Research on the Early History of Macau's Opening

Author: Tang Kajian
Editor-in-Chief: Li Jiemin
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-11-01
Features:
Fragment: Simao de Andrade was sent to Tamao to replace his brother Fernao Perez de Andrade. Simao de Andrade led the Portuguese to build fortifications and mistreated the indigenous people of Tamao, causing the Chinese to develop a strong aversion to the Portuguese. Three months later, the emperor died (the Ming History · Wu Zong Ji records that Wu Zong died in the third month of Zhengde 16th year, which is the year 1521 AD), the new emperor ascended the throne, and the ministers requested the execution of the Portuguese envoy, but the emperor refused and ordered the envoy to be sent back to Guangdong. In the same year, Simao returned, and Diego Calvo took his place. When the news of the emperor's death reached Guangdong, the Chinese fleet attacked, and the Portuguese suffered heavy losses and retreated, with significant casualties, which was in June 1520 (should be 1521). ③ In the highly authoritative documents of Barros, Tamao is mentioned many times, and it is told that the Portuguese had come to this island before 1514 and had established monuments on it; in 1518, they still built fortifications on the island. In addition to Barros, early Western historians also recorded some information. Tome Pires (1512-1515) recorded: ships coming from Malacca to China all anchored in Tumon, this island is 20 or 30 league away from Guangdong (Canton), these islands are about one league away from Nantoo from the land. ④ Constantine da Costa recorded around 1550: this trading island is three leagues away from the coast, the Chinese call it Tanmao, no ship can approach the coast without the permission of the Guangzhou government, all transactions are carried out in the outer sea or here. The official in charge of maritime defense in this area is called Pi-o (Bewei), who is stationed three leagues away from this island in Nan-tou. ⑤ Correa also recorded between 1545-1565: this island is eighteen leagues away from Guangzhou, all merchants trade here, no one can enter inside without the permission of Guangzhou City. On another island three leagues outside the trading island, there is a Chinese fleet commander or water division commander stationed. ⑥ It can be seen that the earliest place in China where the Portuguese arrived in the 16th century was Tamao or Tunmon. According to the records of the Italian Portuguese navigator Cosari on January 6, 1515: last year, we had several Portuguese who successfully sailed to China, although they were not allowed to land, they sold their goods at very high prices and made great profits. ⑦ The place in China that was not allowed to land in 1514 should also be Tanmao, where the Portuguese conducted large-scale smuggling trade on the island. According to the description of the above documents, it can be determined that Tamao is a place like this: 1. Tamao is an island. 2. Tamao Island is 18-30 leagues away from Guangzhou. 3. Tamao Island is 1-3 leagues away from the land where the Bewei is stationed in Nantoo. 4. Tamao Island is an island for smuggling trade. However, where exactly is Tamao? Scholars from the East and the West have great differences of opinion on this issue. In the past, Western scholars mostly used Portuguese documents to verify, placing Tamao in the upper and lower Chuan Islands (west of the Pearl River Estuary) (except for J·M·Braga); Eastern scholars mostly used Chinese documents to verify Tamao as "Tunmen" or "the area around Tunmen" (east of the Pearl River Estuary), these two views are so clearly divided between Eastern and Western scholars that it is rare. What is the reason? Which view is correct? There is still no conclusion, so that later researchers are confused, so the Macau Portuguese historian Shih Baiti said very embarrassedly when talking about Tamao: Where is Tamao? Is it today's Lingding Island? Or between Lingding and Nantou City? Or a port in Shangchuan Island? ⑧ Postscript: Turning point. In the early summer of Bingyin (1986), I decided to leave Lanzhou. This place, which once started my academic career and made me prominent in the academic world, indeed has many memories worth cherishing. The names of Shuofang, Jincheng, Dunhuang, and the Western Regions are full of historical charm, and for a person obsessed with the sea of history, they are so tempting! But, I still left it. Before leaving, a friend once said: "With ten thousand strings of cash in your belt, ride a goose to Yangzhou." But when I went south, I really came to this prosperous southern metropolis of China with dozens of boxes of books, and I can say that I came with nothing. Everything seemed to be well-planned, and