The Curious Double-Life of Putuoshan as Monastic Centre and Commercial Emporium, 1684-1728

Abstract

This article investigates how the island of Putuoshan simultaneously acted as a Buddhist monastic centre and a maritime shipping hub from the Qing dynasty`s legalisation of overseas trade in 1684 until the 1720s. It argues that because overseas trade during the Kangxi era was inconsistently regulated, a mutually beneficial relationship developed between Putuoshan`s Buddhist monasteries, the merchants who sailed between China and Japan, and the regional naval commanders on Zhoushan. Instead of forcing merchant vessels to enter ports with customs offices, the naval commanders allowed merchants to use Putuoshan`s harbour, which lay beyond the empire`s trade administration system. The monasteries enjoyed the patronage of the merchants, and so rewarded the naval commanders by publicly honouring them. However, a reorganisation of the empire`s customs system in the mid-1720s shifted the power over trade to Zhejiang`s governor general, who brought an end to Putuoshan`s special status outside the administration around 1728.

本文探討自1684年海禁解除後至1720年代，身為佛教寺院中心之普陀山如何保持其為中國海洋貿易中心之樞紐地位。本文認為其中關鍵在於解禁初期，舟山群島一帶海關設管尚未成熟，所以普陀山佛教寺院、中國船商與定海總兵之間得以建立非官方之三邊互利關係。歷任定海總兵允許商船停靠普陀山，船商參訪寺廟、敬奉觀音，寺院則為定海總兵們建造生祠以感念其特許。然而在1720年代，清廷改組海關，將貿易管轄權移交給浙江省總督，導致互利關係終止，此舉也宣告了普陀山貿易樞紐時代之終結。