Early Qing Maritime Ban Policy

Timeline

1. 1651–1654Coastal Fujian and Guangdong · GuangdongDuring the Shunzhi reign, the Qing court progressively strengthened the maritime ban in the southeastern coastal regions where Zheng Chenggong was active, prohibiting private vessels from putting out to sea and restricting coastal residents' contact with Zheng's forces. Enforcement, however, was uneven; coastal smuggling persisted despite repeated prohibitions, and Zheng continued to obtain large quantities of supplies and personnel.
2. 1655Beijing (Forbidden City) · BeijingThe Shunzhi Emperor issued a nationwide maritime ban decree, explicitly stipulating that no one in coastal regions was permitted to put out to sea, on pain of death; it also prohibited the export of grain, ironware, and other strategic materials, intending to strangle Zheng Chenggong's forces economically. The decree dealt a severe blow to the coastal economies of Fujian and Guangdong, plunging many residents who depended on fishing and maritime trade into hardship.
3. 1661–1669Coastal Guangdong, Fujian, Zhejiang, and Jiangsu · ZhejiangThe Qing court issued the coastal evacuation order (qianhai ling), mandating that coastal residents relocate thirty to fifty li inland; all coastal villages and farmland were abandoned, and violators were beheaded. This drove hundreds of thousands of people from their homes and brought the coastal economies of Fujian and Guangdong nearly to collapse. It is known in history as an extreme maritime ban in which 'not a plank was allowed to go to sea, not a grain of rice allowed to cross the border.'
4. 1684Beijing · BeijingAfter the Qing court took Taiwan and the Eastern Ning regime fell, the Kangxi Emperor abolished the maritime ban in 1684, opening the four ports of Guangzhou, Zhangzhou, Ningbo, and Yuntaishan to trade and permitting merchants to put out to sea. The coastal economies of Fujian and Guangdong gradually recovered, opening a new phase in China's foreign trade.