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Chêng Ho's Voyages and the Distribution of Pepper in China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 March 2011

T'ien Ju-kang
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Extract

The significance of Chêng Ho's voyages (1405–1433) has usually been considered purely from the political point of view. In that connection he is noted as the Muslim eunuch who lived from A.D. 1371–1433, and commanded a force in support of the Yung-lo Emperor's seizure of the Ming throne. Thereafter, from 1405, he commanded half a dozen enormous fleets, which sailed to Southeast Asia, India, the Gulf, and eventually East Africa. In the legend of the overseas Chinese, he was ultimately deified as the Prince of the Three Gems.

The emphasis of the present paper is however economic. It attempts to analyse the way in which the pepper brought from overseas was distributed; and to evaluate the influence of the seven voyages of Cheng Ho on the opening of trade relations between China and Afro-Asian countries, and the increased circulation of foreign goods in the Chinese market at that time.

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Articles
Information
Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society , Volume 113 , Issue 2 , April 1981 , pp. 186 - 197
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Asiatic Society 1981

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References

1 See further references in Additional note below.

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4 Evans, Allan (ed.), Francesco Balcucci Pegolotti, La pratica delta mercatura, Cambridge Mass., 1936; in the time of the Southern Sung dynasty (1127–1279), the varieties of imported spices numbered more than 330, see Yüeh hai-kuan chih (Annals of the Canton Customs), ch. 3, Historical facts of the former dynasties, 2.Google Scholar

5 The feudal rulers used to show off their wealth by burning incense in their homes, and men of letters considered this to be a demonstration of refined taste. Spices became not only an essential commodity in the life of the rich but also a common theme in literary works. See Ku-chin t'u-shu chi-ch'êng (Collection of Ancient and Modern Books), ch. 316, 317.Google Scholar

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7 Lopez, R. S. (ed.), Medieval trade in the Mediterranean world, New York, 1955, 145;Google Scholar “‘Dear as pepper’ was a common expression in medieval France, where pepper had purchasing power. It was a common practice for Ecclesiastical Lords to take tribute in spices. In Burgundy, serfs wishing to buy their freedom had to pay to the Prior of Notre Dame de Semur one pound of pepper. The Archbishop of Aix levied from each community of Jews in his diocese a tax in pepper, ginger and wax, for the right to have their own cemeteries and schools. The spice merchants of Chalon had to pay, annually, to the chapter of St. Vincent, a tax of a quarteron of pepper. In England also, pepper, a precious spice and scarce commodity, had money value. In feudal days, certain quantities of pepper were paid as rent, for land tenure.” “In December 1337, the king received, as Duke of Cornwall, from the Mayor of Launceston, 100 shillings and one pound of pepper, in a dish, as rent. The term ‘peppercorn’ is still used today.” Howe, Sonia E., In quest of spices, London, 1946, 19 (peppercorns do still actually change hands to this very day).Google Scholar

8 “Our forefathers laughed at the cumbersomeness of payment in 800 piculs of pepper of Yüan Tsai. I think pepper was then as valuable as the ginseng and cassia bark of today.” Juan K'uei-shêng, K'ê-shê tsa-hua (After-Tea Chat), ch. 15.

9 Hsin T'ang Shu (The New T'ang History), ch. 145. 2b, Biography of Yüan Tsai.Google Scholar

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16 Ying-ya shêng-lan (Description of the coasts of the ocean),Google ScholarSumadala, ; Hsing-ch'a sheng-lanGoogle Scholar (Description of the starry raft), Sumadala; In 1515 pepper sent from Malacca could still be sold in China at a profit of 300%. See Dames, Longworth (ed.), The Book of Duarte Barbosa, London, 1918, I, 215.Google Scholar

17 In the Hung Wu period (1368–1398) the Emperor rewarded a minor official, who was in prison, handsomely for his honesty. The official had written his son a letter, sub- sequently discovered by the authorities, asking him to send a small quantity of pepper, but insisting that the tax be paid according to the law. Tien-ku chi-wên (Notes of literary quotation), ch. 3.Google Scholar

18 The first cargo of pepper imported into England by the East India Company in 1603 amounted to 210,000 Ib. The problem of finding buyers for such a large quantity was met by dividing the pepper among the shareholders in lieu of dividend, at the rate of 2s. a pound. As a result of the competition in selling, the price dropped to 1s. 2d. per pound, and some of the speculators were not able to dispose of their stock for six or seven years. Foster, W., England's quest of eastern trade, London, 1933, 160–1.Google Scholar Nine times between 1610 and 1643 the Dutch East India Company had to give dividends in spices as well as cash to its share-holders. Hyma, A., The Dutch in the Far East, A history of the Dutch commercial and colonial Empire, Michigan, 1942, 67.Google Scholar

19 Ivory and spices had already been used as currency as early as the Sung dynasty. Cf. Sung hui-yao chi-kao (Compilation of State Regulations of the Sung Empire), ch. 139, Economics 36, Trading of Licensed Goods; T'ai-tsu shih-lu (Veritable records of T'ai-tsu) ch. l, 4a.

