as a county-level administrative system, only existed for 25 years in the Tang Dynasty, its significance is unusual. If Zhoushan Islands had previously become the “objective periphery” of the national maritime territory as a place beyond the reach of the central government or the remoteness of Zhoushan Islands itself, it was a typical subjective and active behavior to abandon the county-level administrative system of Zhoushan Islands in the Tang Dynasty due to the uprising led by Yuan Chao in Wengshan. The marginalization of the maritime territory status of Zhoushan Islands was the “Subjective periphery” or “active periphery” of the central government. This subjective periphery is completely different from the previous objective periphery in nature. It reflects the consciousness of the rulers at that time.

From Active Periphery to Active Forefront: The status of Zhoushan Islands in the Song and Yuan Dynasties

In the 26th year of Kai Yuan of the Tang Dynasty (738 AD), the Zhou Shan county system was established by dividing a part of Mao Xian county. Although it was only lasting for 25 years, the Zhoushan Islands, as the forefront of the national sea, received the attention of the state, which opened the active forefront of the Zhoushan Islands. In 763 AD, Zhou Shan county system was abolished due to Yuan Chao uprising, and Zhoushan Islands returned to the active periphery status for 300 years.

In the sixth year of Xi Ning (熙宁) (1073 AD), in view of the important geographical location of Zhoushan Islands and its important position in overseas trade, the government of the Northern Song Dynasty restored the abandoned county system and renamed it “Chang Guo”. In the eyes of Emperor Shen Zong (神宗), the reason and purpose of restoration of Chang Guo county was very clear, “It controls Japan in the East, connects Deng Zhou (登州) and Lai Zhou (莱州) in the north, connects Ou Min (瓯闽) in the South and Wu Hui (吴会) in the West. It is huge obstacles in the sea and is able to make the country prosperous and strong.” (Fujing, 2007: 42) Zhoushan Islands once again became the forefront of the central government, opening the main forefront period of Zhoushan Islands.

During the Northern Song Dynasty, Chang Guo was already an important relay station of the Maritime Silk Road. It played an increasingly important role in Chinese and foreign trade and exchanges and was known as “Dun Huang on the Sea” (“海上敦煌”)6. The frequent trade and exchanges between China and foreign countries can promote the country’s economic development and cultural development, but it also provides an opportunity for criminals or overseas thieves and brings unstable factors to the country. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen “internal” coastal defense because individual officials collude with overseas profiteers for their own interests, endanger the country and bring hidden dangers to the border and coastal defense.

After the establishment of the Southern Song Dynasty, due to the loss of a large area of land in the mainland of China and the fact that the national capital was in Lin’an (临安), which was very close to the eastern sea area, especially the sea area of Si Ming (四明), coastal defense security was directly related to the national destiny, and the problem of strengthening coastal defense in the eastern sea area was particularly prominent. After the Jing Kang Disaster (靖康之难), Gao Zong (高宗) was chased by the troops of Jin Dynasty (金朝) and exiled in the eastern sea for a long time. He himself had a deep understanding of the importance of the eastern sea. In this context, the coastal and sea defense thought and construction in the Southern Song Dynasty gradually formed a system. Chang Guo area was also an important outpost and fortress in the East China Sea. It played an important role in both “internal” and “external” coastal defense, which could be clearly seen from the fact that Zheng Xingyi (郑兴裔) wrote to the emperor to prohibit exchanges with Korea at that time. Zheng Xingyi believed that the exchanges between the Southern Song Dynasty and Korea made Ming Zhou and Yue Zhou “trapped in the supply of hundreds of millions of money and restless”, “The state’s reception of foreign envoys paid tens of thousands of money, and those who gave to Southern Song Dynasty were poor.” Therefore, “there are many disadvantages without any advantages to country.” (Xingyi, 1969: 206-207) The “national capital” of the Southern Song Dynasty was Lin’an, which was very different from Kai Feng (开封) in the Northern Song Dynasty. Kai Feng was far away from the sea, separated by several provinces, and there was enough buffer zone. Now the capital is in Lin’an. If foreign enemies invade Si Ming area, they will directly threaten the capital. The realationship between Korea and Si Ming was that “the sea route is remote, separated by the island, but when traveling north and south, it will be without any difficulties in case of favorable wind”. Therefore, Sea Transport Defense Battalion could not only “save waste to enrich the military reserve”, but also “ban and secure the border and fight against the invasion” (Xingyi, 1969: 206-207), and ensure national security and clan stability. The seemingly conservative and closed coastal defense idea discussed in the Zheng Xingyi’s letter was actually based on the coastal defense considerations of “internal” and “external” in the Southern Song Dynasty at that time. Whether it was to prevent foreign invasion or prevent officials and businessmen (bandits) from colluding with each other based on the frontier along the sea, endangering local and national interests, it was necessary to strengthen coastal and coastal defense. Chang Guo region has been in the forefront of the Southern Song Dynasty and occupied a very important position in the coastal defense system of the Southern Song government.

