1. Introduction
Around the 18th century, the trade of medicinal materials in East Asia is an issue that was mentioned in many aspects but lacked in-depth discussion. In the field of medical history, many scholars have noticed the relationship between the development of medicine in East Asian countries and the knowledge exchange of medicinal materials during this period.
Scholars have restored the exchange history of medicinal materials and medicinal knowledge in East Asian diplomatic activities from different aspects. Yoshida Tadashi (1988), Lian YongXuan(2000), Cha WungSeok(2006), Kim HyungTae(2012), Chen Ming (2020) and Tashiro Kazui(1999) and Tashiro Kazui(1999) specially researched the history of the Japanese Shogunate’s investigation of Korea medicinal materials in the 18th century. Moreover, in various works of medical history, such as History of Chinese Medicine(Lijingwei, 2015), History of Korean Medicine(Miki Sakae, 1963), History of Japanese Medicine before Meiji(Nihon Gakushiin(ed.), 1955), there are more or less associated studies about the relationship between trade of medicinal materials and knowledge exchanges in modern East Asia. However, these studies mainly focus on the official exchange, ignoring the exchange of medicinal materials as an international trade commodity in bulk and cannot explain whether official communication, which is very limited in scale and frequency, is enough to promote the prosperity of medicine and herbal medicine in East Asia in the 18th century.
Other scholars engaged in trade history research have paid attention to the international trade of some key medicinal materials, such as smilacis glabrae(Li Qing, 2019), rhubarb(Bao Haiyong, 2017), ginseng(Yang JeongPil, 2017) and sea cucumber1) (Arai Eiji, 1975), which have been extensively studied. A majority of scholars have noted the growth of medicinal material trade. But they have not answered whether the growth of medicinal material trade is limited to a few specific medicinal materials, or is it comprehensive.
Only Nagazumi Yoko(1987) and Liu ShuFong(1999) noticed that in the 18th century medicinal materials surpassed the traditional silver and silk to become the most important international trade commodity between China and Japan. But there is no further research, nor did they mention Korea’s involvement in the international medicinal material trade.
Most of the existing research mainly discusses the cross-regional trade of a single medicinal material from the perspective of the individual countries’ history. Although the prosperity of the trade of medicinal materials in East Asia in the 18th century has been revealed from different aspects, most of the studies only regard it as a phenomenon of international trade. Most studies ignored the impact of medicinal material trade as an economic variable on the Asian economy.
Therefore, this study intends to use historical documents from China, Japan and Korea to examine the reasons for the rapid development of medicinal material trade in East Asia in the 18th century. Moreover, this study discusses the interaction between the international trade in medicinal materials and the social economy from the perspectives of market, policy and production.
2. Market Demand and Circulation Network of Medicinal Materials in the 17–18th Century
In the 14th and 15th centuries, under the typical self-sufficient economic system, ordinary people could only use self-produced medicinal materials from their region. The exchange of medicinal materials between East Asian countries relied on diplomatic missions following the ‘tributary trade system’. Limited by the number and scale of missions, the main focus of trade was urgently needed materials or high-profit goods, such as raw silk and satin.
The desire for health created demand for medicinal materials. Therefore, starting from the late 15th century, the trade of medicinal materials gradually shifted out of the ‘tribute system’, which was completely controlled by the government and dependent on diplomacy. A trade network and consumer market linking three East Asian countries began to form.
Firstly, the Tangyak(唐藥)2) purchased by diplomatic missions gradually increased. In 1465, a minister criticised the accompanying doctors and translators who bought large quantities of licorice, magnoliae officinalis cortex (厚朴), citri reticulatae pericarpium (陳皮), dried ginger (乾薑), ephedrae herba (麻黃) and other inexpensive but heavy medicinal materials, so stations along the way needed to add 30–40 horses to transport these medicinal materials.3) About 40 years ago, only three medical institutions, Jeonuigam (典醫監), Hyeminguk (惠民局) and Jesaengwon (濟生院) purchased medicinal materials. However, in 1465, Uijeongbu (議政府), Yukjo (六曹), Chunghoonbu (忠勳府), Gaesongbu (開城府) and other non-medical institutions also bought medicinal materials through diplomatic missions. At the same time, doctors and translators also purchased large quantities of inexpensive and heavy medicinal materials according to their own will.
