A Study On Piracy In The Southeast Coast Of Southern Song Dynasty

Pirate activity is a specific historical phenomenon,which is closely related to the social environment in which it was then.With the economic center of gravity moving south,the social and economic development in the southeast coastal area has been greatly developed.In addition,the Southern Song dynasty is set to the southeast and the sea is a country,with special attention to overseas trade.At the same time of the prosperous development of commercial economy at sea,the piracy activities in this area are becoming more and more widespread,entering a new stage of development,becoming a major problem that threatens the security of the southeast coastal area.During this period,the scope,scale and duration of piracy in the southeast coastal area were not seen in the previous dynasties.The footprint of piracy has spread throughout the south-eastern coastal region,and its gang composition has also become more complex,mainly with ordinary coastal residents who have entered the sea because of their inability to make a living,which is the main component of the pirate gang;There are also "violent" criminals and fugitives who enter the sea for theft in order to avoid the criminal law of the government;In addition,some merchants also join the pirate activities,and piracy also presents the new characteristics of business and theft,this is not the previous generation.Rampant piracy posed a great threat to the southeast coastal areas and the regime of the Southern Song Dynasty.For this reason,the Southern Song dynasty formulated a series of anti-theft measures,mainly adopting suppression and auxiliary measures,and strengthening the construction of coastal defense and the implementation of corresponding maritime prohibitions.At the same time,more attention is paid to the control of local society,the appointment of local influential social elites,the adoption of the law of preservation,in the hope of fundamentally eliminating the emergence of piracy.Under the severe crackdown of the government,piracy has not been eliminated,but there is a growing trend.On the one hand,it is due to the drawbacks of the government's anti-theft policy,on the other hand,it is also due to the increasingly close ties between pirates and coastal residents,as well as the development of piracy and commercial activities.At the same time,piracy in this period also has its positive side.When the two countries attacked the Southern Song Dynasty in the face of the Jin and Yuan dynasties,some pirate gangs would also cooperate with the Government of the Southern Song Dynasty.Together with the army and people of Southern Song Dynasty,they fought against the invasion of ethnic minorities.Secondly,pirate groups were active in the sea,which played a great role in the development of shipbuilding industry at that time,the opening up of trade ports and the expansion of sea lanes.As an important part of the process of social history development in the southeast coast of the Southern Song Dynasty,it is helpful to study the laws and characteristics of its activities from the perspective of pirates,and to explore the relationship between the pirate gang and all strata of society at that time,which is helpful for us to take a good understanding of the development of the society in the Southern Song Dynasty at that time.