Of course, the coastal defense of the Southern Song Dynasty was not limited to the Ming Zhou area and the Chang Guo area. It started from the coast of Jiangsu (江苏) in the north to the coast of Fujian (福建) in the south. They were all important coastal defense shorelines in the Southern Song Dynasty. In the coastal defense construction of the Southern Song Dynasty, Wu Qian (吴潜), the governor of Mingzhou at that time, made important contributions. Due to the rampant piracy of Japan and disturbing the coastal areas, he actively strengthened coastal defense and organized the struggle against pirates, becoming the earliest national hero of the Chinese nation against Japanese pirates. In the construction of coastal defense, he took a series of measures.

First of all, he implemented the “righteous ship law” (义船法). Since “Japan and Korea’s boats haunted Huaibei (淮北) in Shandong (山东)”, where was the important coastal defense area of the Song government, as early as the Jiaxi (嘉熙) period (1237-1240 AD), the government established a system to dispatch civilian ships in Mingzhou, Wenzhou (温州) and Taizhou (台州) to defend Dinghai (定海) (now Zhenhai[镇海]) and Huaidong (淮东). Due to the long time, these civilian ships “were damaged by the wind and waves, or obtained by thieves, and existed in name only”. Moreover, at that time, the civilian ships were heavy burdens to people and “the people suffer”. (Anonym, 2009: 3689) In this regard, Wu Qian wrote to the emperor about the importance and specific measures of strengthening coastal defense, and implemented the righteous ship law in July of the fifth year of Baoyou (宝佑) (1257 AD). The main contents of the righteous ship law were as follows:

The three places selected the rich to unite and to donate ships every year. There are about fifty or sixty wealthier people who each of them can donate six ships. Half of these ships are used for war preparation and half for people’s livelihood. At the same time, relevant staff have been added to manage these ships. As there was no other financial burden, the rich were willing to donate their boats. There are 3833 large ships and 15454 small boats in total. (Anonym, 2009: 3689)

As the coastal residents suffered from Japanese pirates, they had a high enthusiasm to donate ships and the righteous ship law was soon implemented. The effect of the righteous ship law was very good. It not only recruited a large number of civilian ships, but also a large number of sailors. “From time to time, they took turns to go to the sea to patrol... They joined forces and civilian ships inspected in the all rivers every day, everywhere was safe in the sea.” (Menglong, 2015: 294) The righteous ship law has achieved great success in mobilizing coastal people to actively defend the sea. The righteous ship law was essentially the mobilization of civil forces and the mobilization of civil armed forces. The civilian ships recruited were mainly in the coastal areas of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the focus of coastal defense in the Southern Song Dynasty, as well as the coastal front lines of Huaidong and Guangxi (广西). The participation of non-governmental armed forces enriched the coastal defense forces, enabled the Southern Song government to establish a defense system on the coast which stretched thousands of miles, and provided combat ships and combat followers familiar with water for the implementation of the maritime defense strategy.

Second, to set up twenty-six beacon towers in the sea. Due to the special importance of Zhejiang’s geographical location, Wu Qian divided the waters of the four counties of Tai zhou, Wen zhou, Ming zhou and Yue zhou into three stations, i.e., upper station, middle station and lower station, so that people’s ships could berth in Daishan (岱山), Benjiang (本江), Mt. Sangu (三姑山) and Liegang (烈港), and set up beacon for communication and mutual assistance. He personally formulated the seawater army, instructed the atlas, led capable people to inspect all islands personally, measured the terrain, and set up twenty-six beacon towers. These twenty-six towers were the following: twelve towers from Mt. Zhaobao (招宝山) to on Mt. Bixia (壁下山), nine towers from Dinghai to Mt. Xiangtou (向头山), and five towers from Dinghai to Qingyuan Fu (庆元府) (Anonym, 2009: 3684-3685). The setting of 26 beacon towers makes it possible to park from Wuqitou (乌崎头) in the south to Shiqutou (乌崎头) in the north, connect Mt. Sangu, Mt. Daqixiaoqi (大七小七), Fushenqian (夫神前), Jiao’ao (礁岙), Maji (马迹), Qushan (朐山), Changtu (长涂), Cenjiang (岑江), Daishan, Liegang and Mt. Xiayang (下洋山), forming a solid maritime defense line. In order to strengthen the connection between the beacons, the beacons took fireworks as the signal. If the weather was bad and no fireworks could be seen between the beacon towers, the sound of artillery would be used as the signal. For distant beacon towers, there were few troops and they could be attacked by enemies. Therefore, it was necessary to send more capable troops to the nearest beacon towers and give them the most advanced weapons so that they could protect each other. Wu Qian’s coastal defense system has been highly praised by later generations, just said as Menglong Feng: “The defense system is deployed making it similar to that deployed on the land and it has all parts linked. Under this circumstances, who dares to invade?” (Menglong, 2015: 295)

