Volume 81 Treatises 57: Finance and Economics 5

錢鈔坑冶附鐵冶銅場商稅市舶馬市

Money and Paper Currency; Mining and Metallurgy; appended sections on ironworks, copper yards, commercial taxes, maritime trade, and horse markets

錢幣之興，自九府圜法，歷代遵用。鈔始於唐之飛錢，宋之交會，金之交鈔。元世始終用鈔，錢幾廢矣。

Coinage originated in the Nine Offices circular standard and was upheld by dynasty after dynasty. Paper currency had its antecedents in Tang flying cash, Song exchange notes, and Jin exchange notes. Under the Yuan, paper notes were used from first to last, and hard currency was all but abandoned.

七年，帝乃設寶鈔提舉司。明年始詔中書省造大明寶鈔，命民間通行。以桑穰為料，其制方，高一尺，廣六寸，質青色，外為龍文花欄。橫題其額曰：「大明通行寶鈔」。其內上兩旁，復為篆文八字，曰：「大明寶鈔，天下通行」。中圖錢貫，十串為一貫。其下云「中書省奏準印造大明寶鈔與銅錢通行使用，偽造者斬，告捕者賞銀二十五兩，仍給犯人財產。」若五百文則畫錢文為五串，餘如其制而遞減之。其等凡六：曰一貫，曰五百文、四百文、三百文、二百文、一百文。每鈔一貫，準錢千文，銀一兩；四貫準黃金一兩。禁民間不得以金銀物貨交易，違者罪之；以金銀易鈔者聽。遂罷寶源、寶泉局。越二年，復設寶泉局，鑄小錢與鈔兼行，百文以下止用錢。商稅兼收錢鈔，錢三鈔七。十三年，以鈔用久昏爛，立倒鈔法，令所在置行用庫，許軍民商賈以昏鈔納庫易新鈔，量收工墨直。會中書省廢，乃以造鈔屬戶部，鑄錢屬工部，而改寶鈔文「中書省」為「戶部」，與舊鈔兼行。十六年，置戶部寶鈔廣源庫、廣惠庫；入則廣源掌之，出則廣惠掌之。在外衛所軍士，月鹽皆給鈔，各鹽場給工本鈔。十八年，天下有司官祿米皆給鈔，二貫五百文準米一石。

In the seventh year of Hongwu, the emperor established the Directorate for Treasure Notes. The following year he first ordered the Central Secretariat to issue Great Ming treasure notes and commanded that they circulate among the populace. They were made of mulberry-bark paper, square in format, a foot long and six inches wide, bluish-green in color, bordered on the outside with dragon motifs and floral bands. The heading across the top read: "Great Ming Circulating Treasure Notes." Inside, along the upper margins on either side, eight characters in seal script read: "Great Ming Treasure Notes, Valid Throughout the Realm." At the center was depicted a cash string: ten strings of coins equaled one full string of a thousand cash. Below ran the inscription: "Printed by imperial sanction of the Central Secretariat, these Great Ming treasure notes are to circulate alongside copper cash. Counterfeiters shall be executed; those who report and capture them shall receive a reward of twenty-five taels of silver, together with the culprit's property. For the five-hundred-cash denomination, five coin strings were shown; for the other denominations, the same principle applied, scaled downward. There were six denominations in all: one guan, and notes for five hundred, four hundred, three hundred, two hundred, and one hundred cash. Each note of one guan was fixed at one thousand cash, or one tael of silver; and four guan were equivalent to one tael of gold. Private trade in gold, silver, or commodities was forbidden, and offenders were punished; but exchanging gold and silver for notes was allowed. The Baoyuan and Baoquan mints were thereupon abolished. Two years later the Baoquan Bureau was reinstated to cast small coin for use alongside notes; for transactions under one hundred cash, only coin was accepted. Commercial taxes were collected in a mix of coin and notes, thirty percent in coin and seventy percent in notes. In the thirteenth year, as notes long in circulation had grown faded and frayed, a worn-note exchange system was instituted: circulation treasuries were established throughout the realm, where soldiers, commoners, and merchants could turn in worn notes for fresh ones, paying a processing fee. After the Central Secretariat was abolished, note printing passed to the Ministry of Revenue and coin minting to the Ministry of Works; "Central Secretariat" on the notes was replaced with "Ministry of Revenue," and the revised notes circulated alongside the earlier issues. In the sixteenth year, the Ministry of Revenue set up the Guangyuan and Guanghui treasuries for treasure notes; Guangyuan handled incoming notes, Guanghui outgoing ones. Soldiers at outlying garrisons were paid their monthly salt allowance entirely in notes, and each salt yard was issued notes covering production costs. In the eighteenth year, official grain salaries nationwide were paid in notes, at a rate of two guan and five hundred cash per shi of grain.

二十二年詔更定錢式：生銅一斤，鑄小錢百六十，折二錢半之，「當三」至「當十」，準是為差。更造小鈔，自十文至五十文。二十四年諭榷稅官吏，凡鈔有字貫可辯者，不問爛損，即收受解京，抑勒與偽充者罪之。二十五年設寶鈔行用庫於東市，凡三庫，各給鈔三萬錠為鈔本，倒收舊鈔送內府。令大明寶鈔與歷代錢兼行，鈔一貫準錢千文，提舉司於三月內印造，十月內止，所造鈔送內府充賞賚。明年罷行用庫，又罷寶泉局。時兩浙、江西、閩、廣民重錢輕鈔，有以錢百六十文折鈔一貫者，由是物價翔貴，而鈔法益壞不行。三十年乃更申交易用金銀之禁。

In the twenty-second year an edict reset the coin standard: one jin of raw copper yielded one hundred sixty small coins, each nominally two and a half cash, with denominations from "value three" through "value ten" scaled to match. Small-denomination notes were also introduced, ranging from ten to fifty cash. In the twenty-fourth year, tax officials were instructed to accept any note whose text and denomination remained legible, however worn or damaged, and remit it to the capital; coercion and knowingly passing counterfeits were made punishable. In the twenty-fifth year, three treasure-note circulation treasuries were opened at the Eastern Market, each capitalized with thirty thousand bundles of notes; worn notes taken in exchange were forwarded to the inner palace. Great Ming treasure notes were to circulate alongside coins of earlier dynasties, one guan equaling one thousand cash. The directorate was authorized to print from the third through the tenth month; the output was sent to the inner palace for grants and largesse. The following year the circulation treasuries were shut down, and the Baoquan Bureau was abolished once more. By then in Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, and Guangdong the people favored coin over notes; in some places a mere one hundred sixty cash bought a one-guan note. Prices shot upward, and the paper currency system collapsed altogether. In the thirtieth year the ban on transactions in gold and silver was enforced anew.

成祖初，犯者以奸惡論，惟置造首飾器皿，不在禁例。永樂二年詔犯者免死，徙家戍興州。陝西都司僉事張豫，坐抵易官鈔論戍。江夏民父死，以銀營葬具，當戍邊。帝以其迫於治葬，非玩法，特矜宥之。都御史陳瑛言：「比歲鈔法不通，皆緣朝廷出鈔太多，收斂無法，以致物重鈔輕。莫若暫行戶口食鹽法。天下人民不下千萬戶，官軍不下二百萬家，誠令計口納鈔食鹽，可收五千餘萬錠。」帝令戶部會羣臣議。大口月食鹽一斤，納鈔一貫，小口半之。從其議。設北京寶鈔提舉司，稅糧課程贓罰俱折收鈔，其直視洪武初減十之九。後又令鹽官納舊鈔支鹽，發南京抽分場積薪、龍江提舉司竹木鬻之軍民，收其鈔。應天歲辦蘆柴，徵鈔十之八。帝初即位，戶部尚書夏原吉請更鈔板篆文為「永樂」。帝命仍其舊。自後終明世皆用洪武年號云。

Early in the Yongle reign, violators were charged with grave misconduct; only the manufacture of ornaments and household vessels was exempt. In Yongle 2 an edict commuted the death penalty; offenders' families were instead exiled to garrison duty at Xingzhou. Zhang Yu, vice commissioner of the Shaanxi regional command, was sentenced to frontier exile for illicitly trading in official notes. In Jiangxia, a man who had used silver to procure funeral goods after his father's death was sentenced to frontier service. The emperor, judging that the man had acted under the pressure of filial obligation rather than in deliberate defiance of the law, granted him a special pardon. The censor-in-chief Chen Ying memorialized: "In recent years paper notes have ceased to circulate because the court has issued too many and recalled too few, so that goods hold their value while notes do not. It would be better to revive, for the time being, the household salt-ration levy. The realm counts no fewer than ten million civilian households and two million military ones. If every mouth were required to pay notes for its salt ration, the treasury could recover more than fifty million bundles. The emperor ordered the Ministry of Revenue to consult the assembled officials. Adults received one jin of salt monthly in exchange for one guan in notes; children paid half that rate. The proposal was adopted. A Beijing Directorate for Treasure Notes was established; grain taxes, commercial dues, and fines were all converted to note payments at one-tenth of their early Hongwu values. Later, salt officials were required to surrender old notes to draw salt, while stockpiled firewood from Nanjing's apportionment yard and bamboo and timber from the Longjiang directorate were sold to soldiers and civilians for notes. The annual reed-fuel quota for Yingtian was collected eighty percent in notes. Shortly after the emperor's accession, the minister of revenue Xia Yuanji asked that the seal-script legend on the note plates be changed to read "Yongle." The emperor ordered the original inscription kept unchanged. From that point on, Ming notes bore the Hongwu reign title to the end of the dynasty.

