Editing Haijin (section)

===Background===
The 14th century was a time of chaos throughout [[East Asia]]. The [[second plague pandemic|second]] [[bubonic plague]] pandemic began in [[Yuan Mongolia|Mongolia]] around 1330{{sfnp|Martin|2001|p=14}} and may have killed the majority of the population in [[Hebei]] and [[Shanxi]] and millions elsewhere.{{sfnp|McNeill|1998}} Another epidemic raged for three years from 1351 to 1354.{{sfnp|McNeill|1998}} Existing revolts over the government salt monopoly and severe floods along the [[Yellow River]] provoked the [[Red Turban Rebellion]]. The declaration of the [[Ming Empire|Ming]] in 1368 did not end its wars with [[Yuan dynasty|Mongol]] remnants under [[Toghon Temür]] in [[Northern Yuan|the north]] and under the [[Basalawarmi|Prince of Liang]] in [[Viceroy of Yun-Gui|the south]]. [[Gongmin of Goryeo|King Gongmin]] of [[Goryeo|Korea]] had begun freeing himself from the Mongols as well, retaking his country's northern provinces, when a [[Red Turban invasions of Goryeo|Red Turban]] invasion devastated the areas and laid waste to [[Pyongyang]]. In Japan, [[Emperor Go-Daigo|Emperor Daigo II]]'s [[Kenmu Restoration]] succeeded in overthrowing the [[Kamakura period|Kamakura shogunate]] but ultimately simply replaced them with the weaker [[Ashikaga shogunate|Ashikaga]].

The loose control over Japan's periphery led to [[wokou|pirates]] setting up bases on the realm's outlying islands,{{sfnp|Wang|1980|p=31}} particularly [[Tsushima Island|Tsushima]], [[Iki Island|Iki]], and the [[Gotō Islands|Gotōs]].<ref name=opa/><ref name=kawazaki/> These [[wokou]] ("Japanese pirates") raided Japan as well as Korea and China.{{sfnp|Wang|1980|p=31}}

As a rebel leader, Zhu Yuanzhang promoted foreign trade as a source of revenue.{{sfnp|Von Glahn|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DNlv4f9tV_AC&pg=PA90 90]}} As the [[Hongwu Emperor]], first of the [[Ming dynasty]], however, he issued the first sea ban in 1371.{{sfnp|Von Glahn|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DNlv4f9tV_AC&pg=PA116 116]}} All foreign trade was to be conducted by official [[Imperial Chinese tributary system|tribute missions]], handled by representatives of the Ming Empire and its "vassal" states.{{sfnp|Von Glahn|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DNlv4f9tV_AC&pg=PA91 91]}}  Private foreign trade was made punishable by death, with the offender's [[collective punishment|family and neighbors exiled]] from their homes.<ref>{{harvp|Li|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=srGEMarSWLYC&pg=PA3 3]}}.</ref> A few years later, in 1384, the Maritime Trade Intendancies (''Shibo Tiju Si'') at [[Ningbo]], [[Guangzhou]], and [[Quanzhou]] were shuttered.{{sfnp|Von Glahn|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DNlv4f9tV_AC&pg=PA116 116]}} Ships, docks, and shipyards were destroyed and ports sabotaged with rocks and pine stakes.<ref name=lifo>{{harvp|Li|2010|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=srGEMarSWLYC&pg=PA4 4]}}.</ref> Although the policy is now associated with imperial China generally, it was then at odds with Chinese tradition, which had pursued foreign trade as a source of revenue and become particularly important under the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]], [[Song dynasty|Song]], and [[Yuan dynasty|Yuan]].<ref name=lifo/>

The [[treasure voyages]] of [[Zheng He]] were partly intended to monopolise overseas trade under the government.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mote |first1=Frederick W. |last2=Twitchett |first2=Denis |title=The Cambridge History of China Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory07mote |url-access=limited |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-24332-2 |pages=270}}</ref> They were discontinued due to a rise in Mongol assertiveness after the Emperor's capture at the [[Battle of Tumu]] in 1449. The large scale of private overseas trade had caused price competition for the Ming government's purchases, such as warhorses for the northern frontier, and funds had to be reallocated. However, after the end of the treasure voyages, Chinese trade in Southeast Asia and the Indian Ocean continued.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Waley-Cohen |first1=Joanna |title=The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History |date=2000 |publisher=W. W. Norton and Company |location=New York, London |isbn=039324251X |pages=49}}</ref> Private, including unauthorised, Chinese trade in Southeast Asia expanded rapidly in the second half of the Ming dynasty.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mote |first1=Frederick W. |last2=Twitchett |first2=Denis |title=The Cambridge History of China Vol. 7: The Ming Dynasty 1368-1644 |url=https://archive.org/details/cambridgehistory07mote |url-access=limited |date=1988 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-521-24332-2 |pages=256}}</ref>

A 1613 edict prohibited maritime trade between the lands north and south of the Yangtze River, attempting to put a stop to captains claiming to be heading to Jiangsu and then diverting to Japan.{{sfnp|Von Glahn|1996|p=[https://books.google.com/books?id=DNlv4f9tV_AC&pg=PA281 281]}}