20 T'ai-tsu shih-lu, ch. 207, 3b, ch. 219, 3a; T'ai-tsung shih-lu (Veritable records of I'ai-tsung) 12, the first part, 2a.

21 Sapanwood was used as a dye and a drug. In the Yüan and the Ming dynasties, it was mainly used as a dye, see Chü-chia pi-yung shih-wu ch 'üan-chi (Encyclopedia of house-hold management), ch. 10, Stationery; ch. 14, Dyeing. There were various types of sapan- wood. Prices were subject to variation according to length and to whether the wood came from the East Seas or the West Seas.Google Scholar

22 Ta Ming hui-tien (Institutions of the Ming Empire), 1511 edition, ch. 26,Google ScholarStipends, ; Ta Ming wên-wu kuan-ping fêng-hsiang tsung-mu (Comprehensive table of the total wages and pay due to civil and military officers and soldiers of the Ming dynasty), preserved in a late Ming MS in the Wade Collection of Cambridge University Library. These figures, though dating from late Ming, may be used as a basis for calculations for the earlier period, ch. 2, 2ab.Google Scholar

23 Ta Ming hui-tien, ch. 26, Stipends.

24 Ta Ming wên-wu kuan-ping fêng-hsiang tsung-mu, ch. 3, 2a.

25 Ta Ming hui-tien, ch. 29, Official Salaries, ch. 30,Google Scholar Official salaries 2; Ta Ming wên-wu kuan-ping fêng-hsiang tsung-mu, ch. 2, 2a.Google Scholar

26 In the section on “The current calculation of the value of stolen goods” (Ta Ming hui-tien, 1511 edition, ch. 135)Google Scholar, the market price of one catty of pepper is stated as being eight strings of paper money. At that time, one tael of silver could be officially converted into eighty strings of paper money. One catty of pepper was therefore equivalent to one ch'ien (1/10 tael) of silver. “The current calculation of the value of stolen goods” became the standard reference. It states that relevant articles in Ta Ming ling (Fundamental laws of the Ming Empke) had been consulted. Its exact date of publication is not known. However, it was reprinted in the 1587 edition of Ta Ming hu-tien, and in accordance with the general layout of the new edition, whenever the Ta Ming ling was mentioned, the date of its publication - the 1st year of Hung Wu (1368) – was given. As a result, “The current calculation of the value of stolen goods” has been mistakenly regarded as being part of Ta Ming ling and the date of its publication has been given inaccurately as 1368. Historical evidence shows that “paper money during the Great Ming dynasty” was first issued in 1375. Moreover, the value of the newly issued paper money could not have fallen so drastically. The assumption that the paper money might have been that of the Chih Chêng Reign of the Yuan dynasty (1341–1368) (P'êng, Hsin-wei, Chung-kuo huo-pi shih (History of Chinese currency), Shanghai, 1954, 402 and 407, n. 38)Google Scholar is pure conjecture. According to the official exchange rate of silver and paper money quoted by the 1511 edition of Ta Ming hui-tien (ch. 34, Paper Money), “The current calculation of the value of stolen goods” was probably published in or about the fifth year of the Yung Lo reign (1407).

27 “The stolen goods were all valued according to the average prices at the time they were stolen.” There are different ways of interpreting the term “average prices”, but it can be considered as being the lowest set of prices at the time. See Ta Ming lüGoogle Scholar (Statutes of the Great Ming), ch. 1, Confiscating ‘Stolen Goods; also Ying-shêng, Hsi, T'ang Ming li ho-p'ien (Collections of the Tang and the Ming Statutes), ch. 4, Confiscating Stolen Goods.Google Scholar

28 The official exchange rates for a catty of pepper in 1407 were fixed at one tael one ch'ien, (1/10 tael), in 1420 at one tael nine ch'ien and in 1424 at one tael four ch'ien two fên (1/100 tael).

29 Jên-tsung Hung Hsi shih-lu (Veritable Records of the Hung Hsi period of Jên Tsung's Reign), ch. 1, p. 1,Google Scholar 8ab; Shu-yü chou-chih lu (Some Facts about Strange Lands) gives the date of the end of ocean-going voyages as the 15th day of the 8th moon of 1426.Google Scholar

30 chi-teng, Yu, Tien-ku chi-w^n (Notes of literary quotation), ch. 15, 16.Google Scholar

31 For the scale of salary differences, see Ta Ming hui-tien (1511 edition), ch. 39,Google Scholar Official Salaries. A total 25 strings of paper money was calculated as being equivalent to one tan of rice, ibid., ch. 30, Official Salaries.