Whether the government of the Northern Song Dynasty restored the county system in Zhoushan Islands for the purpose of “prospering and strengthening the national power”, or the government of the Southern Song Dynasty took a series of measures to strengthen the prevention and control of coastal areas in Zhoushan Islands, it clearly reflected the state power’s attention to Zhoushan Islands as the forefront of coastal areas and territorial seas, and Zhoushan Islands became the active forefront outpost of coastal areas and territorial seas in the Song Dynasty.

The Yuan Dynasty (元朝) had a short history in China. However, in terms of the development of coastal areas and territorial seas, this period was very important to Zhoushan Islands, not only because Zhoushan Islands was one of the important starting points of the Yuan Dynasty’s eastward expedition to Japan, but also because it plagued the Japanese in China’s coastal areas and territorial seas for hundreds of years. Zhoushan Islands’ forefront position in the sea was further reflected.

Kublai Khan (忽必烈), the emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, had long wanted to make Japan submit. He constantly sent envoys to Japan and asked Japan to submit to the Mongols like other nations. On the other hand, in 1259, Mongolia completely conquered Korea in the East. Later, Korea complained about the threat of Japanese pirates to Kublai Khan, the ruler of the Yuan Dynasty, which was an excuse for Kublai Khan to invade Japan. After the Yuan government sent envoys five times and was rejected five times, Kublai Khan launched a war against Japan, but the first expedition ended in failure. Kublai Khan made another expedition to Japan in the 18th year of the Zhiyuan (至元) Dynasty (1281 AD). His troops were divided into two routes: the Jiangnan Army (江南军) was slow and did not meet the East Army (东路军) at the scheduled time. The East Army invaded Japan alone. The Yuan army was defeated and retreated to Yingdao (鹰岛), Duima (对马)7, Yiqi (一岐), Changmen (长门) and other places to meet the late Jiangnan Army. In China: A Macro History, Ray Huang described the scene at that time. (Ray, 1997: 168) Although the expedition ended in failure, Zhoushan Islands, as the forefront of the Yuan Dynasty, was of great significance.

With the war, trade conflict and invasion, the relationship between Yuan and Japan showed a very complex situation. Generally speaking, the burning and looting of Qingyuan (庆元) (Ningbo) by Japanese merchants in the first year of Zhida (至大) (1308 AD) was an obvious boundary. Before the incident of burning and looting of Qingyuan, although the Yuan army invaded Japan twice and both sides continued to strengthen their vigilance, trade and monk exchanges were generally peaceful. From the burning and looting incident, the “Japanese pirates” continued to harass China’s coastal areas, and the situation tended to be serious.

Kublai Khan officially abandoned the plan to invade Japan around the 23rd year of Zhiyuan (至元) (1286 AD). However, in order to prevent the Yuan invaders from attacking again, Japan built a seawall along the western coast and ordered soldiers to serve in turns to strengthen coastal defense. Japanese government once searched ships to stop foreigners from coming to Japan. In the Yuan Dynasty, it still held a consistent position of welcoming merchant ships, but it also strengthened its vigilance when the Japanese always refused friendly trade. In the third year of Dade (大德) (1299 AD), Cheng Zong (成宗) obeyed the orders of master MiaoYuHongji (妙愚弘济) and monk Yishanyining (一山一宁) sent an imperial edict to Japan to express the wishes for friendship. Yishan went to Prime Minister’s Office (太宰府) of Japan with a Japanese merchant ship. He was suspected of being a spy and was once imprisoned. Later, he spread Buddhism in a Japan’s temple. Japanese monks came to China day by day, but Japan still refused to communicate with China. Since then, Yuan Dynasty obviously strengthened its defense. When Wuzong (武宗)came to power, there was finally a serious attack and looting of Qingyuan by Japanese merchant ships. Bandits became a serious threat to the southeast coast in the Yuan Dynasty.

