重谈洪武时期的倭患

Rethinking the Issue of Japanese Pirates in Hongwu Period

洪武时期以日本为基地的倭寇侵扰中国边境事件连续发生,对明朝国家安全和东部及东南从辽东到广东沿海漫长数千里区域民生造成严重威胁。这种威胁自元朝已经开始,不是由于明朝"禁海"而招致倭寇,而是倭寇持续侵扰而致明朝强化沿海地区武备与管理。洪武初期积极与日本南朝交涉,以求通过建立朝贡关系,形成中日和平、倭寇止息的稳定格局。但明朝在了解日本南北两政权皆在权臣控制下的局面以及交涉本身受挫后,转为消极外交,积极防御。在充分考虑洪武时期倭寇所造成的国家安全威胁及积极外交遭受挫折的背景下,可以看到洪武时期的所谓"海禁",是从属于其防御倭寇军事举措的政令,并非立意封闭国家海岸线,也不是为了禁绝对外贸易。洪武时期对外贸易仍以多种方式在多个方向发生,当时民间海外贸易也并未遭政府绝对禁止。洪武时期的御倭、对日外交努力皆理路清晰。

During the Hongwu period of the Ming dynasty,the Japan based pirates invaded China frequently,which caused serious threat to the national security of China and damage to the livelihood of people along the coast from Liaodong to Guangdong.This kind of threat had started since the Yuan dynast.It was not the Ming policy invited the pirate invasion,but rather,it was the pirate invasion that forced the Ming government to enhance the military infrastructure and coast control.Emperor Hongwu tried to deal with the ruler of then southern Japan aiming at stopping the pirate invasion by establishing a tribute relationship and peaceful relation with Japan.Nevertheless,after obtaining a full knowledge about that none of the two governments in Japan was controlled by a legitimate ruler,in addition to a series of frustration in dealing with Japan,Emperor Hongwu's Japan policy changed from more relying on diplomacy to more relying on military defense.Taking the whole background,it is obvious that the so called haijin(海禁,maritime ban) was caused by the needs of defending the Japanese pirates,rather than a mentality of national isolation.As a matter of fact,foreign trade continued to happen during the Hongwu period in different dimensions.