The increased purchase of medicinal materials in Korea was not only due to the needs of the country, but also due to the increase in demand from private scholar-officials, especially high-level ones. In 1491, the Court of Joseon Dynasty discovered that some businessmen pretended to be servants of officials to go to Beijing for trading. Amongst the items they purchased were many green vitriols (綠礬), and several thousand catties of green vitriols and galvanised iron (白鐵) were procured.4) In 1533, the king criticised the accompanying doctors and translators of diplomatic missions serving private trade (私貿易) as an urgency and not paying attention to official trade (公貿易), and then placed them in prison for punishment.5)
Especially after the Imjin Japanese Invasion, private medicine and private pharmacies developed in Joseon Dynasty. The medical system originally dominated by the government has gradually transformed into private, and the circulation of medicinal materials in the market has also developed accordingly(Kim SeongSu, 2009).
During the same period, Japan’s demand for medicinal materials was ever-growing. With the rise of smuggling along the coast of China and the arrival of Europeans in the 16th century, maritime exchanges in East Asia gradually flourished. Accompanied by personnel exchanges, syphilis was also spreading across the country of Japan through trade with China and Ryukyu in the early 16th century.6) Therefore, medicinal materials for syphilis, such as smilacis glabrae rhizoma and rhubarb, appeared in commodities. The goods purchased from the Portuguese in the 17th year of Kan’ei (寬永) included 500-600 piculs (擔) of smilacis glabrae rhizoma, 100 piculs of rhubarb and 150 piculs of licorice.(Okamoto Yoshitomo, 1936: 691) Furthermore, the frequent wars in Japan in the 16th century contributed to a substantial increase in Japanese society’s demand for medicines. For example, pepper imported from Nanban (南蠻) was used by Ashigaru Musketeer (鐵炮足輕) for curing heart stroke.7)
In addition, the introduction of Chinese and Korea medical knowledge into Japan also promoted Japan’s demand for Chinese and Korean medicinal materials, particularly after a significant number of Korean medical books, such as Dongui Bogam(東醫寶鑑) were introduced to Japan in the 17th century. Japan began to attach importance to the introduction and trade of Korean medicinal materials and obtained Korean medicinal materials through Tsushima’s requests (求請) and trade(Tashiro Kazui, 1999, 23–35).
China in the middle and late Ming Dynasty, the ‘Yitiaobianfa’ (一條鞭法) was implemented countrywide; various taxes were combined and levied in silver. The medicinal material tribute was gradually transformed into tax pay in silver, and the government purchased medicinal materials from the market, promoting the free circulation of medicinal materials in the market(Zheng Hong, 2020). At the same time, social changes and the development of the commodity economy in the middle and late Ming Dynasty also caused the demand for medical treatment and medicinal materials to increase rapidly(Liu Yao, 2020).
During this period, the changes in medical concepts had a great impact on the consumption of Chinese medicinal materials. In the 16th century, a new medical school called ‘Wenbuxuepai’ (溫補學派) with the characteristics of warming and invigorating deficiency (溫養補虛) became popular in Jiangsu and Zhejiang, which are the most prosperous regions of the Ming Dynasty. This medical proposition gradually evolved into the folk concept of ‘Buxu’ (補虛), which believes that physical discomfort or illness is caused by physical weakness (體虛) and needs to be treated by taking tonics (補藥). Then, Chinese people became obsessed with ‘health preservation’ and ‘tonics’. The use of tonics for treating diseases and physical discomfort became a wide-ranging influential trend.8)
Amongst various tonics, ginseng and sea cucumber are precious and highly regarded. According to the Compendium of Materia Medica (本草綱目) ‘Ginseng cures all weakness syndromes in men and women’, and sea cucumbers ‘cures impotence, and it’s natural warm as same as ginseng, hence the name haiseng (海參ginseng in the sea)’.9) The effects of ginseng and sea cucumbers for ‘warming and tonic’ undoubtedly fit well with the consumer culture formed by the development of the commodity economy and new folk medical culture in the late Ming Dynasty. As a doctor of the late Ming Dynasty said, ‘The wealthy family uses this as a magic medicine to replenish vitality (元氣), and their desires are too strong, so they use ginseng to nourish them.’10) High-quality ginseng and sea cucumber were not produced in the Ming Dynasty, so Chinese people had to buy them from the Jurchens (女真) in the Northeast, Korea and Japan. Moreover, the desire for tonics by the Chinese promoted the export of Japanese and Korean ginseng and sea cucumbers during the next 300 years.