As an important maritime transportation hub and outpost, Zhoushan Islands was undoubtedly the first place to bear the brunt of Japanese pirates. In the Yuan Dynasty, there were many Japanese pirate’s events related to Zhoushan Islands. For example, in the seventh year of Yanyou (延祐) (1314 AD), more than 40 Japanese pirates “invaded the harbor with weapons”. Soon, they went to the north of Chang Guo (Zhoushan), “They robbed 40% of the shops, plundered 130 households, robbed their children, kidnapped people with boat.” (Duanli, 1988: 13) In October of the second year of Taiding (泰定) (1325 AD), “the Japanese came to entrance to sea by boat” (Yunwu, 1936: 335). In the first year of Zhishun (至顺) (1330 AD), “first, Japanese ships traded, officials and soldiers traded with each other, they bullied and attacked the people” (Ji, 1985: 308). In the Yuan Dynasty, the Japanese pirates brought great disasters to the Chang Guo region, and Chang Guo has always been at the forefront of fighting the pirates.

Both the restoration of the county system in Zhoushan Islands in the Northern Song Dynasty and the measures taken by the Southern Song government to strengthen the prevention and control of coastal areas and territorial seas in Zhoushan Islands clearly reflected the importance of Zhoushan Islands as the forefront of national coastal areas. The second expedition to Japan in the Yuan Dynasty took Zhoushan Islands as the starting point. Zhoushan islands were the first to bear the brunt of anti-Japanese struggle in the Yuan Dynasty and had always been in the forefront of the country’s maritime territory. No matter the political measures of the Northern Song Dynasty, the military measures of the Southern Song Dynasty, and the struggle of the Yuan Dynasty to conquer the foreign war and defend against foreign invasion, they all took the initiative in the coastal policy of Zhoushan Islands, which not only reflected the ruler’s consciousness and the positive attitude of active openness in policy, but also reflected the forefront position of Zhoushan Islands, which was “active forefront” or “subjective forefront”.

Chinese civilization originated in the mainland, but by the Sui and Tang Dynasties, the political and cultural structure of the “world country” (天下国) centered on Chang’an (长安) had included the marginal areas of Oriental Ocean (东洋) and Southern Ocean (南洋). Since the Song Dynasty, due to the obstruction of Liao and Jin Dynasties (辽朝和金朝), the north has cut off the land international trade line and further turned to the marine development of the south. By the Yuan Dynasty, the Chinese people had greatly improved their understanding of the overseas world and adopted a more open policy in foreign trade than previous dynasties. The development signs in all aspects indicate that the trend of Chinese mainland development has changed to ocean since Song Dynasty. This showed that long before Western Europe went beyond the Mediterranean historical stage of the Middle Ages to the ocean historical stage, China took the lead in going beyond the historical stage of the East Asian continent. (Rongqu, 1992: 3-19) This was a new trend in line with the trend of world history. As the forefront of China’s coastal areas, Zhoushan Islands have played an important role in this development trend.

From Active Periphery to Passive Forefront: The coastal status of Zhoushan Islands in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

The great transformation of the Chinese mainland’s development orientation since the song and Yuan Dynasties has not been extended in the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty was established by Zhu Yuanzhang (朱元璋) in the process of fighting with local powers. The situation faced by Zhu Yuanzhang in the early Ming Dynasty was very difficult. In the coastal areas, the greatest impact on Zhu Yuanzhang was the great trouble and threat brought to the new regime by the restlessness of the seas at that time. In the vast sea area of “thousands of miles around the sea and barbarian islands”, the anti-Ming forces “delivered thousands of ships, often waiting for the tide and taking the opportunity to attack” (Huang, 1986: 702). At the same time, Japanese pirates in coastal areas continue to suffer. The Japanese suffering that had appeared on a large scale in the Yuan Dynasty not only did not reduce in the early Ming Dynasty, but became more and more serious. In the first year of Hongwu (洪武) (1367 AD), “Japanese pirates haunted the islands, and they came ashore to plunder.” (Tingyu, 1974: 3832) The whole coastal areas of China were constantly invaded by Japanese pirates.

The restlessness of the seas in the early Ming Dynasty led to the sea ban policy of the Ming Dynasty to a great extent. As early as December of the 4th year of Hongwu (1371 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang issued the imperial edict of sea ban: “coastal residents shall not go to sea without permission.” (Anonym, 1962: 1300) This edict has been reiterated since then. In October of the 14th year of Hongwu (1381 AD), Zhu Yuanzhang officially announced that “coastal residents are strictly prohibited from fornicating with overseas countries” (Anonym, 1962: 2197), which marked the formal establishment of the sea ban policy as a basic national policy of the Ming Dynasty. Since then, Zhu Yuanzhang had repeatedly reiterated the sea ban policy, such as the 17th year (1384 AD), the 21st year (1388 AD), the 23rd year (1390 AD), the 27th year (1394 AD) and the 30th year (1397 AD) of Hongwu. The main contents of the sea ban policy in the early Ming Dynasty included in 1)prohibiting people from going to sea to make a living without permission, 2) prohibiting fishing at sea without permission, 3) forbidding to fornicate with overseas countries, 4) forbidding to go to sea without authorization to trade with foreign countries. In a word, coastal residents were prohibited from any activities at sea.

