Discussing the Reasons for the Rise of Smuggling Trade in the Mid-Ming Dynasty

Many scholars of the Ming and Qing Dynasties believe that the main reasons for the rise of smuggling trade in the mid-Ming Dynasty are land shortage, sea ban and other factors, but the structuralism economists believe that these factors are constant factors and will not lead to social and economic upheaval. In the mid-Ming Dynasty, the most important variable factor was the fiscal reform centered on the policy of paying taxes with silver. However, due to the insufficient development of market economy, the insufficient money supply and the lack of silver, the ordinary people broke through the sea ban and started a difficult journey of trading silver for paying taxes. Therefore, we believe that the policy of paying taxes with silver is the fundamental reason for the rise of smuggling trade, while the Portuguese moving eastward and the discovery of Japanese silver mines are the external cause. At the same time, it also shows that China's participation in the process of globalization in the sixteenth century was active rather than passive.