The desire for health and longevity makes people willing to seek good medicines for curing diseases and maintaining health. However, the tribute system in China and Korea and the fragmentation of the Japanese market during the Muromachi period caused the circulation of medicinal materials in the market to become very limited. However, a series of political changes in East Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries largely eliminated the old limiting factors, released the demand for medicinal materials in the markets of various countries, and promoted the establishment of a circulation system of medicinal materials in East Asia in the 17th and 18th centuries.
Market demand promoted the connection of medicinal material consumption markets in various countries and established an international medicinal material trade network. Before the 18th century, medicinal materials accounted for only a small share of international commodity circulation. For example, medicinal materials traded by Dutch merchant ships in Japan in 1638 only accounted for 1.68% of this trade, which was far less than the 91.23% share of silk(Yukutake Kazuhiro, 2007: 673-693). The trade structure between Joseon Dynasty and Tsushima is similar. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, Korea stopped its ginseng trade with China, and instead exported it to Japan in large quantities, but the trade share of ginseng is only about 22%, which is not comparable to that of silk(Tashiro Kazui, 2011: 1-24).
Although the trade share was low, the circulation network of medicinal materials in the 17th century showed characteristics different from that of other commodities, such as silk, silver and handicrafts. The trade network of silk, handicrafts and other commodities is limited to major cities and economically developed areas such as Eastern China, Edo and Osaka of Japan, Seoul and Busan of Korea. The direction of circulation was also single: Chinese merchandisers trade to Japan and Korea, whereas silver flows to China.
Unlike the circulation scope and structure of other commodities, that of medicinal materials covered economic centres and remote areas of various countries, cities and villages. Moreover, this circulation is characterised by two-way flow.
Firstly, the specialised medicinal material markets connected different regions into a vast network in the 17th century. Aside from countries, inland and coastal areas, economic centres and border areas are closely linked through medicinal material trade. In the late Ming Dynasty, several specialised medicinal material markets in China emerged such as Bozhou in Anhui, Zhangshu in Jiangxi, Baiquan in Henan, Yuzhou in Henan, Anguo in Hebei and Chengdu in Sichuan, which connected the national market from coastal areas to inland areas and from the south to the north(Tang Tingyou, 2001: 123-127). To export inland medicinal materials such as rhubarb and liquorice to Korea and Japan, traders can pass through these hubs via the Huitongguan (會同館) of Beijing, the border of Qing China and Joseon Korea, and eastern ports such as Zhapu (乍浦) and Fuzhou (福州).
In Japan, a trade network of medicinal materials centred in Osaka and Edo also emerged. In particular, Doshomachi (道修町), located in Osaka, became the largest distribution centre for medicinal materials in Japan. A large number of Chinese and Korean medicinal materials were transported across Japan through Tangyak Wholesaler (唐藥問屋), Satsuma hall (薩州屋敷) and Tsushima hall (對馬屋敷)(Yoshida Jinkichi, 1960: 1-39). In addition, sea cucumbers and kelp from the northernmost side of Japan can be transported in Nagasaki and sold to Chinese merchants who come to trade here.
Busan in the north of Korea is a trading port that cannot be ignored in the circulation of medicinal materials in East Asia. In the early 17th century, Japan interrupted the trade with Portugal and attempted to import Korean medicinal materials through Busan.11) Moreover, in the middle of the 17th century, the war between the Ming and Qing Dynasty in the north of China caused the Korea to have difficulties purchasing medicinal materials from China. Hence, Japanese merchants bought Tangyak in south China and exchanged these for Korean medicines through Weaguan in Busan.12)
Japan purchased Korean medicinal materials through Weaguan by way of requests (求請) as well as official and private trade. Japan’s demand for medicinal materials also promoted the development of the Korean medicinal material market.
In the southern region of Korea, which is the main source of medicinal materials, a specialised medicinal material trading market called Daegu Yakryeongsi (大邱藥令市) was formed in the late 17th century(Kwon ByongTak, 1988: 377-398). Before the mid-17th century, when Korea responded to the request for trade in medicinal materials on Tsushima Island, it reiterated that ‘there are no merchants who sell medicinal materials in our country; people collect medicinal materials only when they are sick’.13) However, Korea finally agreed to Japan’s request for trade in medicinal materials. In the late 17th century, according to Tsushima’s private trade (私貿易) records, 49 kinds of Korean medicinal materials were traded in Waegwan, Busan, such as Atractylodes Rhizome White, Angelica dahurica root and schisandra fruit.14) The establishment of Daegu Yakryeongsi and the private trade of medicinal materials in Waegwan transformed the circulation and export of Korean medicinal materials from the direct control of the state into a trade form with market-oriented characteristics.
