Japanese Pirates Of Jiangnan And The Elite’s Response

From March in the thirty-second year to August in the thirty-fifth year of Jiajing(1553-1556),a serious Japanese Pirates occurred in Jiangnan area.Since the Song and Yuan Dynasties,most of elites lived in countryside.When the social stability maintaining nearly two hundred years was suddenly broken by Japanese Pirates,many elites took their families to leave the countryside in a hurry for city with walls.Some entered the remote mountains and lakes.Some stayed in hometown.Since long time without war in Jiangnan,people didn’t pay attention to the construction of the city wall.When the Japanese Pirates arrived,the walls of most prefectures and counties had seriously collapsed,and even some counties had no city walls.The elite entering the city changed their previous attitude of opposing the fortification,suggesting actively officials to build the city walls,donating generously their money and personally serving for fortifying.When Japanese Pirates attacked the city,the elite assisted the local officials to fight back,or wiped out the nearby Japanese Pirates,some of them unfortunately died in battle.Elites who were unwilling to go to the city walls to guard themselves needed to provide money and food for the soldiers guarding the city.Elites who stayed in their hometown tried to gather the villagers to fight against Japanese Pirates for defending their hometown.Witnessing that Jiangnan area was ravaged by Japanese Pirates,and hoping that Japanese Pirates would be suppressed as soon as possible,there were heated discussions between the elite and the local bureaucrats,as well as between elites each other regarding how to effectively wipe out Japanese Pirates.These discussions mainly involved the two aspects of the army and the defense,including the selection and appointment of generals,the recruitment of adventive soldiers,the recruitment and training of native soldiers,the garrison of key points,the method of guarding the city,and the importance of neighbor assistance.Japanese Pirates accelerated the trend——elite’ place of residence frome countryside to city and town,promoted the change of the elite’ consumptive concept from frugality to luxury,enhanced the elite’ power status in the local society,and affected the elites’ interpersonal relationship.The existence of a large number of elites who safeguard local interests is one of the reasons why the Jiangnan area can quickly get rid of the war,restore prosperity,and maintain a long-term development trend.