Due to Fang Guozhen (方国珍)’s long-term occupation in Zhoushan and the rebellion in Lanshan (兰山) and Xiushan (秀山), the Ming government imposed a stricter sea ban on Zhoushan Islands and implemented the policy of abolishing counties and resettling people. In the early Ming Dynasty, Zhoushan Islands were resettled twice. The first was the resettlement of abandoned counties in the 4th year of Hongwu (1371 AD), and the second was the relocation of Wei (卫), which abandoned counties and large-scale resettlement in the 19th year of Hongwu (1386 AD). The migration of abandoned counties system in Zhoushan was recorded in history because of its long duration, wide range, deep victims and strong influence. After the abandonment of the county and the resettlement of the people, Zhoushan’s fishery and agriculture had been desolate for a long time, the traffic had been stopped, and the culture and education had been interrupted, which had brought great disaster to the people of Zhoushan. On the one hand, the measures of abolishing counties system and resettling people in Zhoushan Islands in the early Ming Dynasty were part of the whole Ming government’s policy of banning the sea all over the country, On the other hand, the Ming government’s sea ban policy and the “abolition” and “resettlement” of Zhoushan Islands were positive and active, which could be clearly seen from the repeated reiterations of the Ming government again and again. Under the sea ban policy of the Ming government, the status of coastal areas and territorial seas of Zhoushan Islands was marginalized again, and this marginalization was very clear in the subjective consciousness of the rulers, which was a typical active (subjective) periphery.

The active periphery policy of the Ming Dynasty towards the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands was also clearly reflected in the attitude of the Ming government towards Shuangyu Port (双屿港). In the 5th year of Jiajing (嘉靖) (1526 AD), Deng Liao (邓獠) from Fujian “lured foreign businessmen to Shuangyu Port, Zhejiang seaport” (Shuncheng, 1939: 2). In the 19th year of Jiajing (1540 AD), the Xu brothers (许氏兄弟) seduced the Portuguese to gather in Shuangyu Port. The maritime merchants represented by the Portuguese conducted international free trade along the coast of eastern Zhejiang province. Shuangyu Port gradually became the largest and most prosperous international free trade port in East Asia at that time. In March of the 28th year of Jiajing (1549 AD), Zhu Wan (朱纨) sent generals to attack Portuguese pirates, killed 96 internal traitors from Zhejiang and Fujian, captured and killed 60 Japanese pirates, and “returned after destroyed Shuangyu Port with wood and stone, and asked that foreign merchant ships were not allowed to come here again in the future” (Shuncheng, 1939: 8). From then on, the free trade in the Ming Dynasty ended in the East Sea. The rise of Shuangyu Port came when the West had moved towards the door of modern times, but the centralization of Chinese authoritarianism was strengthened. The Ming government and the Portuguese government showed a completely opposite attitude towards overseas trade. The division of this concept was essentially the division of the historical development direction of modern China and the West. The destruction of Shuangyu Port was the inevitable result of the consistent policy of the Ming government. It was an epitome of China’s social development at that time. When looking back at the West in the same period, this epitome was clear in the Western context. From the Ming government’s policy towards Shuangyu Port, it could also be seen that the Ming government was determined to completely marginalize the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands.