The emergence of Daegu Yaonyeongshi allowed more Korean medicinal materials to enter the international market, and also expanded the circulation of medicinal materials in East Asia beyond bilateral trade between countries, and instead formed a circulation network linking the three countries. For example, before the 19th century, Korea restricted diplomatic missions to export ginseng to China, but Korean ginseng would appear in market of South China through Japan’s trans-trade.15)
Therefore, the establishment of Daegu Yakryeongsi also marked the final formation of a medicinal material trade network that connected international and domestic markets in East Asia.
Secondly, in terms of the composition of the trade network, villages have established links with international and domestic markets through trade in medicinal materials. Considering that the production of medicinal materials is restricted by the natural environment, such as climate and soil, the main producing areas of medicinal materials are mostly located in the countryside. Medicinal materials can achieve large-scale cross-regional exchange through good logistics network between the city as the centre of trade and the village as the origin of medicinal materials. For example, in China, ‘Yuxianzhi (禹縣志)’ records that ‘influenced by the trade, farmers also benefit from medicinal materials sales. Even in deep mountains and valleys, there is an endless stream of people collecting herbs. Those medicinal materials that are commonly used or selling well are planted in the fields for sale.’16) Japan’s villages, especially fishing villages, are affected by the trade of medicinal materials. For example, many of Choshu’s fishermen collected sea cucumbers to sell, because they were an important source of additional income.(Ogawa Kuniharu, 1967: 608-633) Korean encyclopaedia of agriculture also advises villagers to allot a field for medicinal materials near their houses and collect medicinal herbs during their spare time; it stated that ‘doing it can not only help in curing diseases, but one can even make a living from it.’17) Fishermen in Korea, like those in Japan, collect sea cucumbers and kelp to sell. According to records from ‘Economy of Forest and Field’, ‘sea cucumbers are favoured by Chinese people; every year, sea cucumbers are sold to China for huge profits’.18)
These records of village economy and villagers’ income in the 17th and 18th centuries show that the rural economy was closely linked to the domestic and international markets through the trade of medicinal materials.
In addition, owing to the demand for each other’s medicinal materials in the three East Asian markets, the trade of medicinal materials is characterised by two-way circulation. For example, in the trade of medicinal materials between China and Japan, China mainly exports medicinal materials, such as liquorice, rhubarb, smilacis glabrae and aucklandiae radix; whereas Japan mainly exports sea cucumber, abalone, other nourishing medicinal materials and a small amount of Japanese medicinal materials like camphor and poria. In the trade between China and Korea, a record of border trade in the late 17th century showed that Korea purchased 99 kinds of Tangyak including citrus unshiu peel, liquorice, margarita, fennel and evodia fruit.19) Medicinal materials exported from Korea to China are mainly ginseng, sea cucumber and kelp. In terms of trade between Korea and Japan, documents of Tsushima in the late 17th century recorded that in addition to purchasing a large amount of ginseng through public trade (公貿易), Tsushima purchased 49 kinds of Korean medicinal materials through private trade every year. Korea imported pepper resold by Tsushima and a small amount of Japanese medicinal materials such as coptis rhizome.20)
Although the circulation of medicinal materials in East Asia in the 17th century cannot be compared with that of silk and silver, it has begun to show characteristics that are different from other commodities. At the end of the 17th century, a network of markets was formed linking economic centers and remote areas, cities and villages. The formation of this network enabled even medicinal materials produced in inland villages to be transported and enter overseas markets smoothly; similarly, overseas goods can be sold to inland and rural areas. Similar to Chongqing of inland China in the 18th century, overseas nourishing medicinal materials such as sea cucumber was enjoyed by the locals.21) The network of medicinal material circulation was closely linked with the origins of medicinal materials and the consumer market, and it provided a broader market for medicinal material consumption. It prepared a necessary prerequisite for the prosperity of medicinal material trade in the 18th century.
The two-way demand for medicinal materials allowed Japan and Korea, which were plagued by trade imbalances from the end of the 17th century to the 18th century, to find a way to recalibrate their foreign trade. This demand also created an important opportunity for the rapid development of medicinal material trade.