仁宗監國，令犯笞杖者輸鈔。及即位，以鈔不行詢原吉。原吉言：「鈔多則輕，少則重。民間鈔不行，緣散多斂少，宜為法斂之。請市肆門攤諸稅，度量輕重，加其課程。鈔入官，官取昏軟者悉毀之。自今官鈔宜少出，民間得鈔難，則自然重矣。」乃下令曰：「所增門攤課程，鈔法通，即復舊，金銀布帛交易者，亦暫禁止。」然是時，民卒輕鈔。至宣德初，米一石用鈔五十貫，乃馳布帛米麥交易之禁。凡以金銀交易及匿貨增直者罰鈔，府縣衛所倉糧積至十年以上者，鹽糧悉收鈔，秋糧亦折鈔三分，門攤課鈔增五倍，塌房、店舍月納鈔五百貫，果園、驘車並令納鈔。戶部言民間交易，惟用金銀，鈔滯不行。乃益嚴其禁，交易用銀一錢者，罰鈔千貫，贓吏受銀一兩者，追鈔萬貫，更追免罪鈔如之。

While serving as regent, the future Renzong allowed offenders sentenced to caning or beating to redeem their punishment with note payments. On his accession, finding notes still refused in trade, he questioned Yuanji. Yuanji replied: "When notes are plentiful they lose value; when scarce, they gain it. Notes fail in the marketplace because the state spends freely and recalls little; what is needed is a systematic means of drawing them back in. I propose raising the stall and shop-front levies, graded according to the scale of each business. Notes paid into the treasury should be culled: every worn or soft note destroyed. Henceforth the court should issue sparingly. When notes grow scarce among the people, their value will recover of itself. An edict followed: "Once the note system is restored, the increased stall levies will be rolled back; meanwhile, trade in gold, silver, and cloth is again temporarily forbidden." Even so, the people continued to treat notes as worthless. By the opening years of Xuande, a single shi of rice fetched fifty guan in notes, and the ban on trading in cloth, silk, grain, and wheat was lifted. Anyone trading in gold or silver, or hoarding goods to inflate prices, was fined in notes. Where prefectural, county, and garrison granaries held grain ten years or older, salt and grain payments were taken entirely in notes; thirty percent of autumn grain was converted to notes; stall levies were quintupled; warehouse sheds and shopfronts owed five hundred guan monthly; orchards and pack-mule operators were likewise compelled to pay in notes. The Ministry of Revenue reported that private commerce ran on gold and silver alone, while notes languished unused. Penalties were sharpened: a transaction of even one mace of silver drew a fine of one thousand guan; a corrupt official who took one tael of silver owed ten thousand guan, with the same penalty for notes offered in exchange for exemption from punishment.

英宗即位，收賦有米麥折銀之令，遂減諸納鈔者，而以米銀錢當鈔，馳用銀之禁。朝野率皆用銀，其小者乃用錢，惟折官俸用鈔，鈔壅不行。十三年復申禁令，阻鈔者追一萬貫，全家戍邊。天順中，始馳其禁。憲宗令內外課程錢鈔兼收，官俸軍餉亦兼支錢鈔。是時鈔一貫不能直錢一文，而計鈔徵之民，則每貫徵銀二分五釐，民以大困。

At Yingzong's accession, grain and wheat taxes were permitted to be paid in silver; note payments were scaled back in favor of grain, silver, and coin, and the ban on silver was lifted. Silver became the currency of court and country alike; only small change remained in coin. Notes survived solely as a nominal medium for salary conversion—and even there they barely moved. In the thirteenth year the ban was reimposed: anyone who refused notes faced a fine of ten thousand guan and exile of the entire household to the frontier. Under Tianshun the prohibition was finally withdrawn. Xianzong decreed that commercial dues at home and abroad be collected in coin and notes alike, and that official salaries and military stipends be paid in both. By then a single guan in notes could not buy one cash on the open market, yet the state still assessed taxes at two mace and five candareens of silver per guan— to the people's ruinous cost.

弘治元年，京城稅課司，順天、山東、河南戶口食鹽，俱收鈔，各鈔關俱錢鈔兼收。其後乃皆改折用銀。而洪武、永樂、宣德錢積不用，詔發之，令與歷代錢兼用。戶部請鼓鑄，乃復開局鑄錢。凡納贖收稅，歷代錢、制錢各收其半；無制錢即收舊錢，二以當一。制錢者，國朝錢也。舊制，工部所鑄錢入太倉、司鑰二庫；諸關稅錢亦入司鑰庫。共貯錢數千百萬，中官掌之，京衛軍秋糧取給焉，每七百當銀一兩。武宗之初，部臣請察覈侵蝕；又以錢當俸糧者，僅及銀數三之一，請於承運庫給銀。時中官方用事，皆不聽。已而司鑰庫太監龐鄶慄言：「自弘治間榷關折銀入承運庫，錢鈔缺乏，支放不給，請遵成化舊制，錢鈔兼收。」從之。正德三年，乙太倉積錢給官俸，十分為率，錢一銀九。又從太監張永言，發天財庫及戶部布政司庫錢，關給徵收，每七十文徵銀一錢，且申私鑄之禁。嘉靖四年，令宣課分司收稅，鈔一貫折銀三釐，錢七文折銀一分。是時鈔久不行，錢亦大壅，益專用銀矣。

In Hongzhi 1, the capital tax bureau and the household salt levies in Shuntian, Shandong, and Henan all accepted notes, and every toll station collected coin and notes jointly. In time, however, every one of these was converted to silver payments. Meanwhile, stockpiles of Hongwu, Yongle, and Xuande coin sat idle; an edict ordered them released for circulation alongside coins of earlier dynasties. The Ministry of Revenue petitioned to resume minting, and the foundries were reopened. For fines, redemption payments, and tax collection, historical coin and current standard coin were each accepted at fifty percent; where standard coin was unavailable, old coin was taken at two for one. "Standard coin" meant currency of the reigning dynasty. Under the established arrangement, coin cast by the Ministry of Works went into the Taicang and Siyao treasuries; toll revenues in coin likewise flowed into the Siyao treasury. The combined hoard ran to tens of millions of cash, overseen by eunuchs; from it the capital garrison drew its autumn grain rations, valued at seven hundred cash to the tael of silver. Early in Wuzong's reign, ministry officials called for an audit of embezzlement and shortfalls; they further noted that officials paid in coin received barely a third of the silver equivalent, and asked that salaries be disbursed in silver from the Chengyun treasury. The eunuchs then held sway, and every request was rejected. Soon the Siyao eunuch Pang Que memorialized: "Since Hongzhi, toll revenues have been converted to silver and deposited in the Chengyun treasury, leaving coin and notes too scarce to meet payments. I ask that we restore the Chenghua practice of collecting coin and notes jointly. The request was granted. In Zhengde 3, Taicang's accumulated coin was applied to official salaries on a one-in-ten basis—one part coin, nine parts silver. At the urging of the eunuch Zhang Yong, coin from the Tian Cai treasury and the Ministry's provincial treasuries was released for toll collection at seventy cash per mace of silver, and the ban on private minting was reaffirmed. In Jiajing 4, the revenue apportionment bureaus were instructed to assess taxes at three candareens of silver per guan of notes, and one candareen per seven cash. By then notes had been dead currency for years and coin too lay idle in hoards; the realm leaned ever more exclusively on silver.

明初鑄洪武錢。成祖九年鑄永樂錢。宣德九年鑄宣德錢。弘治十六年以後，鑄弘治錢。至世宗嘉靖六年，大鑄嘉靖錢。每文重一錢三分，且補鑄累朝未鑄者。三十二年鑄洪武至正德九號錢，每號百萬錠，嘉靖錢千萬錠，一錠五千文。而稅課抽分諸廠，專收嘉靖錢。民患錢少，乃發內庫新舊錢八千一百萬文折給俸糧。又令通行歷代錢，有銷新舊錢及以銅造像制器者，罪比盜鑄。先是，民間行濫惡錢，率以三四十錢當銀一分。後益雜鉛錫，薄劣無形制，至以六七十文當銀一分。翦楮夾其中，不可辨。用給事中李用敬言，以制錢與前代雜錢相兼行，上品者俱七文當銀一分，餘視錢高下為三等，下者二十一文當銀一分；私造濫惡錢悉禁不行，犯者置之法。小錢行久，驟革之，民頗不便。又出內庫錢給文武官俸，不論新舊美惡，悉以七文折算。諸以俸錢市易者，亦悉以七文抑勒予民，民亦騷然。

The dynasty opened with the casting of Hongwu coin. In Chengzu's ninth year, Yongle coin was minted. In Xuande 9, Xuande coin followed. From Hongzhi 16 onward, Hongzhi coin was minted. In Jiajing 6 under the Jiajing Emperor, minting of Jiajing coin began in earnest. Each piece weighed one mace and three candareens, and the mint also backfilled issues for reigns that had never received their own coinage. In Jiajing 32, nine reign series from Hongwu through Zhengde were cast at one million bundles apiece; Jiajing coin alone ran to ten million bundles, each bundle holding five thousand cash. Tax offices, levy stations, and apportionment yards would take Jiajing coin and nothing else. As the people groaned under the coin shortage, eighty-one million cash in new and old coin was released from the inner treasuries at a discounted rate to cover salary grain. Circulation of historical coin was also mandated; melting new or old coin, or casting copper into idols or utensils, was made a crime equal to illicit minting. Before this, debased coin had dominated private trade, trading at roughly thirty or forty cash to the mace of silver. Minting grew still worse with lead and tin adulteration—coins so thin and shapeless that sixty or seventy cash barely bought a mace of silver. Counterfeiters sandwiched paper between planchets so the fraud could not be told. Acting on supervising secretary Li Yongjing's memorial, the court allowed standard mint coin to circulate alongside older mixed coin. Top-grade pieces all traded at seven cash per mace of silver; the rest were sorted into three tiers by quality, with the bottom tier at twenty-one cash per mace. Privately cast debased coin was banned outright, and violators were prosecuted. Small-denomination coin had been in use for years, and sweeping abolition sorely inconvenienced the public. Salaries were paid from inner-treasury coin as well, with every piece—new or worn, sound or debased—reckoned at seven cash to the mace. Officials spending salary coin in the markets likewise foisted the seven-cash rate on common people, stirring widespread outrage.

屬連歲大侵，四方流民就食京師，死者相枕藉。論者謂錢法不通使然。於是御史何廷鈺條奏，請許民用小錢，以六十文當銀一分。戶部執不從。廷鈺訐奏尚書方鈍及郎中劉爾牧。帝怒，斥爾牧，採廷鈺議，命從民便。且定嘉靖錢七文，洪武諸錢十文，前代錢三十文，當銀一分。然諸濫惡小錢，以初禁之嚴，雖奉旨間行，竟不復用，而民間競私鑄嘉靖通寶錢，與官錢並行焉。

Years of severe famine drove refugees from every quarter to the capital for food; corpses lay stacked in the streets. Commentators blamed the breakdown of the currency regime. Censor He Tingyu then submitted a detailed plan asking that small coin be allowed at sixty cash per mace of silver. The Ministry of Revenue dug in its heels and refused. He Tingyu impeached Minister Fang Dun and bureau director Liu Ermu. The emperor flew into a rage, cashiered Liu Ermu, adopted He's proposal, and told officials to follow whatever suited the people. Rates were fixed at seven cash for Jiajing coin, ten for Hongwu issues, and thirty for older coin—all per mace of silver. Strict earlier bans meant debased small coin never truly returned despite occasional imperial indulgence; instead private Jiajing Tongbao flooded the market alongside official issues.