The active periphery policy of the Ming Dynasty on the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands continued to the early Qing Dynasty. The Qing army’s occupation of Zhoushan Islands brought great disaster to the Zhoushan people. It was the Qing government’s coastal boundary relocation policy that brought greater disaster to the Zhoushan people. In the process of eliminating the Nanming (南明) forces, the Qing government decided to demolish all the houses in Zhoushan County, and all the residents rushed back to the mainland. This was the famous policy of “Moving from the Sea Area” (MSA) in the early Qing Dynasty. “Move the coastal residents, take the wall as the boundary, all the places 30 miles away from the coast are abandoned.” (Shengshi, 1934: 20) “Coastal areas forbidden by Fujian, Zhejiang and Jiangnan (江南) provinces.” (Qin Ding Da Qing Hui Dian Shi Li, 1976: 14947) Eastern Zhejiang was the place where the anti-Qing forces were most concentrated. Therefore, it had also become a key area for the relocation of the Qing government, including Zhoushan, Zhenhai, Xiangshan (象山) and Ninghai (宁海). Zhoushan suffered the most. “In the 13th year of Shunzhi (顺治) (1656 AD), The rulers of Qing Dynasty thought Zhoushan could not be guarded, so they forced the people of Zhoushan to cross the sea to mainland. Countless people who crossed the sea were drowned, and Zhoushan was deserted.” (Wengzhoulaomin, 1985: 18) In the 18th year of Shunzhi, “the residents of the border sea of Wenzhou, Taizhou and Ningbo moved to the mainland.” (Anonym, 2012: 906) According to history, “In the early years of Shunzhi of the Qing Dynasty, Zhoushan was occupied by the residual forces of the Ming Dynasty,... Leaving Zhoushan outside the boundary.” (Anonym, 1993: 584) “In August of the 13th year of (Shunzhi), the people of Zhoushan moved to the mainland, withdrew to the shore and set up defenses. (Shenghua, 2006: 14)” From then on to the abolition of the policy of MSA, Zhoushan Islands was basically in ruins. “There are no crops in the fields, and the people have nothing to rely on.” (Zhixun and Yizhou, 2011: 441) Like the sea ban policy of the Ming Dynasty, the MSA on Zhoushan Islands in the early Qing Dynasty was a part of the sea ban policy of the Qing government, it reflected the conservatism of the sea policy. The status of coastal areas and territorial seas of Zhoushan Islands also continued the active marginalization of the Ming Dynasty in the whole coastal policy of the Qing government.

After the Qing Dynasty recovered Taiwan (台湾), it ordered the lifting of the sea ban in 1684 AD, which enabled the Zhoushan Islands to “recover”. In the 37th year of Kangxi (康熙) (1698 AD), the Qing government moved Zhejiang customs to Dinghai and set up a Customs Supervision Office (then known as “Argumentation Office”) in Chaoguan Nong (钞关弄) of Dinghai (diagonally opposite Dongguanmiao Nong (东管庙弄) of today’s East Street). Foreign merchant ships could pay taxes in Dinghai without having to rush between Ningbo (宁波) and Dinghai. In the same year, the Qing government also built a Western-style spectacular building on the west side of the Nandaotou (南道头) outside Dinghai City, commonly known as the Red Hair Pavilion (because the Chinese people called colored people other than the yellow people “red hair”, this western building was called the Red Hair Pavilion.), which was specially used to receive European businessmen (mainly British businessmen) who came to Zhoushan. Unfortunately, in the 23rd year of Qianlong (乾隆) (1759 AD), Zhejiang Customs was closed, all China’s coastal free trade ports were closed, and trade was conducted only in Guangzhou, ending the legal status of allowing foreign businessmen to choose port trade since the 23rd year of Kangxi. The Red Hair Pavilion in Zhoushan was also closed, and the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands was again marginalized by the Qing government.

In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the status of coastal areas and territorial seas of Zhoushan Islands was repeatedly marginalized by the state, as an important gateway to China’s eastern coastal areas, its practical status was not marginalized. On the contrary, the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands in the Ming and Qing Dynasties was becoming more and more forefront, but this forefront was not the state’s active consciousness and positive attitude, it was a passive forefront in the face of domestic and foreign troubles.

In the Ming Dynasty, the important manifestation of the passive forefront status of Zhoushan Islands was the resistance to the Japanese pirates. Zhoushan Islands was one of the most severely affected areas along the coasts of China in the Ming Dynasty. In the 200 years from the establishment of the Ming Dynasty to Qi Jiguang (戚继光)’s annihilation of the Japanese invaders in Zhejiang during the Wanli (万历) period, Zhoushan area had almost never been continuously invaded and harassed by the Japanese invaders. In the process of invasion, the Japanese pirates wantonly killed and set fire to rob property and people. These countless crimes could be found everywhere in the records of the Ming Dynasty. The war against Japanese pirates caused greater damage to the economy of Zhoushan Islands, seriously damaged social production and hindered social progress. Zheng Xiao (郑晓), a famous historian of the Ming Dynasty, once participated in the war against Japan. He said that the Japanese pirates, “the nature of Japanese pirates is like stealing, robbery, suicide and killing.” (Xiao, 1985: 25) Yu Dayou (俞大猷), a famous anti-Japanese general, said: “the Japanese are more rebellious, aggressive, addicted to goods and commit suicide than the southern pirates.” (Dayou, 2007: 196) On the other hand, the serious Japanese suffering and anti-Japanese pirates struggle had increasingly highlighted the important forefront position of Zhoushan Islands in the sea, However, this forefront is not the product of the Ming government’s initiative, but the passive forefront position of the country in the face of internal and external difficulties.