32 In the Yüan and the Ming periods, pepper was used for wine-making, flavouring, and as a drug. The details are recorded in Chü-chia pi-yung shih-wu ch'üan-chi (Encyclopedia of household management), ch. 11, Wine Making and Leavening; ch. 13, Food and Drink, Boiled Rice with Meat; ch. 14 Miscellaneous Usage in the kitchen; ch. 17, Hygiene. See also Yüan-ching, Ch'ên, Shih-lin kuang-chi (Collection of articles on everyday affairs), Supplementary volume, Wine-Making and Leavening.Google Scholar

33 Chu Ying-ming tells in his Ch 'ien-wên chi (Tales of my ancestors) the story of Shen Ying, an old scholar of his native place, who once dreamed that someone had left a bag of pepper in his care for a considerable time, but in an emergency, one day he opened it and took some. When he woke up he chastised himself severely for having been subconsciously dishonest, and he could not sleep any more. No date is given for this story, but since Chu lived in the Hung Chih period (1488–1505), this anecdote, in addition to being an indication of the man's honesty, was also an indication of how stagnant the pepper market had been prior to that period.

34 Jên Tsung Hung Hsi shih-lu, ch. 1, p. 2, la; ch. 3 p. 2, 4b.Google Scholar

35 ibid. ch. 2, p. 2, 10ab.

36 Hsüan Tsung Hsüan Tê shih-lu (Veritable Records of the Hsüan Tê period of the Hsüan Tsung Reign), ch. 3, 15a; Wang Shih-chên, Feng-chou tsa-p'ien (Notes of Phoenix Land), ch. 6.

37 Hsüan Tsung Hsüan Tê shih-lu, ch. 114, 1b.Google Scholar

38 This is according to the exchange rate proposed by the Ministry of Revenue, and sanctioned by Imperial edict on the 4th year of Hsüan Tê (1429); see Ta Ming hui-tien (1511 edition), ch. 32, Warehouses, Reserve.Google Scholar

39 Ying Tsung Chên T'ng shih-lu (Veritable records of the Chên T'ung period of Ying Tsung's reign), ch. 15, 8a.Google Scholar

40 ibid., ch. 18, 4a.

41 ibid., ch. 19, 3b.

42 Ta Ming hui-tien (1511 edition), ch. 39, Ministry of Revenue, 26, Official Salaries, 2.Google Scholar

43 Ming Shih (Annals of the Ming Empire), ch. 325,Google Scholar Monograph on foreign countries, Franks, ; Shu-yü chou-chih lu, ch. 9, Fu-lang-chi.Google Scholar

44 Shu-yü chou-chih lu,Google Scholaribid.; Ta Ming wên-wu kuan-ping fêng-shang tsung-mu, ch. 5, 2b and 3a.Google Scholar

45 Of the goods brought in by foreign kings, queens and messengers, 50% was regarded as tribute, and the other 50% could be sold. See Ta Ming hui-tien (1511 edition), ch. 102, Values of foreign goods.Google Scholar

46 Chên, Tu, Min Yüeh hsün-shih chi-yao (Short notes of an inspection to Fukien and Kwangtung), ch. 11.Google Scholar

47 Huang Ming shih fa-lü (Traditional law of the Imperial Ming), ch. 27, Criminal offences; ch. 75, Coastal defence;Google ScholarYüeh hai-kuan chih, ch. 21, Tributary vessels, 1.Google Scholar

48 T'ien-shui p'in-shan lu (Record of a sudden collapse) records 3,500 tan, as does Liu-ch 'ing jih-cha chai-ch'ao (Extracts from a diary of fundamental value); Chêng-tsê ch'uan-i chai-ch'ao (Talks of a Tai lake-dweller) and Ch'i lei hsiu-kao (Passages of seven categories) cite 3,500 tan; Pin t'ui lu (Notes of talks with guests) gives 3,000 tan; the Ming shih says several thousand tan, Ching-i chih (A triumphant record) 1,005 tan, and the Ming shu (The book of the Ming) 1,000 tan.Google Scholar

49 Wan, Chu, P'i-yü tsa-chi (Jottings after “carrying tiles”), ch. 7,Google Scholar Report on the investigation of the value of pepper and sapanwood. The above is apparently an allusive title, which may refer to the saying “to carry tiles to and fro” for “to be kept occupied”.

50 Shih-chên, Li, Pên-ts'ao kang-mu (Compendium of Materia Medica), ch. 32, Fruits, 4.Google Scholar

51 Tung Hsi yang k'ao (Research on the Eastern and Western Seas), ch. 7, Tax regulations for land in the third year of the Wan Li period (1575);Google ScholarT'ien-hsia chün-kuo li-pi shu (Book concerning the advantages and disadvantages of various provinces), Fukien, pt. 2.Google Scholar

52 Chün, Ch'iu, Ta-hsüeh yüan-i pu (Strategic military positions of the Empire), ch. 2, Market transactions.Google Scholar

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54 “Many scholars have overlooked the importance of the pepper-trade in China, but it is fact that the great demand for pepper in China led to the development of pepper plantations in Java and Sumatra, which in turn stimulated economic growth” (Yamada, Kentaro, A study of the history of perfumery and spices in the Far East, Tokyo, 1970, 4).Google Scholar