everything was completely unprepared. Before I had a chance to put the books in my luggage on the shelf, life, society, and the noisy Chinese politics turned me upside down. When I sat quietly at my desk again, I found that I was already in my forties and had nothing left. For scholars, to seek the profound realm of academic knowledge, it is absolutely impossible to get both fish and bear's paws, "fame," "wealth," "power," and "position" are absolutely greatly hindered to the real academic work. Many people appear to have achieved both, with great academic achievements and considerable power, fame, and wealth, but if you check it carefully, it may not be the case. For example, Mr. Hu Shi, perhaps the most famous figure in modern Chinese academia! If measured by fame, power, and position, Mr. is satisfied with his wishes, but if measured by the depth and precision of academic research, it is a pity. As for Guo Jiegang, he was already famous in his twenties and was admired by young people of the time. According to Mr. Yan Gengwang, "After middle age, Mr. Guo became very regretful, he himself commented that he deeply regretted that he had made too much fame when he was young and could not work in peace, and ultimately had little contribution to history." Among the scholars I admire the most, Mr. Chen Yuan'an, who achieved success through self-study, his "Yuan also Li Ke Wen Exam" shook the world and became a classic model in the history of Chinese academia, but in his later years, although there were many objective reasons, he was actually burdened by fame, wealth, power, and position, and could not climb to a higher peak of academic knowledge. As for the current world, speculators, opportunists, and those who scramble for fame and profit without real effort, who do not read books but publish books frequently, who write bad articles but compete to be××tutors, and who boast of being××schools even though they are at the bottom, have turned the academic world into chaos and confusion. Fame is great, but reality is not, the most tragic thing is to get a bad reputation far and wide. After forty, I gradually realized this truth: fame and wealth must not be this much sought after, impatience and haste cannot achieve great academic achievements. In 1941, Mr. Qian Binsi said to his disciple Yan Gengwang: "The environment for Chinese scholars to do academic research is not very good, before becoming famous, it is difficult to find a bowl of rice to eat, once famous, it must be pulled in all directions, doing this, doing that. You must remember, when that time comes, do not be distracted." Mr. Qian's words had a great impact on me, I deeply understand the harm of "being distracted" to academic research, but in the current environment of Chinese people, how can it be easy to not "be distracted"? But without "being distracted," how can there be true academic research? Therefore, I warn myself: I must use my greatest perseverance to resist temptation, immerse myself in study, and seek the truth of academic research. Before the age of forty, what I was concerned about was the northwest ethnic groups and geographical conditions during the Tang, Song, and Yuan dynasties, leaving behind several manuscripts and a large number of unsorted materials and questions. In the past eight or nine years, I have entered the southeastern coastal areas of the Ming and Qing dynasties, the arrival of the Portuguese and the Dutch, Macau, Hong Kong, Zhangchao, and Hainan Island, a series of problems have once again attracted my great interest, and the history of the Portuguese and Macau has become the first choice. The academic field has changed from the northwest to the southeast, from the Song and Yuan dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the changes in space and time have brought great difficulties to my research, but I feel that as long as the method remains unchanged, the new field has brought me more stimulating challenges. After a few years, based on the excellent achievements of predecessors and the deep excavation and accumulation of historical materials, I have completed this small book on the Ming Dynasty Macau issue, which is also roughly a mark of the completion of this turn in my academic career. The early history of Macau (including the arrival of the Portuguese in the early 16th century and the period of the Southern Ming Yongli) should be the most difficult and complex period in Macau history. From the arrival of the Portuguese to the opening of Macau, there are very few records in Chinese and Western documents, and many of them are contradictory, so the reflection of historical facts is very vague. Without detailed research on the original historical materials to clarify the historical sources and distinguish between