The state’s passive forefront status of Zhoushan Islands continued in the Qing Dynasty. Since the closure of the Red Hair Pavilion in Zhoushan in the 23rd year of Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty, European countries had always hoped that the Qing government would open Zhoushan Islands as a free trade port, and Britain had the strongest desire. In order to open the door of China’s free trade, Britain had sent envoys to China for free trade many times, the most famous of which was Macartney’s visit to China. The real purpose of Macartney’s visit to China was not to simply congratulate Emperor Qianlong on his birthday, but the six requirements put forward were the ultimate goal. Two of the six requirements clearly related to Zhoushan: “First, please allow British merchant ships to land and operate business in Zhushan (Zhoushan), Ningbo, Tianjin (天津), etc.. Third, Please delimit an unguarded island near Zhoushan for the use of British businessmen so that British merchant ships can berth and travel at any time and store all goods and be habitable.” (Macartney, 2006: 101-102) Zhoushan Islands once again faced the opportunity to take the initiative in the forefront, but unfortunately, the Qing government blindly refused the requests of the British government, and Zhoushan Islands also lost the opportunity to open up and move to the initiative in the forefront, Continued to load on the road of the passive forefront.

During the whole Opium War, the first formal war between the British army and the Qing government was in Zhoushan, Zhejiang. On the surface, this was because the Qing government had active preparations and defense on the sea surface of Guangdong, and the British army was unable to attack to Guangdong, forcing them to quickly go north to capture the Dinghai after blocking the sea surface of the Pearl River (珠江). However, in fact, the British occupation of Zhoushan Islands has been plotting for a long time, (Heping, 1991) which clearly showed the important position of Zhoushan Islands in the national maritime territory. The outbreak of the Opium War in Zhoushan Islands was a foreign invasion in the forefront of the country’s maritime territory. However, in the actual war, the British Army ended the battle without firing a few shots at the Qing army, which could be seen from the vulnerability of the Qing army. The fate of Zhoushan Islands in the Opium War was not only a portrayal of its fate as a passive forefront of the national coastal areas and territorial seas, but also a portrayal of the national destiny of the whole Qing government at that time.

Throughout the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhoushan Islands experienced the process of active periphery and passive forefront in terms of its position in the sea and territory. The policy of sea ban in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the policy of abolishing counties and moving away people in Zhoushan Islands, were the result of the ruler’s active consciousness. Although this policy changed during the reign of Kangxi, the consciousness of the rulers did not fundamentally change, but the way of the consciousness of the rulers changed. This change could be reflected in the closure of coastal ports during the reign of Qianlong. From the perspective of coastal areas and territorial seas, both the sea ban policy and the port closure policy were the conscious expression of the rulers of the Ming and Qing Dynasties on the active periphery of coastal areas, which was consistent in essence. The active periphery of Zhoushan Islands was only an integral part of the national coastal area periphery policy. On the other hand, after the state had actively marginalized the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands, the coastal status of Zhoushan Islands itself did not exist because of the marginalization of the rulers. It was still the outpost of the national coastal area and territorial seas, and its forefront status was unshakable, it was no longer an active forefront, but a passive forefront. This passivity exposed its danger and harmfulness in the face of foreign invasion. The invasion of Japanese pirates brought great disaster to Zhoushan Islands. The Opium War pushed China into a century of humiliation.

Periphery and Forefront: The status of coastal areas and territorial seas and national destiny of Zhoushan Islands

The history of coastal areas and territorial seas of Zhoushan Islands is a history from periphery to forefront. For a long time in early China, Zhoushan Islands were on the periphery of the sea, whether from the perspective of national political development or from the perspective of the center of civilization. The long-term periphery of Zhoushan Islands was not the deliberate indifference of the central government to it, but that it is in a remote place and an objective periphery position. Different from the objective periphery of Zhoushan Islands, in the late Tang Dynasty, the county system of Zhoushan Islands was abolished, and its coastal status was marginalized again, which was the active periphery of the central regime. After the end of the Tang Dynasty, Chinese civilization entered a period of division of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (五代十国) for half a century. For more than half a century, various forces in the mainland had competed with each other, and the regime had changed frequently. The energy and focus of the rulers are entirely on the mainland. Naturally, they would not be determined to manage the remote and small overseas islands such as Zhoushan Islands. Zhoushan Islands continued for a long time with the division of the country in the intentional or unintentional active periphery of the mainland regime.