3. Policy Adjustment and Trade of Medicinal Materials in the 18th Century
In the 17th century, Japan and Korea spent a large amount of silver on Chinese goods. By the late 17th century, with the economic development of various countries, the imbalance in international trade became increasingly prominent. Hence, the governments of Japan and Korea took administrative measures to limit the outflow of silver, which had a huge impact on the traditional trade structure of East Asia.
Silver was widely used in international trade; hence, it was also popular in domestic trade in Japan and Korea in the 17th century. Moreover, the monetisation of silver and the export of silver in foreign trade meant the creation of an international trade deficit in the modern sense. The large outflow of silver from Japan in the 17th century led to the shortage of domestic currency in Japan, which was directly reflected in the rise of the price of gold and silver(Zhou AiPing, 2010: 115). It had a negative impact on the development of the Japanese economy. Similarly, for Korea, the 17th and 18th centuries were an era of rapid economic development. In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, when Japanese silver inflowed in large quantities, the bulk commodities in the Korea domestic market were once settled in silver. Joseon Dynasty also discussed the issue of using silver as a domestic currency more than once, but it was unachievable in the end due to the continuous outflow of silver and the domestic silver reserves were insufficient(Kwon Nae-Hyun, 2017: 271-297).
Japan since the late 17th century and Korea since the first half of the 18th century, tried to ues administrative measures to intervene in foreign trade and restrict the outflow of silver.
In 1685, Japan promulgated the ‘Jokyo Order (貞享令)’ to stipulate the upper limit of trade with China and the Dutch. The limit of Chinese ships were 6,000 kans (貫), whereas that of Dutch ships were 3,000 kans.22) The number of Chinese ships was also restricted. In 1688, the total number of Chinese ships for trade was set at 80, which was further reduced to 30 in 1715(Kimiya Yasuhiko, 1980: 639-646). A Japanese order to Chinese merchants in the early 18th century mentioned that besides medicinal materials, other commodities like silk have different lengths and widths that are unsuitable for use in Japan. Chinese merchants were required not to bring such commodities other than medicinal materials(Fan JinMin, 2012: 5-14). This policy is clearly aimed at restricting the import of Chinese silk, which is the main reason for the outflow of silver from Japan.
From the end of the 17th century to the beginning of the 18th century, Japan continuously adjusted its policy of exporting silver to Korea, mainly including reducing the fineness of silver and restricting exports. Owing to the shortage of Korean ginseng resources, Japanese silver of Korea import was greatly reduced. By the 1830s, the number of Japanese silver imported was less than a thousand taels(Zhang CunWu, 1978: 75). Eventually, the crisis of silver shortage reached Korea.
Korea replaced Japanese silver with self-produced silver, which became the main capital of the trade with the Qing Dynasty in the 18th century, barely continue the trade with Qing Dynasty.23) At the same time, Joseon Dynasty tried to issue a decree to restrict the export of silver. For example, in 1727, an officer suggested to prohibit the use of domestic silver in trade with the Qing Dynasty.24) However, perhaps because of trade needs, until 1772, a formal order banning the export of domestic silver was promulgated.25)
Although a direct ban is not imposed on the export of silver, Korea achieved the purpose of reducing the outflow of silver by restricting the consumption of imported silk. In 1734, King Yeongjo ordered the prohibition of luxury consumption, then translated the prohibition into Hangeul and issued it.26) In 1746, a new promulgation prohibited silk trade of diplomatic missions, which is the main trade channel for Korea’s silk imports. This prohibition was more severe than the previous one: not only was banned silk bought through diplomatic missions burned, but all translators and merchants who violated would be beheaded in public.27)
As a result of Japan and Korea’s policy adjustment, silk trade declined sharply after the promulgation of the decrees in the two countries. Data on Japanese trade <Graph 1> show two sharp declines in the silk trade in the 1680s and 1710s. Especially after the promulgation of the new trade restriction decree in 1715, the import of raw silk fell by only 300 catties the following year. By the first half of the 18th century, Japanese silk imports were less than one-tenth of what they were in the mid-17th century.
The data from Korea was lacking, but after the ban was issued in 1746, Zheng Shitai (鄭世泰), a major businessman in Beijing, suffered a ‘great loss, and his family property was not as good as before’, because of the interruption of the Korea silk trade.28) A diplomatic officer also recorded that the country of Joseon Dynasty banned the silk trade; hence, the silk pre-ordered by the Zheng family had nowhere to be sold, which was the main reason for the decline of the Zheng family.29) These two records show that the ban of Korea was strictly enforced and silk import was indeed greatly reduced.
