As early as the Song Dynasty, commercial activities were very prosperous, as evidenced by the prosperity of Tomb-Sweeping Day and the establishment of the commercial tax office, an institution specializing in collecting commercial taxes. As a currency, silver became more and more important and was widely used among the people at that time. Although gold and silver trading was prohibited in the early Ming Dynasty, it was still prohibited by the people. When the ban on the use of silver was officially lifted during the Orthodox period in Ming Yingzong, silver gained a formal monetary status and a monetary system based on silver was formally established.
Since then, chores and even taxes in the Ming Dynasty can be converted into equivalent silver payments, and Zhang's collection of silver by whipping is in line with this trend. After the establishment of the silver standard, with the development of economy, the demand for silver is increasing day by day.
Although many mines were mined in China, they could not meet the needs of the prosperity and development of commercial activities in the Ming Dynasty. At this time, Spanish and Portuguese western countries opened up new sea routes and found huge silver reserves in China. At the same time, they also have great demand for goods from the United States, especially silk, copper alloys, porcelain, spices and other goods. So a trade route was established between China and Portugal. Silver from the United States was imported into the Ming Dynasty in large quantities, while goods from the Ming Dynasty were exported to Europe.
In addition to the trade with Spain, Portugal and other European countries, tribute trade also existed in the Ming Dynasty, which was a special way of trade. During the specified period, when the vassal states of the Ming Dynasty came to pay tribute, they also brought a large number of merchants, mainly Korea, Japan, Annan, Nanzhang and other countries. In these transactions, silver is also the settlement unit. So through this way of trade, a lot of silver also flowed into China.
Of course, there is still smuggling trade along the southeast coast of China, mainly from the coastal areas of eastern Zhejiang and Fujian, which also makes some silver flow into China. The famous ports of Guangdong, Hong Kong and Mingzhou were world-class ports at that time. In short, through these channels, a large amount of silver flowed into China, and through the connection of silver, China in the Ming Dynasty became the center of world trade at that time. However, this good development process was seriously blocked by the three signs of Wanli, and even disintegrated the world trade system centered on the Ming Dynasty.
As the name implies, the three expeditions of Wanli were three major military battles in Ming Shenzong during the Wanli period, namely, the Chua rebellion in the northwest of Ming Dynasty, the Yang Yinglong rebellion, the Bozhou rebellion in the southwest and the Wanli campaign to resist US aggression and aid Korea in the northeast. In addition, there were the Ming-Burma War in the southwest and the Salhu War in the northeast. These wars seriously consumed the national strength of the Ming Dynasty and inevitably contributed to its demise.
For the trade system of the Ming Dynasty, the three symbols of Wanli and the subsequent wars had little influence. We analyze the influence of the three symbols of Wanli on the trade system of Ming Dynasty from two big angles.
First, the three major expropriation and abolition of Wanli consumed the treasury of the Ming Dynasty, making the Ming Dynasty unable to make ends meet, and even the internal funds responsible for the emperor's food and clothing were exhausted. As the saying goes, when the cannon goes off, there are two thousand pieces of gold, and the continuous large-scale war finally bankrupt the financial system that was concentrated for many years in the Ming Dynasty. The bankruptcy of the financial system makes the monetary system based on the silver standard fail, and it can only make ends meet. For example, in the later period, facing the rising forces such as Jianzhou Nuzhen and peasant army, we can only solve it by recruiting Liao for training.
The most prominent impact is the destruction of social economy. Due to the influence of the war, the trade of the Ming Dynasty could not be sustained, which led to a decrease in silver imports. The reduction of silver investment led to the collapse of the central financial system in Ming Dynasty, and the war was unsustainable, which greatly affected the economic operation of the whole society. For example, in Zhang's flogging reform, the process of tax collection was interrupted, and the monetization of the whole society ceased to exist.
Second, the silver-based system established in the Ming Dynasty was based on silver, and the three characteristics of Wanli made it impossible to maintain this system. One is the interruption of tribute trade. With the end of the war, the situation in Japan has also changed. At this time, Tokugawa Ieyasu has gained Japanese sovereignty and strictly implemented the policy of locking up the country.
Because of the recent Sino-Japanese war, relations were cold and trade could not continue. North Korea, which was most affected by the war, was badly weakened and had no extra money to pay tribute. Similarly, the southwest of the Ming Dynasty was unable to trade because of the recent rebellion and war, local turmoil and the interruption of trade routes.
Second, due to the barrier of war, the original trade activities with Spain, Portugal and other countries could not be carried out. At that time, Spain even occupied the southern part of Little Ryukyu. On the coast of Guangdong, Portugal also had a military conflict with the central government of the Ming Dynasty. This situation can only lead to underground trade activities, mainly smuggling, and even the gradual interruption of trade. In a word, the influence of the Three Great Signs of Wanli was that the original world trade system centered on China began to collapse, which was caused by the interruption of silver import caused by the war.
Thirdly, the China-centered world trade system has been reorganized due to the Three Great Signs of Wanli, and China's economic position in it is also declining. The main reason is that after three great voyages in Wanli, the monetization process of East Asian commodities with China as the core was interrupted, and the trade center began to turn to Western Europe.
With the decline of Spain and Portugal and the rapid rise of rising stars such as Britain and France, the status of silver has been reassessed and its position in the world trade system has been declining, and a European central trade system with gold as the settlement unit has been gradually established. East Asia, with China as the center, is gradually sinking, and finally becomes the coveted object of western powers.
To sum up, the influence of the three expeditions of Wanli on the Ming Dynasty not only consumed the national strength of the Ming Dynasty, but more importantly disintegrated the original world trade system centered on China, which triggered a series of chain reactions. Finally, the trade center turned to Europe, which is the world significance of the three symbols of Wanli.