truth and fiction, this period of history cannot be studied. Therefore, scholars from the East and the West have expressed their urgent concern for the early history of Macau. Western scholars such as Long Sistani (A.Ljungstedt), Xu Sasi (Montalto de Jesus), Baima Xing (H.Bemard), Gao Meishi (A.L.Gomes), Ba Lejia (J.M.Braga), Bo Kese (C.R.Boxer), Wendiquan (Manuel Teixeira), Pan Jiming (B.V.Pires), Wei Sihan (J.E.Wills), Putak (Roderich Ptak), Louriero (R.M.Loureiro), Shibaiti (Beaeriz Bastoda Silva), and Eastern historians such as Fujiwara Toyohachi, Yano Jinichi, Liang Jiabin, Fang Hao, Zhou Jinglian, Zhang Weihua, Quan Hanzheng, Zhang Tianze, Dai Yixuan, and Huang Wenkuan, as well as later scholars such as Guo Yongliang, Huo Qichang, Lin Zisheng, Huang Hongzhao, Huang Qichen, Fei Chengkang, Li Dechao, Zhang Zengxin, Tan Zhiqiang, Tan Shibao, and Wu Zhiliang, have all made many contributions to the history of Ming Dynasty Macau, among which there are also very insightful views. But there is a more serious problem, that is, most of the works discussed are specialized general histories, and there are very few specialized papers (except for C·R·Boxer and Mr. Fang Hao and Mr. Quan Hanzheng). Many issues have been proven, but limited by space, few have been thoroughly examined. Therefore, some problems remain unsolved or blank to this day, and I was born with the idea of writing this book on this basis. However, due to the limitations of language and materials, I really don't have the courage to write a history of Ming Dynasty Macau, because I don't know how many Portuguese materials about Ming Dynasty Macau I haven't seen, so I can only put forward my personal views on a few issues, though I dare not say that I have made 100% of the discoveries that predecessors have not made, but I definitely will not engage in empty talk, vague arguments, or. The purpose of writing this book is very clear, that is to clarify some vague or wrong conclusions and views in the study of Ming Dynasty Macau in the past, and also to try to fill in some gaps that predecessors have not discussed. My academic career seems to have a fate, always like a one-armed general charging into battle. In the study of Western Xia history, although I have studied Western Xia script, my skills cannot help in studying history, leaving behind a large number of broken and scattered official documents to be sorted out; in the study of Amdo Tibetan, although I have once made a few noises, I do not know Tibetan, and I always feel that my articles are missing a backbone; today, doing Macau history, I also regard Portuguese as a mysterious language. Every time I write an article on Macau's history, it's like eating a bowl of braised pork with a bowl of undercooked rice, and this bowl of undercooked rice is the Portuguese materials I used that were translated by others. Fortunately, I have never been lazy, whether it is Western Xia history, Amdo Tibetan history, or Macau history, although I am a "bitter person" with a missing arm, the occasional creations and discoveries and the excavation of Chinese historical materials still deserve the "salary" given by the country. In the end, I must sincerely thank the Macau Cultural Bureau for funding the completion of this book. Without the support of the fourth academic research scholarship of the Macau Cultural Bureau, it would be difficult to imagine completing this very difficult topic. Here, I would also like to thank Director Buxia, Director Li Shuyi, and Dr. Huang Xiaofeng, Dr. Liu Yuelian for their help and support in the completion of this project. I would like to thank Professor Fujiwara Takehisa of Japan, Professor Xiao Qiqing of Taiwan, Professor Xiao Guojian of Hong Kong, Professor Chen Jiaying, and Dr. Wu Zhiliang of Macau for providing me with valuable materials many times. Here, I would like to specially thank Professor Jin Guoping of Lisbon for reviewing the clean manuscript of my book and carefully correcting the errors and omissions in the text, especially the Portuguese materials used in the text, Professor Jin has given me great help, and I will always remember it. I also thank Mr. Xie Fang and Mr. Li Jiemin of Zhonghua Book Company for reviewing this manuscript and proposing many valuable revision suggestions and correcting many textual errors. Here, I am grateful for the hard work they have put into this book. I also thank my graduate students for translating and proofreading the materials and copying and proofreading the manuscript. Also, most of the papers in this collection were published in domestic and foreign journals successively from 1995 to 1998, and were supplemented and revised again when included in this collection. March 12, 1999, in Guangzhou, Jivan Garden, Xiaowanjuan Building