Disputes Over The Sea Transportation And River Transportation In Ming Dynasty

The name "Water Transportation" first appeared in the Qin Dynasty,and it continued to develop during the Qin and Han Dynasties,reaching its peak during the Yuan,Ming and Qing Dynasties.Different types of dynasties have adopted different methods of transportation.In the Yuan Dynasty,the national capital was Yanjing.The demand for grain production in the south of the Yangtze River was mainly achieved through large-scale Sea Transportation.However,the Ming Dynasty,which followed the Yuan Dynasty,had the same political center as the Yuan Dynasty.But only implemented a short period of Sea Transportation at the beginning.In the thirteenth year of Yongle,HuiTong River was fully integrated,the Ming government stopped the Sea Transportation and relied exclusively on River Transportation.From then on,the state of Ming Dynasty was able to enter the River Transport phase.However,the Grand Canal,which flows from south to north and from low to high,violated the physical and geographical conditions,what's more it was also intercepted by the Yellow River.In order to guarantee the supply of grain,the Ming government has invested a great deal of money in drilling and maintenance of the canal.During this process,the drawbacks of the Transport System are continuously exposed.The expenditures for Water Transportation are also increasing year by year.The high cost of River Transport has caused a heavy economic burden on the state finance.This is unscientific compared with the economic and convenient maritime transportation of the Yuan Dynasty.In this case,the Ming Dynasty scholars tried to find a way to replace the River Transport,and then turned their attention to the sea.Since Jiajing,every dynasty has tried Sea Transport proposals.These proposals include Jiaolai River shipping and direct shipping.Two kinds of reform programs have been contradicted by traditional river transport,which has led to disputes between the river and the sea in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.The dispute between the river and sea has also become an important topic in the political life in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.However,due to the obstruction of the current situation and various interest groups,Sea Transportation has not been able to develop in the Ming Dynasty.Stopping the Sea Transportation in the Ming Dynasty meant abandoning the initiative of the sea.The country's political structure shifted from the sea to the inland,and the development of the maritime industry was stagnant.Eventually it caused China to become a declining.