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worthless, the paper money and copper coins issued by the the most powerful members of the imperial court at the
government were also not entirely accepted by the market as time, such as the eunuchs Huai En 懷恩 (d. 1488) and Liang
42
forms of currency. Instead the monetisation of silver, which Fang 梁芳 (fl. 1470), and the emperor’s favourite consort
was not officially issued and had been used by the Lady Wan 萬 (1428–87), expressed clear support for the idea.
government to purchase spices and other foreign goods, The Chenghua emperor himself did not share the ambition
grew in importance. Consequently, officials during the of the Yongle and Xuande emperors for long-distance
mid-Ming dynasty desired silver rather than spices in their maritime voyages. Thus, the termination of the voyages to
salary. Although it was the government that forced spices on the ‘Western Ocean’ was inevitable.
to officials, the original source of the spices was Zheng He’s
voyages, when they were purchased at inflated prices. The Notes
strong opposition voiced by officials in the two capitals 1 HMZL 6, 124.
towards resuming state-sponsored voyages was thus based 2 MS 149, 4152.
on their personal interests as well as the interest of the state. 3 Mote and Twitchett 1988, 276.
4 MSJSBM 1977, 22, 351.
Zheng He’s final voyage was completed in 1433 during 5 MSJSBM 1977, 21, 337.
the Xuande reign. Maritime voyages were not discussed 6 Xie Xie 1959, juan 18, 761, 766.
again at the imperial court until 1471 during the Chenghua 7 For instance, one estimation is given in MS 204, 7767.
reign. This meant that there was a period of nearly 40 years 8 Wang Shixing 1981, juan 1, 5.
9 Wan Ming 2014, 158.
when the ships built for long-distance journeys had been left 10 This follows the view of Zhao Tiefeng 趙鐵峰 of Northeast Normal
idle, without adequate repair and maintenance. If the University in China.
voyages resumed, the cost of preparing the ships would have 11 Jiao Hong 1981, 150.
been considerable and beyond what the Ming government 12 Wang Shixing 1981, juan 1, 5.
could afford in the short term. Although the strength of the 13 Wang Shixing 1981, juan 2, 23.
14 This follows the view of Professor Xia Weizhong 夏維中 of the
Ming state under the Chenghua reign exceeded that of the Department of History at Nanjing University.
early Ming, various reasons such as the weakened authority 15 HMZL 9, 131.
of the emperor and government, and the lesser capability of 16 Zhao Zhongnan 2005.
the state to control local society, meant that the Ming empire 17 The edict is recorded in Yang Shiqi’s literary compilation. See
Yang Shiqi 1986, 582–6.
could no longer concentrate resources on large-scale 18 Ueda 2014, ch. 4.
projects. The Chenghua emperor did not have the power 19 Zhao Zhongnan 1997, 10.
and authority of the Yongle emperor, who could act wilfully 20 Zhao Zhongnan 2015, 66.
to persist with military campaigns, transfer of the capital 21 Zhao Zhongnan 2008, 243.
and maritime voyages with no regard for official opposition 22 HMZL 9, 146.
23 MS 149, 4152.
and the cost to the state. Moreover, the Ming economy had 24 Liao Baoxiu 1998, 137.
changed from a system based on physical assets towards one 25 HMZL 9, 174–5.
based on currency. The Ming imperial court was no longer 26 HMZL 9, 176.
able to levy forcibly all the material and resources needed for 27 HMZL 9, 176.
28 This follows the view of Zhang Jiaoyu 張兆裕 of the Chinese
43
the fleets in the same manner as in the early Ming. This Academy of Social Sciences.
change is another reason why the Ming dynasty could no 29 HMZL 9, 178.
longer continue state-sponsored maritime voyages. 30 Xie Xie 1959, juan 21, 883.
The Yongle and Xuande emperors had additional 31 Zhao Zhongnan 2015, 551.
incentive to continue the maritime voyages despite 32 MS 81, 1964.
33 MS 164, 4458.
opposition, since they relied on ‘treasure ships’ (baochuan 寶 34 Jiao Hong 1981, juan 5, 150.
船) to bring back precious goods from foreign lands to the 35 Wan Ming 2014, 146.
imperial court. Decades later during the Chenghua reign, 36 MSL Xuanzong shilu 9.8a, Hongxi 1/9/癸丑.
the imperial court had access to one million liang of silver 37 MS 82, 2003.
38 MSL Xianzong shilu 97.5b, 7/10/丁丑.
annually in the treasury for expenses. It could also depend 39 MSL Xianzong shilu 191.1b–2a, 15/6/辛卯.
44
on avenues such as the Bureau for Foreign Shipping (Shibo si 40 MSL Xianzong shilu 214.7a, 17/4/甲子.
市舶司) situated along the southeastern coast to purchase 41 Wan Ming 2014, 148–51.
high-grade imported foreign goods at far lower cost than 42 MS 81, 1964.
43 This follows the view of Professor Gao Shouxian 高壽仙 of the
dispatching fleets overseas. In addition, during the Chinese Academy of Governance.
45
Chenghua reign, only individual eunuchs supervising the 44 MS 79, 1927.
Palace Treasury supported resuming the voyages. None of 45 Fang Zhiyuan 1996, 189, 193.

112 | Ming China: Courts and Contacts 1400–1450