Hai jin

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Hai jin (海禁) was a ban on maritime activities during China's mid-Ming Dynasty. Intended to curb piracy, the ban proved ineffective for that purpose, while imposing huge hardships on coastal communities. After extreme pressure from the bureaucracy, by 1550 the ban was lifted.

Some have argued that the Hai jin marked a retreat from maritime activities such as the voyages of Zheng He and was symptomatic of a technological decline and stagnation that would culminate in China's 19th-century humiliation by Europe. This view has been popularized by the Chinese film, River Elegy.

Most historians of China now take issue with this view, pointing out that the Hai jin was lifted under the mid-Ming Dynasty and that, after that, China was very active in maritime commerce and the global economy.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Hai jin and Chinese migration

Under the Ming Dynasty, Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang and other emperors enforced a law — Hai Jin (Chinese: 海禁) — that banned all maritime shipping. The only way that foreigners might visit Ming China was via the tribute system. The purpose of the Ocean Prohibition is unclear and disputed; the only certainty is that the law prohibited private ships from sailing in the ocean.

The law worked a great hardship for coastal dwellers and stimulated rebellions, piracy and a great wave of overseas migration. Traditionally, southeast Asia was the preferred destination for Chinese emigrants (see Liang Dao Ming).