The aforementioned policies of Japan and Korea, regardless of the setting of the trade ceiling or the containment of domestic consumption, were mainly aimed at silk trade, which occupied the largest share of trade and was the main reason of silver outflow. For medicinal materials, there was no relevant ban; Japan and Korea even encouraged the import of medicinal materials. Therefore, while the silk trade declined, imports of Japanese and Korean medicinal materials soon replaced silk.
In the 17th and 18th centuries, Japan actively promoted the import of medicinal materials and the popularisation of medicines. In the 17th century, when Tsushima Island wrote to Korea to request for medicinal materials, it said that ‘Shogun has created new pharmacies everywhere to treat patients’ and asked for Korean medicinal materials.30) Therefore, various kinds of medicinal materials were imported from Korea through Busan Waegwan. Among all kinds of Korean medicinal materials, ginseng was the largest commodity. For example, the records of the Tsushima’s documents show that from 1684 to 1710, a total of 37,712 catties of ginseng entered the Japanese market through Tsushima, with an annual average of nearly 1,400 catties.31)
At the same time, a large number of Tangyak were imported into the Japanese market through Nagasaki. As Yoko Nagaki and Liu ShuFong observed, medicinal materials became the main commodity imported to Japan in the mid-18th century.(Nagazumi Yoko,1987: 29; Liu ShuFong, 1999: 185-202) Among the main medicinal materials imported in 1682 were 44,215 catties of rhubarb, 3,276 catties of smilacis glabrae, 3,096 catties of cinnamon, 180 catties of aucklandiae radix and 51,743 catties of other medicinal materials. In 1769, the import amount was 151,415 catties of rhubarb, and 143,188 catties of smilacis glabrae, 35,983 catties of cinnamon, 3,100 catties of aucklandiae radix and 827,173 catties of other medicinal materials.32)
In Korea, imports of medicinal materials also increased. In 1735, records stated that:
Pilose antler purchased by court-physicians in Beijing in recent years is absolutely superior to what our country produces. Tangyak such as rhinoceros horn, cinnabaris·realgar powder, margarita, borneolum, coptis Rhizome, cinnamon, succinum, quisqualis fructus are all important materials. Although there are purchases every year, the number is small. We often worry about not having enough. Therefore, when the court-physicians went to Beijing, let them buy more medicinal materials beyond the quota.33)
In the 18th century, it was very common for Korean diplomatic missions to purchase additional medicinal materials beyond the quota. Most medicinal materials purchased in Beijing were not produced in the country, but some domestically produced medicinal materials would also be purchase for various reasons. For example, the pilose antler mentioned in the records is also produced in Hamgyongdo(咸鏡道) and is a tribute to the court of Joseon Dynasty, but local officials took advantage of the loopholes in the tribute system to pay tribute using inferior but heavy pilose antler to increase the price. Therefore, the diplomatic missions were ordered to purchase high-quality pilose antler directly in Beijing.
In 1777, the volume of medicinal material trade was 5,272 taels. Specifically, silk trade was 4,700 taels, and the trade of vegetable seeds was 30 taels, on top of 10,000 taels of silver.34) Medicinal materials surpassed silk as the largest publicly traded commodity in the late 18th century.
Detailed data on the private trade of medicinal materials is lacking. However, according to Jong Yagyong (丁若鏞)’s record, most of the medicinal materials used in prescriptions are Tangyak. His identification and analysis records of magnolia bark produced in Jeju revealed that the use of Tangyak should not be rare among the Korea folk.35)
Therefore, in 1778, Park Jeaga (朴齊家) criticised the bulk purchase of medicinal materials and silk, which caused the massive outflow of silver and indicated the underlying economic risk:
In our country, more than 10 thousands of silver outflow to Qing every year in exchange for medicinal materials and silk. However, no commodity can be in exchange for their silver... No wonder the price of silver is so expensive.36)
Owing to the adjustment of Japan and Korea’s foreign trade policies, medicinal materials replaced silk and became the largest imported commodity of Japan and Korea.