給事中殷正茂言：「兩京銅價大高，鑄錢得不償費。宜採雲南銅，運至岳州鼓鑄，費工本銀三十九萬，可得錢六萬五千萬文，直銀九十三萬餘兩，足以少佐國家之急。」戶部覆言：「雲南地僻事簡，即山鼓鑄為便。」乃敕巡撫以鹽課銀二萬兩為工本。未幾，巡撫王昺言費多入少，乞罷鑄。帝以小費不當惜，仍命行之。越數年，巡按王諍復言宜罷鑄。部議：「錢法壅滯者，由宣課司收稅以七文當一分。奸民乘機阻撓，錢多則惡濫相欺，錢少則增直罔利，故禁愈繁而錢愈滯。自今准折聽民便，不必定文數，而課稅及官俸且俱用銀。」乃罷雲南鑄錢，而從戶部議。

Supervising secretary Yin Zhengmao said, "Copper in both capitals costs so much that minting cannot pay for itself. Yunnan copper should be shipped to Yuezhou for minting. Three hundred ninety thousand taels of working capital could yield 650 million cash worth over 930,000 taels—enough to ease the treasury's pinch." The Ministry replied that remote, lightly administered Yunnan was better served by minting at the mines. The emperor ordered the grand coordinator to fund the work with twenty thousand taels from salt revenues. Soon Grand Coordinator Wang Bing reported that costs outran returns and asked to shut the mint. The emperor deemed the outlay trifling and ordered minting to continue. Years later touring censor Wang Zheng again urged an end to minting. The ministry argued that currency stagnated because tax collectors insisted on seven cash per mace. Sharpers exploited the rules—flood the market and debased coin drove out good; tighten supply and prices were gouged—so every new ban only deepened the paralysis. Henceforth exchange rates would follow local practice without a fixed cash count, while taxes and salaries would be paid in silver. Yunnan minting was shut down on the ministry's terms.

時所鑄錢有金背，有火漆，有鏇邊。議者以鑄錢艱難，工匠勞費，革鏇車用鑢鐋。於是鑄工競雜鉛錫便剉治，而輪郭粗糲，色澤黯黲。奸偽仿效，盜鑄日滋，金背錢反阻不行。死罪日報，終不能止。帝患之，問大學士徐階。階陳五害，請停寶源局鑄錢，應支給錢者悉予銀。帝乃鞫治工匠侵料減工罪，而停鼓鑄。自後稅課徵銀而不徵錢。且民間止用制錢，不用古錢，而私鑄者多。

The mint then turned out gold-back, lacquered, and milled-edge coins. Critics of the costly mint process scrapped the turning lathe for cruder rasp-and-scraper work. Mint workers adulterated with lead and tin for easier filing, producing coarse rims and a dingy finish. Forgers copied the style; counterfeiting swelled daily until even genuine gold-back coin could not circulate. Daily death sentences failed to stop it. Troubled, the emperor sought Grand Secretary Xu Jie's counsel. Xu listed five harms, urged halting the Bao Yuan mint, and proposed paying every obligation in silver instead of coin. The emperor prosecuted mint workers for short-weight fraud and shut down the furnaces. Taxes were henceforth collected in silver, not cash. The public used only current mint coin, shunned older issues, and private casting flourished.

隆慶初，錢法不行，兵部侍郎譚綸言：「欲富民，必重布帛菽粟而賤銀，欲賤銀，必制錢法以濟銀之不足。今錢惟布於天下，而不以輸於上，故其權在市井。請令民得以錢輸官，則錢法自通。」於是課稅銀三兩以下復收錢，民間交易一錢以下止許用錢。時錢八文折銀一分，禁民毋得任意低昂。直隸巡按楊家相請鑄大明通寶錢，不識年號。部議格不行。高拱再相，言：「錢法朝議夕更，迄無成說。小民恐今日得錢，而明日不用，是以愈更愈亂，愈禁愈疑。請一從民便，勿多為制以亂人耳目。」帝深然之。錢法復稍稍通矣。寶鈔不用垂百餘年，課程亦鮮有收鈔者，惟俸錢獨支鈔如故。四年始以新鑄隆慶錢給京官俸云。

Early in Longqing, cash barely circulated. Vice Minister Tan Lun said, "To enrich the people, cloth and grain must rise in esteem and silver must fall; to cheapen silver, sound coin must fill the gap left by silver shortages. Today cash circulates everywhere but barely reaches the treasury, so pricing power sits with the market. Let the people pay the state in cash, and currency will flow again. Taxes under three mace of silver were again payable in cash; private dealings under one mace had to be settled in coin. The rate was fixed at eight cash per mace, with arbitrary price-swings banned. Zhili touring censor Yang Jiaxiang proposed minting "Great Ming Tongbao" without reign-year inscriptions. The ministry rejected the idea. When Gao Gong returned as chief minister, he said, "Monetary policy changes by the hour and still has no settled rule. Ordinary people fear coin accepted today may be worthless tomorrow—so each reform breeds chaos and each ban breeds distrust. Follow local practice and stop piling on rules that only confuse everyone. The emperor strongly agreed. Cash began to circulate again, if only fitfully. Paper notes had been dead for a century; almost no levies took them; only salary portions were still nominally paid in notes. In Longqing 4, capital salaries were at last paid partly in freshly minted Longqing cash.

萬曆四年命戶工二部，準嘉靖錢式鑄「萬曆通寶」金背及火漆錢，一文重一錢二分五釐，又鑄鏇邊錢，一文重一錢三分，頒行天下，俸糧皆銀錢兼給。雲南巡按郭庭梧言：「國初京師有寶源局，各省有寶泉局，自嘉靖間省局停廢，民用告匱。滇中產銅，不行鼓鑄，而反以重價購海，非利也。」遂開局鑄錢。尋命十三布政司皆開局。採工部言，以五銖錢為準，用四火黃銅鑄金背，二火黃銅鑄火漆，粗惡者罪之。蓋以費多利少則私鑄自息也。久之，戶部言：「錢之輕重不常，輕則斂，重則散，故無壅閼匱乏之患。初鑄時，金背十文直銀一分，今萬曆金背五文，嘉靖金背四文，各直銀一分，火漆鏇邊亦如之。僅逾十年，而輕重不啻相半，錢重而物價騰踴，宜發庫貯以平其直。」從之。時王府皆鑄造私錢，吏樂敢訐。古錢阻滯不行，國用不足，乃命南北寶源局拓地增爐鼓鑄。而北錢視南錢昂值三之一，南鑄大抵輕薄。然各循其舊，並行不廢。

In Wanli 4 the revenue and works ministries were told to mint Wanli Tongbao in gold-back and lacquered types at one mace 2.5 candareens per cash, plus milled-edge pieces at one mace 3 candareens, and send them empire-wide; salaries would be paid in silver and cash together. Yunnan touring censor Guo Tingwu noted that early Ming Beijing had the Bao Yuan mint and every province a Bao Quan mint; after provincial mints were shut in the Jiajing era the people faced chronic shortages. Yunnan produced copper but did not mint locally, instead paying dearly to import it from abroad—a losing bargain. A mint was opened on his advice. Soon all thirteen provincial administrations were ordered to open mints. Heeding the Works ministry, mints used the five-zhu standard: four-fire brass for gold-back coin, two-fire brass for lacquered coin, with penalties for shoddy work. The idea was that if minting barely paid, private counterfeiting would die out on its own. Over time the revenue ministry observed that coin weight never stayed fixed: light coin was hoarded, heavy coin spread abroad, which warded off hoarding crises. At first gold-back traded at ten cash per mace; a decade later Wanli gold-back was five and Jiajing gold-back four, with lacquered and milled types on the same footing. Within a decade weights had diverged by half; as coin grew heavier, prices shot up—so the court should release stored cash to steady values. The emperor agreed. Imperial clans minted private coin while clerks dared denounce them. With old coin blocked and revenues thin, both northern and southern Bao Yuan mints expanded their yards and added furnaces. Northern cash commanded a third more than southern; southern mints mostly turned out light, thin pieces. Each region kept its own standard, and all issues continued to circulate side by side.

天啟元年鑄泰昌錢。兵部尚書王象乾，請鑄當十、當百、當千三等大錢，用龍文，略仿白金三品之制，於是兩京皆鑄大錢。後有言大錢之弊者，詔兩京停鑄大錢，收大錢發局改鑄。當是時，開局遍天下，重課錢息。

Tianqi 1 saw Taichang cash minted. War Minister Wang Xiangqian proposed ten-, hundred-, and thousand-cash pieces bearing dragon motifs, modeled loosely on the white-gold tiers—and both capitals began minting high denominations. Critics of big cash soon prevailed; both capitals were told to stop minting it and melt down what had been issued. Mint offices sprang up nationwide, with steep charges on coinage profits.

崇禎元年，南京鑄本七萬九千餘兩，獲息銀三萬九千有奇；戶部鑄錢獲息銀二萬六千有奇。其所鑄錢，皆以五十五文當銀一錢，計息取盈，工匠之賠補，行使之折閱，不堪命矣。寶泉局銅本四十萬兩，舊例錢成還本太倉，次年再借，至是令永作鑄本。三年，御史鐃京言：「鑄錢開局，本通行天下，今乃苦於無息，旋開旋罷，自南北兩局外，僅存湖廣、陝西、四川、雲南及宣、密二鎮。而所鑄之息，不盡歸朝廷，復苦無鑄本，蓋以買銅而非採銅也。乞遵洪武初及永樂九年、嘉靖六年例，遣官各省鑄錢，採銅於產銅之地，置官吏駐兵，仿銀礦法，十取其三。銅山之利，朝廷擅之，小民所採，仍予直以市。」帝從之。是時鑄廠並開，用銅益多，銅至益少。南京戶部尚書鄭三俊請專官買銅。戶部議原籍產銅之人駐鎮遠、荊、常銅鉛會集處，所謂採銅於產銅之地也。帝俱從之。既，又採絳、孟、垣曲、聞喜諸州縣銅鉛。荊州抽分主事硃大受言：「荊州上接黔、蜀，下聯江、廣，商販銅鉛畢集，一年可以四鑄。四鑄之息，兩倍於南，三倍於北。」因陳便宜四事，即命大受專督之。遂定錢式，每文重一錢，每千直銀一兩。南都錢輕薄，屢旨嚴飭，乃定每文重八分。初，嘉靖錢最工，隆、萬錢加重半銖，自啟、禎新鑄出，舊錢悉棄置。然日以惡薄，大半雜鉛砂，百不盈寸，捽擲輒破碎。末年敕鑄當五錢，不及鑄而明亡。