Emperor Shenzong (神宗) in Northern Song Dynasty opened the active forefront period of Zhoushan Islands. The Northern Song Dynasty restored the county system in Zhoushan Islands, the Southern Song Dynasty took measures to strengthen the prevention and control of the sea border in Zhoushan Islands, the Yuan Dynasty took Zhoushan Islands as the starting point of the expedition to Japan, and Zhoushan Islands has always been in the forefront of the country’s sea border in the anti-Japanese struggle of the Yuan Dynasty, which clearly reflected the importance of Zhoushan Islands as the forefront of the country’s sea border. The active forefront of Zhoushan Islands in the song and Yuan Dynasties was not only an important manifestation of the Zhoushan Islands’ status as a coastal area, but also a manifestation of national prosperity, reflecting the trend from the development of China in mainland to the direction of the ocean. In the more than 200 years from the restoration of the county system in the Northern Song Dynasty to the demise of the Yuan Dynasty, the political power changed and the ruling Center changed continuously in the Chinese mainland, but the policy context of Song and Yuan dynasties on the sea border of Zhoushan Islands, which was an important gateway to the East China Sea, was basically the same, and they regarded Zhoushan Islands as an important active forefront.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although Zhoushan Islands played a more and more important role in the sea, it became more and more conservative and passive. The Ming government had neither the active consciousness and coastal defense policies and measures in the Song Dynasty, nor the Yuan government’s active and open attitude to deal with foreign maritime invasion. The Ming Dynasty’s policy of abolishing counties in Zhoushan Islands almost interrupted the socio-economic and cultural development of Zhoushan Islands for hundreds of years. The destruction of Shuangyu Port closed the door of free trade in the East China Sea and actively marginalized Zhoushan Islands. The five “sea ban orders” in the early Qing Dynasty were even more passive. Although after the recovery of Taiwan, the Qing government ordered the release of the sea ban in the 23rd year of Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty, the position of Zhoushan Islands as a passive forefront of coastal defense had never changed, and the whole China had become a “Immobile Empire”8.

The coastal policy of the Ming and Qing government towards Zhoushan Islands was an integral part of the whole national policy, the embodiment of the national will, the subjective will of the rulers, and the active marginalization of Zhoushan Islands. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, although the status of Zhoushan Islands in the sea was actively marginalized, in the historical development and foreign relations, it bore the front heavy responsibility in fact. On the one hand, the active implementation of the sea ban policy in the Ming Dynasty played a certain role in consolidating the coastal defense of the Ming Dynasty, but it was against the social reality and law after all. After the sea ban, not only the folk trade was stopped, but also the official tributary trade was very bleak. In essence, this policy of sea ban was a form of seclusion. It seriously hindered the development of China’s industry and commerce, the exchange of goods, scientific knowledge and production technology between China and the west, the expansion of overseas markets and the accumulation of China’s original capital. More importantly, it eventually leaded to the stagnation of the development of China’s social productive forces and the corruption of production relationships, this had blocked the development of Chinese society and made China gradually lag behind the world trend.

After the Qing Dynasty replaced the Ming Dynasty, the supreme ruler of the country changed his master, and nomadic people replaced agricultural people to occupy the whole land of China. Great changes had taken place in the country. But in fact, looking at the whole world, from the dynamic development process of the whole world situation and pattern, there was no substantive change in the internal structure of the Qing Empire. Qing Dynasty did not change the essence of the stagnant empire. With the extreme strengthening of the autocratic system and the closed door policy, the decadent, weak but giant paper tiger of the Qing Empire would eventually be submerged and buried by the world trend. Finally, after the fruitless dialogue between the deaf (the west) and the deaf (Qing Dynasty), the west finally lost patience and forcibly opened the door of China with its strong ship and gun. The first battle of the Opium War took place in Dinghai, Zhoushan. Under this world background, the results of the war could be imagined. Mr. Jiang Tingfu (蒋廷黻), a famous historian in China, said, “the relationship between China and the west was special. Before the Opium War, we refused to give equal treatment to foreign countries; after the Opium War, the foreign countries refused to give us equal status.” (Tingfu, 1987: 17) this “special relationship” between China and the west was inevitable, which was the sweeping of the decadent paper tiger of the Qing government by the huge waves accumulated in the West for hundreds of years. For Zhoushan Islands, it had unfortunately become not only the witness of the backward world of the Ming Dynasty, the witness of the collapse of the myth of the Qing Empire, but also the witness of the beginning of the humiliation history of the China. It bore not only the national destiny of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but also the first refractor of the humiliation history of the China.

Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Social Science Foundation of China, “Research on the Maritime History of Ancient Zhoushan Islands” (No. 20FZSB042).

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