In Chongzhen 1 Nanjing invested nearly 79,000 taels in minting and reported profit of nearly 39,000 taels; the revenue ministry's minting cleared over 26,000 taels in profit. Every piece was booked at fifty-five cash per mace with interest skimmed on top; between craftsmen's make-good payments and wear in circulation, the system crushed those who ran it. The Bao Quan mint's 400,000-tael copper fund had once rotated back to the Great Granary each year for re-lending; now it was frozen permanently as mint capital. Censor Rao Jing argued that mints were meant to serve the whole empire, yet they kept opening and closing for lack of profit; outside the two capitals only Huguang, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Yunnan, and the Xuan and Mi posts still operated. Profits did not all reach the throne, and capital ran short—because mints bought copper instead of mining it. He urged reviving early Hongwu, Yongle 9, and Jiajing 6 practice: send officers to provincial mints, mine copper on site with officials and troops, and take a three-tenths levy as at silver mines. The state would keep mine profits while paying diggers fair market rates for what they brought in. The emperor approved. With every smelter running, demand for copper soared and supply thinned. Nanjing revenue minister Zheng Sanjun asked for officers devoted solely to buying copper. The ministry proposed posting natives of mining counties at Zhenyuan, Jingzhou, and Changde, the copper-and-lead entrepôts—true on-site procurement. The emperor accepted both proposals. Mining was extended to Jiang, Meng, Yuanqu, Wenxi, and neighboring counties. Zhu Dashou, chief of Jingzhou's levy office, said the city linked the southwest to the Yangzi basin and drew all copper and lead traffic—enough for four mint runs a year. Four annual runs would double southern profits and triple northern. He offered four practical reforms and was put in sole charge of the Jingzhou mint. A standard was set: one mace per cash, one thousand cash per tael of silver. Nanjing cash stayed flimsy despite repeated crackdowns; the weight was finally fixed at eight fen per piece. Jiajing pieces had been the finest; Longqing and Wanli added half a zhu; when Tianqi and Chongzhen issues appeared, older cash was abandoned wholesale. Quality slid daily—mostly lead and grit, so thin a hundred coins failed to span an inch and shattered when dropped. Late in the dynasty an order went out for five-cash pieces; the dynasty fell before they could be minted.

初制，歷代錢與制錢通行。自神宗初，從僉都御史龐尚鵬議，古錢止許行民間，輸稅贖罪俱用制錢。啟、禎時廣鑄錢，始括古錢以充廢銅，民間市易亦擯不用矣。莊烈帝初即位，禦平臺召對，給事中黃承昊疏有銷古錢之語。大學士劉鴻訓言：「北方皆用古錢，若驟廢之，於民不便。」帝以為然。既而以御史王燮言，收銷舊錢，但行新錢，於是古錢銷毀頓盡。蓋自隋世盡銷古錢，至是凡再見云。

Originally historical coin had circulated alongside current mint issues. From Shenzong's early reign, on Pang Shangpeng's advice, old coin was confined to private trade while taxes and fines had to be paid in current coin. Under Tianqi and Chongzhen mass minting, old cash was swept up as scrap and driven out of everyday trade. Early in Chongzhen's reign, at a terrace audience, supervising secretary Huang Chenghao's memorial spoke of melting down old coin. Grand Secretary Liu Hongxun cautioned that the north relied on old cash and sudden abolition would hurt ordinary people. The emperor agreed. Later, on censor Wang Xie's urging, the court collected and melted old coin for new issues—and historic cash vanished almost overnight. Since the Sui had annihilated old coin, this was only the second such purge in history.

鈔法自弘、正間廢，天啟時，給事中惠世揚復請造行。崇禎末，有蔣臣者申其說，擢為戶部司務。倪元璐方掌部事，力主之，然終不可行而止。

Paper notes had lapsed since Hongzhi and Zhengde; in Tianqi, supervising secretary Hui Shiyang asked to revive them. In Chongzhen's final years, Jiang Chen revived the paper-note scheme and was appointed a clerk in the Ministry of Revenue. Ni Yuanlu had just taken charge of the ministry and pressed hard for it, but the plan never went through and was dropped.

坑冶之課，金銀、銅鐵、鉛汞、硃砂、青綠，而金銀礦最為民害。徐達下山東，近臣請開銀場。太祖謂銀場之弊，利於官者少，損於民者多，不可開。其後有請開陝州銀礦者，帝曰：「土地所產，有時而窮。歲課成額，徵銀無已。言利之臣，皆戕民之賊也。」臨淄丞乞發山海之藏以通寶路，帝黜之。成祖斥河池民言採礦者。仁、宣仍世禁止，填番禺坑洞，罷嵩縣白泥溝發礦。然福建尤溪縣銀屏山銀場局爐冶四十二座，始於洪武十九年。浙江溫、處、麗水、平陽等七縣，亦有場局。歲課皆二千餘兩。

Taxation on mining and smelting applied to gold, silver, copper, iron, lead, mercury, cinnabar, and malachite—but gold and silver pits were the worst scourge for ordinary people. After Xu Da subdued Shandong, court intimates petitioned to open silver mines. The Hongwu Emperor held that silver mining chiefly enriched officials little while injuring the populace greatly, and forbade opening the pits. When petitioners later sought Shaanzhou silver mines, the emperor warned: "What the earth yields will someday run dry. Fix an annual quota and silver exactions never cease. Every official who preaches profit is a predator upon the common people. A Linzi deputy magistrate asked to exploit mountain and sea reserves to ease the money supply; the emperor removed him from office. Yongle likewise rejected Hechi locals who urged mineral extraction. Renzong and Xuanzong maintained bans generation after generation—filling Panyu mine shafts and shutting Song County's Bainigou diggings. Still, Fujian's Youxi County had run forty-two smelting furnaces at the Yinping Mountain silver bureau since Hongwu year nineteen. Zhejiang likewise maintained bureaus in Wenzhou, Chuzhou, Lishui, Pingyang, and six other counties. Each locale's yearly quota ran to a bit more than two thousand taels.

永樂間，開陝西商縣鳳皇山銀坑八所。遣官湖廣、貴州採辦金銀課，復遣中官、御史往核之。又開福建浦城縣馬鞍等坑三所，設貴州太平溪、交址宣光鎮金場局，葛容溪銀場局，雲南大理銀冶。其不產金銀者，亦屢有革罷。而福建歲額增至三萬餘兩，浙江增至八萬餘。宣宗初，頗減福建課，其後增至四萬餘，而浙江亦增至九萬餘。英宗下詔封坑穴，撤閘辦官，民大蘇息，而歲額未除。歲辦，皆洪武舊額也。閘辦者，永、宣所新增也。既而禁革永煎。奸民私開坑穴相殺傷，嚴禁不能止。下詔宥之，不悛。言者復請開銀場，則利歸於上，而盜無所容。乃命侍郎王質往經理，定歲課，福建銀二萬餘，浙江倍之。又分遣御史曹祥、馮傑提督，供億過公稅，民困而盜愈眾。鄧茂七、葉宗留之徒流毒浙、閩，久之始定。景帝嘗封閉，旋以盜礦者多，兵部尚書孫原貞請開浙江銀場，因並開福建，命中官戴細保提督之。天順四年命中官羅永之浙江，羅珪之雲南，馮讓之福建，何能之四川。課額浙、閩大略如舊，雲南十萬兩有奇，四川萬三千有奇，總十八萬三千有奇。成化中，開湖廣金場，武陵等十二縣凡二十一場，歲役民夫五十五萬，死者無算，得金僅三十五兩，於是復閉。而浙江銀礦以缺額量減，雲南屢開屢停。

Under Yongle, eight silver pits opened on Shang County's Fenghuang Mountain in Shaanxi. The court sent officers to Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou to collect mining levies, then dispatched eunuchs and censors to verify the accounts. Three Fujian pits including Pucheng's Ma'an were opened; bureaus were established at Guizhou's Taiping Stream and Jiaozhi's Xuanguang post, at Gerong Stream for silver, and smelters in Yunnan's Dali. Sites that yielded no gold or silver were shut down again and again. Fujian's yearly quota climbed past thirty thousand taels; Zhejiang's past eighty thousand. Early Xuande trimmed Fujian's quota, yet it soon swelled past forty thousand taels again, and Zhejiang neared ninety thousand. Yingzong ordered mines sealed and gate-collection offices abolished, bringing the people real relief—though statutory quotas remained on the books. Annual tribute still followed Hongwu-era targets. The gate-collection system was a Yongle–Xuande innovation. Continuous smelting was then banned. Outlaws dug covert pits and bloodshed followed; even harsh bans failed to stop them. The throne issued amnesties, but offenders would not mend their ways. Critics again urged reopening silver mines, arguing revenue would flow upward and illicit diggers would be flushed out. The court sent Vice Minister Wang Zhi to manage operations and set quotas—Fujian at just over twenty thousand taels of silver, Zhejiang twice as much. Censors Cao Xiang and Feng Jie were dispatched as superintendents; their retinues cost more than the tax itself, impoverishing locals while swelling the ranks of mine bandits. Rebels such as Deng Maoqi and Ye Zongliu ravaged Zhejiang and Fujian; stability returned only after years of unrest. Jingtai briefly sealed the mines, yet with illegal digging rampant, War Minister Sun Yuanzhen reopened Zhejiang's silver works and Fujian's as well, placing eunuch Dai Xibao in charge. Tianshun year four sent eunuch overseers—Luo Yong to Zhejiang, Luo Gui to Yunnan, Feng Rang to Fujian, He Neng to Sichuan. Zhejiang and Fujian quotas stayed near old levels; Yunnan topped one hundred thousand taels, Sichuan about thirteen thousand—some one hundred eighty-three thousand in all. Chenghua opened Huguang gold mines—twenty-one sites across twelve counties including Wuling pressed five hundred fifty thousand corvée laborers annually, with countless dead, for a yield of thirty-five taels of gold; the pits were shut again. Zhejiang cut silver quotas to match shortfalls; Yunnan lurched between opening and closure.

隆慶初，罷薊鎮開採。南中諸礦山，亦勒石禁止。萬曆十二年，奸民屢以礦利中上心。諸臣力陳其弊。帝雖從之，意怏怏。二十四年，張位秉政，前衛千戶仲春請開礦，位不能止。開採之端啟，廢弁白望獻礦峒者日至，於是無地不開。中使四出：昌平則王忠，真、保、薊、永、房山、蔚州則王虎，昌黎則田進，河南之開封、彰德、衛輝、懷慶、葉縣、信陽則魯坤，山東之濟南、青州、濟寧、沂州、滕、費、蓬萊、福山、樓霞、招遠、文登則陳增，山西之太原、平陽、潞安則張忠，南直之甯國、池州則郝隆、劉朝用，湖廣之德安則陳奉，浙江之杭、嚴、金、衢、孝豐、諸暨則曹金，後代以劉忠，陝西之西安則趙鑒、趙欽，四川則丘乘雲，遼東則高淮，廣東則李敬，廣西則沈永壽，江西則潘相，福建則高寀，雲南則楊榮。皆給以關防，並偕原奏官往。礦脈微細無所得，勒民償之。而奸人假開採之名，乘傳橫索民財，陵轢州縣。有司恤民者，罪以阻撓，逮問罷黜。時中官多暴橫，而陳奉尤甚。富家鉅族則誣以盜礦，良田美宅則指以為下有礦脈，率役圍捕，辱及婦女，甚至斷人手足投之江，其酷虐如此。帝縱不問。自二十五年至三十三年，諸璫所進礦稅銀幾及三百萬兩，羣小藉勢誅索，不啻倍蓰，民不聊生。山西巡撫魏允貞上言：「方今水旱告災，天鳴地震，星流氣射，四方日報。中外軍興，百姓困敝。而嗜利小人，借開採以肆饕餮。倘釁由中作，則礦夫冗役為禍尤烈。至是而後，求投珠抵璧之說用之晚矣。」河南巡按姚思仁亦言：「開採之弊，大可慮者有八。礦盜哨聚，易於召亂，一也。礦頭累極，勢成土崩，二也。礦夫殘害，逼迫流亡，三也。僱民糧缺，饑餓噪呼，四也。礦洞遍開，無益浪費，五也。礦砂銀少，強科民買，六也。民皆開礦，農桑失業，七也。奏官強橫，淫刑激變，八也。今礦頭以賠累死，平民以逼買死，礦夫以傾壓死，以爭鬥死。及今不止，雖傾府庫之藏，竭天下之力，亦無濟於存亡矣。」疏入，皆不省。識者以為明亡蓋兆於此。

Early Longqing ended mining at Ji garrison. Southern mining districts were posted with stone prohibitions as well. By Wanli twelve, profiteers kept whispering mineral wealth into the emperor's ear. Officials pleaded the ruinous consequences in the strongest terms. The throne agreed on paper but simmered with resentment. Wanli twenty-four, with Zhang Wei dominant, ex-guard officer Zhong Chun petitioned to open mines—and Wei could not block him. The mining frenzy began: cashiered troops and rank-and-file soldiers daily offered new dig sites, until scarcely a province was left untouched. Eunuch mining agents spread nationwide—Wang Zhong in Changping, Wang Hu across Hebei posts, Tian Jin in Changli, Lu Kun across Henan prefectures, Chen Zeng across Shandong, Zhang Zhong in Shanxi, Hao Long and Liu Chaoyong in southern Anhui, Chen Feng in Huguang, Cao Jin across Zhejiang (later Liu Zhong), the Zhao brothers in Shaanxi, Qiu Chengyun in Sichuan, Gao Huai in Liaodong, Li Jing in Guangdong, Shen Yongshou in Guangxi, Pan Xiang in Jiangxi, Gao Cai in Fujian, and Yang Rong in Yunnan. Each received an official seal and traveled with the official who had first proposed the mine. Where veins proved meager and yields nil, locals were compelled to pay compensation. Rogues posing as miners used imperial couriers to shake down households and humiliate local officials. Magistrates who shielded taxpayers were accused of obstruction, arrested, and cashiered. Most mining eunuchs were brutal; Chen Feng outdid them all. Rich families were accused of illicit mining; fertile estates were declared to overlie ore; enforcers besieged homes, assaulted women, and sometimes maimed men and cast them into rivers—cruelty without limit. The throne looked the other way. Between Wanli twenty-five and thirty-three, eunuch mining levies neared three million taels of silver; hangers-on extorted multiples beyond that, and commoners were driven to desperation. Shanxi governor Wei Yunzhen warned: "Flood and drought spread; the sky thunders, the earth trembles; meteors and strange vapors appear—alarms arrive daily from every direction. Wars tax the empire within and without, and the people are exhausted. Yet profit-seekers exploit mining to feast at the people's expense. If revolt sparks at the center, surplus mine gangs will make the catastrophe far worse. By then even the wisdom of 'do not cast pearls before swine' would come far too late. Henan censor Yao Siren listed eight grave perils of mining. Outlaw miners band together and readily spark rebellion—first. Headmen are squeezed past endurance, inviting systemic breakdown—second. Workers are abused until they flee—third. Hired hands go unfed, and hunger breeds riot—fourth. Mines proliferate with little yield but vast waste—fifth. Ore pays scant silver, yet households are compelled to purchase quotas—sixth. Universal digging ruins agriculture and sericulture—seventh. Imperial agents are violent; torture sparks uprisings—eighth. Today bosses die bankrupt from fines, commoners die under forced-buy orders, miners die in collapses, and many die in fights. Unless halted now, draining the treasury and exhausting the realm will not save the dynasty. The memorials were ignored. Observers judged that Ming decline was foreshadowed in this moment.

鐵冶所，洪武六年置。江西進賢、新喻、分宜，湖廣興國、黃梅，山東萊蕪，廣東陽山，陝西鞏昌，山西吉州二，太原、澤、潞各一，凡十三所，歲輸鐵七百四十六萬餘斤。河南、四川亦有鐵冶。十二年益以茶陵。十五年，廣平吏王允道言：「磁州產鐵，元時置官，歲收百餘萬斤，請如舊。」帝以民生甫定，復設必重擾，杖而流之海外。十八年罷各布政司鐵冶。既而工部言：「山西交城產雲子鐵，舊貢十萬斤，繕治兵器，他處無有。」乃復設。已而武昌、吉州以次復焉。末年，以工部言，復盡開，令民得自採鍊，每三十分取其二。永樂時，設四川龍州、遼東都司三萬衛鐵冶。景帝時，辦事吏請復陝西、寧遠鐵礦，工部劾其違法，下獄。給事中張文質以為不宜塞言路，乃釋之。弘治十七年，廣東歸善縣請開鐵冶，有司課外索賂，唐大鬢等因作亂，都御史劉大夏討平之。正德十四年，廣州置鐵廠，以鹽課提舉司領之，禁私販如鹽法。嘉靖三十四年開建甯、延平諸府鐵冶。隆、萬以後，率因舊制，未嘗特開云。

Ironworks bureaus were set up in Hongwu year six. Thirteen offices—in Jiangxi's Jinxian, Xinyu, and Fenyi; Huguang's Xingguo and Huangmei; Shandong's Laiwu; Guangdong's Yangshan; Shaanxi's Gongchang; two in Shanxi's Jizhou plus Taiyuan, Zezhou, and Lu'an—annually delivered over 7.46 million jin of iron. Henan and Sichuan operated ironworks as well. Chaling was added in year twelve. In year fifteen, Guangping clerk Wang Yundao urged restoring Yuan-era Cizhou iron offices that had yielded over a million jin yearly. Hongwu replied that the people had barely stabilized and reopening would harass them; Wang was flogged and banished overseas. Year eighteen abolished provincial ironworks. Soon the Ministry of Works noted Jiaocheng, Shanxi, produced prized cloud-nail iron—one hundred thousand jin tribute wrought into arms unique to the site. The works were restored. Wuchang and Jizhou followed suit. Late in the reign, on ministry advice, works reopened broadly; private mining was allowed with a two-thirtieths levy. Yongle established ironworks at Sichuan's Longzhou and Liaodong's Sanwan Guard. Under Jingtai, a clerk sought to reopen Shaanxi and Ningyuan iron mines; the Works Ministry jailed him for breaking law. Supervising secretary Zhang Wenzhi argued against silencing petitioners, and the clerk was freed. Hongzhi seventeen, Guishan, Guangdong, sought ironworks; corrupt officials extorted bribes beyond quota; Tang Dabin rebelled; Grand Coordinator Liu Daxia put down the revolt. Zhengde fourteen, Guangzhou opened an iron foundry under the salt intendant, banning private trade like salt. Jiajing thirty-four reopened ironworks in Jianning, Yanping, and neighboring prefectures. After Longqing and Wanli, the old system continued without special openings.

銅場，明初，惟江西德興、鉛山。其後四川梁山，山西五臺，陝西寧羌、略陽及雲南皆採水銀、青綠。太祖時，廉州巡檢言：「階州界西戎，有水銀坑冶及青綠、紫泥，願得兵取其地。」帝不許。惟貴州大萬山長官司有水銀、硃砂場局，而四川東川府會川衛山產青綠、銀、銅，以與外番接境，虞軍民潛取生事，特禁飭之。成化十七年封閉雲南路南州銅坑。弘治十八年裁革板場坑水銀場局。正德九年，軍士周達請開雲南諸銀礦，因及銅、錫、青綠。詔可，遂次第開採。嘉靖、隆、萬間，因鼓鑄，屢開雲南諸處銅場，久之所獲漸少。崇禎時，遂括古錢以供爐冶焉。關市之徵，宋、元頗繁瑣。明初務簡約，其後增置漸多，行齎居鬻，所過所止各有稅。其名物件析榜於官署，按而徵之，惟農具、書籍及他不鬻於市者勿算，應徵而藏匿者沒其半。買賣田宅頭匹必投稅，契本別納紙價。凡納稅地，置店曆，書所止商氏名物數。官司有都稅，有宣課，有司，有局，有分司，有抽分場局，有河泊所。所收稅課，有本色，有折色。稅課司局，京城諸門及各府州縣市集多有之，凡四百餘所。其後以次裁併十之七。抽分在南京者，曰龍江、大勝港；在北京者，曰通州、白河、盧溝、通積、廣積；在外者，曰真定、杭州、荊州、太平、蘭州、廣寧。又令軍衛自設場分，收貯柴薪。河泊所惟大河以南有之，河北止鹽山縣。

Early Ming copper yards existed only at Jiangxi's Dexing and Qianshan. Later Sichuan's Liangshan, Shanxi's Wutai, Shaanxi's Ningqiang and Lueyang, and Yunnan mined mercury and malachite. Under Hongwu, a Lianzhou inspector asked for troops to seize Jiezhou border pits yielding mercury, malachite, and purple clay from Western Rong lands. The emperor refused. Only Guizhou's Dawanshan chiefdom ran mercury and cinnabar bureaus; Sichuan's Huichuan Guard at Dongchuan yielded malachite, silver, and copper—but bordering foreign tribes, covert digging risked border incidents, so extraction was strictly banned. Chenghua seventeen sealed Yunnan's Lunan copper pit. Hongzhi eighteen abolished the Banchang mercury bureau. Zhengde nine, soldier Zhou Da petitioned to open Yunnan silver mines and extend to copper, tin, and malachite. Imperial approval followed, and pits opened one after another. Under Jiajing, Longqing, and Wanli, coinage needs repeatedly reopened Yunnan copper yards, but yields dwindled over time. Chongzhen then requisitioned old cash to feed the furnaces. Song and Yuan pass-and-market dues were many and petty. Early Ming favored simplicity, but levies slowly multiplied until travelers and stallkeepers paid tax at every stop. Itemized tax schedules hung in yamens; farm tools, books, and non-market goods were exempt; concealment cost half the goods. Land, house, slave, and livestock sales required stamp tax; contracts paid an additional paper fee. Tax posts kept shop ledgers listing merchants and goods. Government maintained metropolitan tax bureaus, xuange offices, agencies, bureaus, branch posts, apportionment yards, and river stations. Levies came as kind or commuted silver and grain. More than four hundred tax offices served capital gates and county markets. Later consolidations reduced them by seventy percent. Nanjing apportionment yards included Longjiang and Dasheng Harbor; Beijing's were Tongzhou, Baihe, Lugou, Tongji, and Guangji; provincial sites included Zhending, Hangzhou, Jingzhou, Taiping, Lanzhou, and Guangning. Military guards likewise opened yards to stockpile fuelwood. River stations lay south of the Yangtze; north of the Yellow River only Yanshan had one.

凡稅課，徵商估物貨；抽分，科竹木柴薪；河泊，取魚課。又有門攤課鈔，領於有司。太祖初，徵酒醋之稅，收官店錢。即吳王位，減收官店錢，改在京官店為宣課司，府縣官店為通課司。

Tax bureaus assessed merchant goods; apportionment yards taxed timber and fuel; river posts collected fish duties. Gate-stall note taxes were also collected by civil officials. Hongwu began levying wine, vinegar, and official shop fees. As Prince of Wu he cut shop fees; capital shops became Xuange offices and county shops Tongke offices.

凡商稅，三十而取一，過者以違令論。洪武初，命在京兵馬指揮領市司，每三日一校勘街市度量權衡，稽牙儈物價；在外，城門兵馬，亦令兼領市司。彰德稅課司，稅及蔬果、飲食、畜牧諸物。帝聞而黜之。山西平遙主簿成樂秩滿來朝，上其考曰：「能恢辦商稅」。帝曰：「稅有定額，若以恢辦為能，是剝削下民，失吏職也。州考非是。」命吏部移文以訊。十年，戶部奏：「天下稅課司局，徵商不如額者百七十八處。遂遣中官、國子生及部委官各一人核實，立為定額。十三年，吏部言：「稅課司局歲收額米不及五百石者，凡三百六十四處，宜罷之。」報可。胡惟庸伏誅，帝諭戶部曰：「曩者奸臣聚斂，稅及纖悉，朕甚恥焉。自今軍民嫁娶喪祭之物，舟車絲布之類，皆勿稅。」罷天下抽分竹木場。明年令以野獸皮輸魚課，制裘以給邊卒。

Merchants paid one-thirtieth; evasion was penalized. Early Hongwu put capital patrol commanders over market inspectors checking weights and broker prices every three days; provincial gate troops doubled as market inspectors. Zhangde taxed even produce, food, and livestock. The emperor cashiered the officer on hearing this. Pingyao registrar Cheng Le submitted an evaluation boasting he "vigorously collected commercial tax." The emperor replied: "Quotas are fixed; treating squeeze as merit is plundering subjects and betraying office. Your prefectural rating is mistaken. He ordered Personnel to investigate. Year ten, Revenue reported 178 tax offices below quota. Eunuchs, students, and ministry agents were sent to verify and fix quotas. Year thirteen, Personnel urged abolishing 364 offices yielding under five hundred shi. The throne agreed. After Hu Weiyong's execution, the emperor told Revenue: "Corrupt ministers once taxed every trifle—I am ashamed. Henceforth wedding, funeral, and ritual goods, boats, carts, silk, and cloth are tax-free. Empire-wide bamboo apportionment yards were abolished. Next year pelts were levied like fish tax to clothe border soldiers.

初，京師軍民居室皆官所給，比舍無隙地。商貨至，或止於舟，或貯城外，駔儈上下其價，商人病之。帝乃命於三山諸門外，瀕水為屋，名塌房，以貯商貨。

Initially capital residents lived in cramped official housing. Merchandise piled on boats or outside walls while brokers rigged prices. He built waterfront warehouses called taofang outside Sanshan gates.

永樂初定制，嫁娶喪祭時節禮物、自織布帛、農器、食品及買既稅之物、車船運己貨物、魚蔬雜果非市販者，俱免稅。準南京例，置京城官店塌房。七年遣御史、監生於收課處榷辦課程。二十一年，山東巡按陳濟言：「淮安、濟寧、東昌、臨清、德州、直沽，商販所聚。今都北平，百貨倍往時。其商稅宜遣人監榷一年，以為定額。」帝從之。

Early Yongle exempted ritual gifts, home textiles, tools, food, taxed goods, private transport, and non-market produce. Capital shops and taofang followed Nanjing's model. Year seven sent censors and students to enforce quotas. Year twenty-one, Shandong censor Chen Ji noted Huai'an, Jining, Dongchang, Linqing, Dezhou, and Zhigu as merchant hubs. With the capital in the north, traffic doubled. He asked one year of supervised levies to fix quotas. The emperor assented.

洪熙元年增市肆門攤課鈔。宣德四年，以鈔法不通，由商居貨不稅，由是於京省商賈湊集地、市鎮店肆門攤稅課，增舊凡五倍。兩京蔬果園不論官私種而鬻者，塌房、庫房、店舍居商貨者，騾驢車受亻僱裝載者，悉令納鈔。委御史、戶部、錦衣衛、兵馬司官各一，於城門察收。舟船受亻僱裝載者，計所載料多寡、路近遠納鈔。鈔關之設自此始。其倚勢隱匿不報者，物盡沒官，仍罪之。於是有漷縣、濟寧、徐州、淮安、揚州、上新河、滸墅、九江、金沙洲、臨清、北新諸鈔關，量舟大小修廣而差其額，謂之船料，不稅其貨。惟臨清、北新則兼收貨稅，各差御史及戶部主事監收。自南京至通州，經淮安、濟寧、徐州、臨清，每船百料，納鈔百貫。侍郎曹弘言：「塌房月鈔五百貫，良苦，有鬻子女輸課者。」帝令核除之。及鈔法通，減北京蔬地課鈔之半，船料百貫者減至六十貫。

Hongxi one raised gate-stall note taxes. Xuande four, notes failing to circulate because merchants hoarded untaxed stock, quintupled gate and stall levies. Fruit gardens, warehouses, and porters paid notes; multi-agency teams collected at gates. Mixed teams of censors, Revenue, guards, and patrols manned each gate. Boats and carts paid porterage notes by load and distance. Paper-note toll stations date from this reform. Powerful evaders lost all goods and faced criminal penalties. Toll stations at Huoxian, Jining, Xuzhou, Huai'an, Yangzhou, Shangxinhe, Luxu, Jiujiang, Jinshazhou, Linqing, and Beixin charged boat fees by size, not cargo. Only Linqing and Beixin also taxed goods under censor and Revenue oversight. Nanjing–Tongzhou traffic paid one hundred guan per hundred-material boat at each station. Vice Minister Cao Hong protested that five-hundred-guan monthly taofang notes drove families to sell children. The emperor ordered cuts after audit. Once notes worked again, Beijing vegetable levies halved and boat fees fell to sixty guan.

正統初，詔凡課程門攤，俱遵洪武舊額，不得藉口鈔法妄增。未幾，以兵部侍郎于謙奏，革直省稅課司局，領其稅於有司；罷濟甯、徐州及南京上新河船料鈔，移漷縣鈔關於河西務；船料當輸六十貫者減為二十貫。商民稱便。九年，王佐掌戶部，置彰義門官房，收商稅課鈔，復設直省稅課司官，徵榷漸繁矣。景泰元年，于謙柄國，船料減至十五貫，減漲家灣及遼陽課稅之半。大理卿薛瑄忻言：「抽分薪炭等匿不報者，準舶商匿番貨罪，盡沒之，過重。請得比匿稅律。」帝從之。成化七年增置蕪湖、荊州、杭州三處工部官。初抽分竹木，止取鈔，其後易以銀，至是漸益至數萬兩。尋遣御史榷稅。孝宗初，御史陳瑤言：「崇文門監稅官以掊克為能，非國體。」乃命客貨外，車輛毋得搜阻。又從給事中王敞言，取回蕪湖、荊州、杭州抽分御史，以府州佐貳官監收其稅。十三年復遣御史。正德十一年始收泰山碧霞元君祠香錢，從鎮守太監言也。十二年，御史胡文靜請革新設諸抽分廠。未一年，太監鄭璽請復設於順德、廣平。工部尚書李鐩依阿持兩端，橫徵之端復起。尋命中官李文、馬俊之湖廣、浙江抽分廠，與主事中分榷稅。世宗初，抽分中官及江西、福建、廣東稅課司局多所裁革，又革真定諸府抽印木植中官。

Early Zhengtong restored Hongwu levy levels, forbidding note-policy pretexts for increases. Soon Yu Qian's memorial abolished provincial tax bureaus, handing levies to prefects; Jining, Xuzhou, and Shangxinhe boat notes ended; Huoxian pass moved to Hexi Fort; sixty-guan boat fees dropped to twenty. Traders welcomed the relief. Year nine, Wang Zuo reopened Zhangyi Gate collection, restored provincial tax officers, and exactions thickened again. Jingtai one, under Yu Qian, boat fees hit fifteen guan and Zhangjiawan and Liaoyang levies halved. Censor Xue Xuan argued fuelwood concealment should not equal maritime smuggling penalties. He sought standard tax-evasion penalties. The throne agreed. Chenghua seven posted Works Ministry agents at Wuhu, Jingzhou, and Hangzhou. Bamboo apportionment began in notes, then silver, reaching tens of thousands of taels. Censors were soon dispatched to collect. Early Hongzhi, censor Chen Yao condemned Chongwen Gate extortion as unworthy of the state. He barred searching passing carts beyond guest levies. Wang Chang's memorial recalled apportionment censors; prefectural deputies took over. Year thirteen sent censors back. Zhengde eleven, on a garrison eunuch's urging, taxed incense offerings at Tai's Bixia shrine. Year twelve, censor Hu Wenjing sought to reform new apportionment plants. Within a year eunuch Zheng Xuan reopened Shunde and Guangping yards. Works Minister Li Yong equivocated, and predatory levies returned. Eunuchs Li Wen and Ma Jun soon shared Huguang and Zhejiang apportionment with ministry agents. Early Jiajing cut apportionment eunuchs, closed several provincial tax bureaus, and ended Zhending timber eunuchs.

京城九門之稅，弘治初歲入鈔六十六萬餘貫，錢二百八十八萬餘文，至末年，數大減。自正德七年以後，鈔增四倍，錢增三十萬。嘉靖三年，詔如弘治初年例，仍減錢三十萬。直省關稅，成化以來，折收銀，其後復收錢鈔。八年復收銀，遂為定制。始時鈔關估船料定稅，既而以估料難核，乃度樑頭廣狹為準，自五尺至三丈六尺有差。帝令以成尺為限，勿科畸零。太監李能請於山海關榷商稅，行之數年，主事鄔閱言：「廣寧八里鋪前屯衛既有榷場，不宜再榷。」罷之。其後復山海關稅，罷八里鋪店錢。四十二年令各關歲額定數之外，餘饒悉入公帑。隆慶二年始給鈔關主事關防敕書，尋令鈔關去府近者，知府收解；去府遠者，令佐貳官收貯府庫，季解部。主事掌核商所報物數以定稅數，收解無有所與。

Capital gate taxes: early Hongzhi exceeded 660,000 guan notes and 2.88 million wen cash; late Hongzhi revenues plunged. After Zhengde seven, notes quadrupled and cash rose 300,000. Jiajing three restored early Hongzhi levels, cutting 300,000 wen cash. Provincial pass taxes since Chenghua commuted to silver, then reverted to mixed collection. Year eight fixed silver collection permanently. Early tolls used cargo estimates; later beam width from five chi to 3.6 zhang set tiers. The emperor barred taxing fractional measures. Eunuch Li Neng taxed Shanhai Pass until Wu Yue noted Qiantun Guard already levied at Bali post. The pass tax ended. Later Shanhai tax returned while Bali shop fees ceased. Year forty-two sent pass surpluses above quota to the public treasury. Longqing two gave toll secretaries imperial seals; nearby prefects collected where practical; remote passes stored with deputies for quarterly remittance. Secretaries set tax from merchant declarations but did not collect funds.

神宗初，令商貨進京者，河西務給紅單，赴崇文門並納正、條、船三稅；其不進京者，河西務止收正稅，免條、船二稅。萬曆十一年革天下私設無名稅課。然自隆慶以來，凡橋樑、道路、關津私擅抽稅，罔利病民，雖累詔察革，不能去矣。迨兩宮三殿災，營建費不貲，始開礦增稅。而天津店租，廣州珠榷，兩淮餘鹽，京口供用，浙江市舶，成都鹽茶，重慶名木，湖口、長江船稅，荊州店稅，寶坻魚葦及門攤商稅、油布雜稅，中官遍天下，非領稅即領礦，驅脅官吏，務朘削焉。

Early Wanli required Beijing-bound merchants to pay three Chongwen levies after Hexi Fort red slips; non-Beijing traffic paid only regular tax at Hexi Fort. Wanli eleven banned illegal private tolls empire-wide. Since Longqing, private bridge, road, and pass tolls persisted despite repeated crackdowns. Fires at the palaces and halls drove ruinous construction costs, reopening mines and raising taxes. Tianjin shop rents, Guangzhou pearl monopolies, Lianghuai surplus salt, Jingkou provisions, Zhejiang maritime trade, Chengdu salt and tea, Chongqing timber, Yangtze boat and Jingzhou shop taxes, Baodi fish and reed dues, and myriad stall levies—eunuch agents nationwide taxed or mined, bullying officials into relentless squeeze.

榷稅之使，自二十六年千戶趙承勳奏請始。其後高寀於京口，暨祿於儀真，劉成於浙，李鳳於廣州，陳奉於荊州，馬堂於臨清，陳增於東昌，孫隆於蘇、杭，魯坤於河南，孫朝於山西，丘乘雲於四川，梁永於陝西，李道於湖口，王忠於密雲，張曄於盧溝橋，沈永壽於廣西，或徵市舶，或徵店稅，或專領稅務，或兼領開採。奸民納賄於中官，輒給指揮千戶劄，用為爪牙。水陸行數十里，即樹旗建廠。視商賈懦者肆為攘奪，沒其全貲。負戴行李，亦被搜索。又立土商名目，窮鄉僻塢，米鹽雞豕，皆令輸稅。所至數激民變，帝率庇不問。諸所進稅，或稱遺稅，或稱節省銀，或稱罰贖，或稱額外贏餘。又假買辦、孝順之名，金珠寶玩、貂皮、名馬，雜然進奉，帝以為能。甚至稅監劉成因災荒請暫寬商稅，中旨仍徵課四萬，其嗜利如此。三十三年始詔罷採礦，以稅務歸有司，而稅使不撤。李道詭稱有司固卻，乞如舊便。帝遽從之。又聽福府承奉謝文銓言，設官店於崇文門外，以供福邸。戶部尚書趙世卿屢疏，不聽。世卿又言：「崇文門、河西務、臨清、九江、滸墅、揚州、北新、淮安各鈔關，歲徵本折約三十二萬五千餘兩，萬曆二十五年增銀八萬二千兩，此定額也。乃二十七年以後，曆歲減縮，至二十九年總解二十六萬六千餘兩。究厥所由，則以稅使苛斂，商至者少，連年稅使所供，即此各關不足之數也。」疏入不省。寶坻銀魚廠，永樂時設，穆宗時，止令估直備廟祀上供。及是始以中官坐採，又徵其稅，後並稅武清等縣非產魚之處。增葦網諸稅，且及青縣、天津。九門稅尤苛，舉子皆不免，甚至擊殺覲吏。事聞，詔法司治之，監豎為小戢。至四十二年，李太后遺命減天下稅額三之一，免近京畸零小稅。光宗立，始盡蠲天下額外稅，撤回稅監，其派入地畝、行戶、人丁、間架者，概免之。

Dedicated tax commissioners began with Zhao Chengxun's Wanli twenty-six memorial. Agents followed—Gao Cai at Jingkou, Ji Lu at Yizhen, Liu Cheng in Zhejiang, Li Feng in Guangzhou, Chen Feng in Jingzhou, Ma Tang in Linqing, Chen Zeng in Dongchang, Sun Long in Suzhou-Hangzhou, Lu Kun in Henan, Sun Chao in Shanxi, Qiu Chengyun in Sichuan, Liang Yong in Shaanxi, Li Dao at Hukou, Wang Zhong in Miyun, Zhang Ye at Lugou Bridge, Shen Yongshou in Guangxi—levying trade, shops, general taxes, or mines. Crooks bribed eunuchs for military patents and served as enforcers. Every few dozen li on land or water they raised flags and built collection yards. They robbed weak traders of whole cargoes. Even porters' packs were searched. They invented "native merchant" categories, taxing remote villages for grain, salt, and livestock. Their routes sparked riots; the throne usually protected them. Submitted funds were labeled arrears, savings, fines, or surplus. They procured jewels, furs, and horses as "filial tribute," winning imperial praise. When Commissioner Liu Cheng sought famine relief for merchants, the palace still demanded forty thousand taels—such was the avarice. Wanli thirty-three ended mining and restored civil tax administration—but commissioners remained. Li Dao lied that local officials refused duties and begged to continue. The emperor immediately agreed. He also allowed Fu mansion shops outside Chongwen Gate on attendant Xie Wenqian's plea. Revenue Minister Zhao Shiqing's repeated protests went unheard. Zhao Shiqing noted eight major passes yielded about 325,000 taels yearly, with 82,000 added in Wanli twenty-five as fixed quota. After Wanli twenty-seven receipts shrank; by twenty-nine only 266,000 taels arrived. Commissioner extortion drove traders away; their "tribute" matched the pass shortfall. The memorial was ignored. Baodi's silver-fish office, Yongle's creation, under Longqing only valued fish for ritual tribute. Now eunuchs mined and taxed, extending even to non-fishing Wuqing and neighbors. Reed-net levies spread to Qing County and Tianjin. Nine-gate taxes were savage—even exam travelers paid, and some clerks were beaten to death. Judicial punishment followed; eunuchs briefly moderated. Year forty-two, Empress Dowager Li's deathbed edict cut taxes one-third and ended petty capital-area tolls. Guangzong's accession abolished extra taxes, recalled commissioners, and ended field, guild, household, and housing surcharges.

天啟五年，戶部尚書李起元請復榷水陸沖要，依萬曆二十七八年例，量徵什一。允行之。崇禎初，關稅每兩增一錢，通八關增五萬兩。三年復增二錢，惟臨清僅半，而崇文門、河西務俱如舊。戶部尚書畢自嚴，議增南京宣課司稅額一萬為三萬。南京戶部尚書鄭三俊，以宣課所收落地稅無幾，請稅蕪湖以當增數。自嚴遂議稅蕪湖三萬兩，而宣課仍增一萬。三俊悔，疏爭不能已。九年復議增稅課款項。十三年增關稅二十萬兩，而商民益困矣。

Tianqi five, Minister Li Qiyuan restored major tolls at one-tenth per late-Wanli precedent. The court approved. Early Chongzhen added one wen per tael at passes—fifty thousand taels across eight gates. Year three added two wen; Linqing half rate; Chongwen and Hexi unchanged. Minister Bi Ziyan sought to triple Nanjing Xuange quota from 10,000 to 30,000. Nanjing minister Zheng Sanjun proposed Wuhu taxes instead, citing low Xuange yields. Bi taxed Wuhu thirty thousand while still raising Xuange ten thousand. Sanjun protested in vain. Year nine reopened tax hikes. Year thirteen added 200,000 taels in pass taxes, deepening merchant misery.

凡諸課程，始收鈔，間折收米，已而收錢鈔半，後乃折收銀，而折色、本色遞年輪收，本色歸內庫，折色歸太倉。

Levies evolved from notes to mixed cash, then silver; kind and commuted rotated yearly between inner treasury and Taicang.

明初，東有馬市，西有茶市，皆以馭邊省戍守費。海外諸國入貢，許附載方物與中國貿易。因設市舶司，置提舉官以領之，所以通夷情，抑奸商，俾法禁有所施，因以消其釁隙也。洪武初，設於太倉黃渡，尋罷。復設於寧波、泉州、廣州。寧波通日本，泉州通琉球，廣州通占城、暹羅、西洋諸國。琉球、占城諸國皆恭順，任其時至入貢。惟日本叛服不常，故獨限其期為十年，人數為二百，舟為二艘，以金葉勘合表文為驗，以防詐偽侵軼。後市舶司暫罷，輒復嚴禁瀕海居民及守備將卒私通海外諸國。

Early Ming's eastern horse markets and western tea markets controlled borders and cut garrison expense. Tribute missions from overseas states could carry goods for Chinese trade. Maritime trade bureaus with intendants channeled foreign trade, curbed rogue merchants, and reduced friction. Hongwu briefly opened Taicang Huangdu, then closed it. Bureaus returned at Ningbo, Quanzhou, and Guangzhou. Ningbo served Japan, Quanzhou Ryukyu, Guangzhou Champa, Siam, and Western Ocean states. Ryukyu and Champa could tribute at will. Japan alone faced ten-year intervals, two hundred men, two ships, and tally verification against fraud and raids. When bureaus closed, coastal private trade with foreign states was strictly banned.

永樂初，西洋剌泥國回回哈只馬哈沒奇等來朝，附載胡椒與民互市。有司請徵其稅。帝曰：「商稅者，國家抑逐末之民，豈以為利。今夷人慕義遠來，乃侵其利，所得幾何，而虧辱大體多矣。」不聽。三年，以諸番貢使益多，乃置驛於福建、浙江、廣東三市舶司以館之。福建曰來遠，浙江曰安遠，廣東曰懷遠。尋設交址雲屯市舶提舉司，接西南諸國朝貢者。初，入貢海舟至，有司封識，俟奏報，然後起運。宣宗命至即馳奏，不待報隨送至京。

Early Yongle, Lamuri Muslims including Hajji Mahmud came with pepper to trade. Officials sought to tax the cargo. The emperor refused: "Commercial tax restrains profiteers—it is not imperial profit. To squeeze foreigners who come in good faith gains little and shames grand policy. He forbade the tax. Year three, growing tribute traffic brought guest lodges at the three trade bureaus. Fujian's lodge was Laiyuan, Zhejiang Anyuan, Guangdong Huaiyuan. Soon Jiaozhi Yuntun bureau served southwestern tribute states. Originally tribute ships were sealed until memorial approval before forwarding. Xuanzong required instant memorials and immediate forwarding to court.

武宗時，提舉市舶太監畢真言：「舊制，泛海諸船，皆市舶司專理，近領於鎮巡及三司官，乞如舊便。」禮部議：市舶職司進貢方物，其泛海客商及風泊番船，非敕旨所載，例不當預。中旨令如熊宣舊例行。宣先任市舶太監也，嘗以不預滿剌加諸國番舶抽分，奏請兼理，為禮部所劾而罷。劉瑾私真，謬以為例云。

Wuzong's eunuch Bi Zhen asked to restore exclusive trade-office control over seagoing ships. Rites held that trade offices handle tribute; other shipping lies outside their mandate. A rescript restored eunuch Xiong Xuan's precedent. Xiong Xuan had sought foreign-ship apportionment, was impeached by Rites, and dismissed. Liu Jin favored Bi Zhen and falsely enshrined the practice.

嘉靖二年，日本使宗設、宋素卿分道入貢，互爭真偽。市舶中官賴恩納素卿賄，右素卿，宗設遂大掠寧波。給事中夏言言倭患起於市舶。遂罷之。市舶既罷，日本海賈往來自如，海上奸豪與之交通，法禁無所施，轉為寇賊。二十六年，倭寇百艘久泊寧、臺，數千人登岸焚劫。浙江巡撫硃紈訪知舶主皆貴官大姓，市番貨皆以虛直，轉鬻牟利，而直不時給，以是構亂。乃嚴海禁，毀餘皇，奏請鐫諭戒大姓，不報。二十八年，紈又言：「長澳諸大俠林恭等勾引夷舟作亂，而鉅奸關通射利，因為嚮導，躪我海濱，宜正典刑。」部覆不允。而通番大猾，紈輒以便宜誅之。御史陳九德劾紈措置乖方，專殺啟釁。帝逮紈聽勘。紈既黜，奸徒益無所憚，外交內訌，釀成禍患。汪直、徐海、陳東、麻葉等起，而海上無寧日矣。三十五年，倭寇大掠福建、浙、直，都御史胡宗憲遣其客蔣洲、陳可願使倭宣諭。還報，倭志欲通貢市。兵部議不可，乃止。

Jiajing two, Japanese envoys Sōsetsu and Song Suqing disputed legitimacy on separate routes. Eunuch Lai En bribed by Suqing favored him; Sōsetsu sacked Ningbo. Supervising secretary Xia Yan blamed piracy on the trade bureau. The bureau was abolished. Without bureaus, Japanese traders and coastal smugglers colluded beyond law, becoming pirates. Year twenty-six, a hundred pirate ships raided Ningbo and Taizhou. Governor Zhu Wan found great clans bought foreign goods on credit, delayed payment, and provoked violence. He tightened sea bans, burned excess ships, and warned great clans—ignored. Year twenty-eight he urged punishing Chang'ao outlaws and traitorous guides. The ministry refused. Zhu Wan executed major smugglers on his own authority. Censor Chen Jiude impeached Wan for provocative executions. The emperor arrested Wan for review. After Wan's fall, smugglers grew bold; internal collusion bred disaster. Pirate leaders Wang Zhi, Xu Hai, Chen Dong, and Ma Ye made the seas unsafe. Year thirty-five, pirates ravaged the coast; Hu Zongxian sent envoys to Japan. Envoys reported Japan sought tribute trade again. War Ministry refused and halted talks.

三十九年，鳳陽巡撫唐順之議復三市舶司。部議從之。四十四年，浙江以巡撫劉畿言，仍罷。福建開而復禁。萬曆中，復通福建互市，惟禁市硝黃。已而兩市舶司悉復，以中官領職如故。

Year thirty-nine, Tang Shunzhi proposed restoring three bureaus. The ministry agreed. Year forty-four, Zhejiang abolished them again on Liu Ji's advice. Fujian reopened then banned again. Mid-Wanli restored Fujian trade, banning only saltpeter. Both bureaus returned under eunuch leadership.

永樂間，設馬市三：一在開原南關，以待海西；一在開原城東五里，一在廣寧，皆以待朵顏三衛。定直四等：上直絹八疋，布十二，次半之，下二等各以一遞減。既而城東、廣寧市皆廢，惟開原南關馬市獨存。

Yongle established three horse markets—Kaiyuan South Pass for Haixi; one east of Kaiyuan and one at Guangning for the Three Tumed Guards. Four price grades topped at eight bolts silk and twelve cloth, stepping down by half then increments. Eastern and Guangning markets closed; only Kaiyuan South Pass remained.

大同馬市始正統三年，巡撫盧睿請令軍民平價市駝馬，達官指揮李原等通譯語，禁市兵器、銅鐵。帝從之。十四年，都御史沈固請支山西行都司庫銀市馬。時也先貢馬互市，中官王振裁其馬價，也先大舉入寇，遂致土木之變。

Datong market began Zhengtong three; Lu Rui regulated fair camel and horse trade with interpreters, banning arms and copper. The emperor agreed. Year fourteen Shen Gu sought Shanxi command silver for horse purchases. Esen's tribute trade suffered Wang Zhen's price cuts; Esen invaded, bringing Tumu disaster.

成化十四年，陳鉞撫遼東，復開三衛馬市。通事劉海、姚安肆侵牟，朵顏諸部懷怨，擾廣寧，不復來市。兵部尚書王越請令參將、布政司官各一員監之，毋有所侵克。遂治海、安二人罪。尋令海西及朵顏三衛入市；開原月一市，廣寧月二市，以互市之稅充撫賞。正德時，令驗放入市者，依期出境，不得挾弓矢，非互市日，毋輒近塞垣。

Chenghua fourteen, Chen Yue reopened Three Guards markets in Liaodong. Interpreters Liu Hai and Yao An extorted; Tumed tribes raided Guangning and boycotted markets. War Minister Wang Yue ordered supervised markets without squeeze. Hai and An were punished. Soon Haixi and Three Guards returned to market; Kaiyuan traded monthly, Guangning twice monthly, mutual-trade tax funding frontier rewards. Zhengde required timed entry and exit without weapons; non-market days barred approaching the wall.

嘉靖三十年，以總兵仇鸞言，詔於宣府、大同開馬市，命侍郎史道總理之。兵部員外郎楊繼盛諫。不從。俺答旋入寇抄，大同市則寇宣府，宣府市則寇大同。幣未出境，警報隨至。帝始悔之，召道還。然諸部嗜馬市利，未敢公言大舉，而邊臣亦多畏懾，以互市啖之。明年罷大同馬市，宣府猶未絕，抄掠不已，乃並絕之。隆慶四年，俺答孫把漢那吉來降，於是封貢互市之議起。而宣、大互市復開，邊境稍靜。然撫賞甚厚，朝廷為省客兵餉、減哨銀以充之。頻年加賞，而要求滋甚，司事者復從中乾沒，邊費反過當矣。

Jiajing thirty reopened Xuanfu and Datong horse markets under Shi Dao. Secretary Yang Jisheng protested. The emperor refused. Altan raided whichever frontier was not trading. Tribute caravans barely departed before raids began. The emperor regretted and recalled Shi Dao. Tribes still craved trade profits; fearful border officials appeased them with markets. Next year Datong closed; Xuanfu lingered until raids forced total closure. Longqing four, Bughaanijin surrendered, reopening enfeoffment, tribute, and trade debates. Xuanfu-Datong trade resumed; the frontier calmed somewhat. Frontier stipends grew lavish, funded by cutting guest troops and sentry silver. Repeated bonuses and embezzlement made border costs exceed old garrison spending.

遼東義州木市，萬曆二十三年開，事具《李化龍傳》。二十六年從巡撫張思忠奏罷之，遂並罷馬市。其後總兵李成梁力請復，而薊遼總督萬世德亦疏於朝。二十九年復開馬、木二市，後以為常。

Liaodong Yizhou timber market opened Wanli twenty-three; see Li Huilong's biography. Wanli twenty-six abolished it on Zhang Sizhong's memorial, ending horse markets too. Later Li Chengliang and Wan Shide petitioned to restore markets. Wanli twenty-nine restored horse and timber markets as permanent institutions.

Cite this Chapter