In the 18th century, Japan and Korea actively tried to export medicinal materials to China while importing large quantities of medicinal materials. The concept of health preservation, which became popular in China at the end of the 16th century and the beginning of the 17th century, gave birth to the demand for various tonic medicines in the Chinese market. Among them, ginseng and sea cucumber are the most expensive and most nourishing medicinal materials recognised by the Chinese. Moreover, sea cucumber and ginseng were expensive and easy to store in long-distance trade. It is a good trade resource for Japan and Korea, so both countries actively encouraged the export of domestic sea cucumbers and ginseng.
In 1685, after Japan restricted the number of Chinese ships and the trade limit, it allowed the part exceeding the trade limit to be paid in copper. However, it did not take long for a massive outflow of copper. In 1715, according to the suggestion of Arai Shiraishi, the shogunate promulgated the ‘New Ordinance of Maritime Trade (海舶互市新例)’, which stipulated the upper limit of copper export and the excess part to be allowed to be paid with marine products. Marine products include sea cucumbers, kelp and abalone, which are considered precious nourishing medicinal materials among the Chinese. This policy continued until the end of the shogunate.
During the same period, Korea actively promoted the export of sea cucumber and kelp. In 1737, a Joseon Korea officer checked diplomatic missions’ belongings before departure. He recorded that:
Sea cucumber, wild otter leather, cowhide, paper, etc. are non-prohibited goods.…… Especially, export of sea cucumbers has no restrictions.37)
Sea cucumber is light in weight, high in value, easy to carry and has no policy prohibitions. Therefore, when there is a shortage of ginseng and silver, sea cucumber quickly became an important commodity in diplomatic mission trade. For example, in 1748, when the Governor of Shanhaiguan (山海關) inspected the items carried by the Korean diplomatic missions, he found that the list provided by the Korea side indicated 38 bags of sea cucumbers totalling 2,000 catties, yet the actual amount of sea cucumbers brought by the mission reached 75 bags of 4,575 catties.38)
The imbalance of East Asian trade in the late 17th and early 18th centuries led Japan and Korea to take measures to limit the outflow of silver. As a result, the traditional silk trade has declined sharply, and the trade in medicinal materials quickly replaced silk and became the largest commodity imported by Japan and Korea in the 18th century. The two countries regarded the nourishing medicinal materials favoured by the Chinese as an important trade resource and encouraged its production and export.
4. Interaction between Production of Medicinal Material and International Trade
In addition to the circulation network and foreign trade policies discussed above, another important condition for the existence of cross-regional circulation of bulk commodities is that the commodities required by the market can be produced on a large scale. China began to show the characteristics of regionalisation, specialisation and marketisation in the field of medicinal material production at the end of the 16th century. ‘Luyixianzhi (鹿邑縣誌)’ recorded that:
Coix is mainly grown in villages of the south. The county has the largest number of white chrysanthemums, which are planted by many people in the east of the village, and trade merchants flocked to the south gate of the county.39)
Luyi County located in Henan Province, which is near Yuzhou (禹州) medicinal material market, is one of the most prosperous medicinal material markets in the Qing Dynasty. Owing to its geographical environment suitable for medicinal material production and close proximity to the medicinal material trading market, specialised production and regional division of labour emerged. Different villages produce different medicinal materials, and medicinal materials produced in villages are collected by traders and delivered to Yuzhou before being transported to other places.
Another example is described in ‘Bencaocongxin (本草从新)’, a herbology book from the mid-Qing Dynasty:
The former aconites are all wild, the yield is very rare, the value is very high, and potency is very large. It has recently been converted to artificial cultivation, producing a lot, and value is low, potency also diminished. …… Xifu (西附) comes from Shaanxi, and Chuanfu (川附) comes from Sichuan. Chuanfu is the best.40)
The production of Chinese aconite has been changed from collection to artificial cultivation in the period of Qing Dynasty. Although its medicinal power is lower than that of wild aconite, the yield has greatly increased and the price has dropped significantly. Sichuan and Shaanxi became producing areas of authentic aconite, and most of the Chinese aconites in the domestic and overseas markets come from these two regions.
In addition, rhubarb was mainly produced in Sichuan and Gansu Province. The high-quality rhubarb produced in these two areas is called brocade rhubarb (錦紋大黃) because of its mesh texture. Chinese doctors were not the only ones who regarded it with great importance, but also Japanese doctors. According to Japan’s herbology book ‘Characteristics of Medicine (薬徴)’, ‘rhubarb, yellow and moist is good, that is which known as brocade rhubarb... Recently, Chinese rhubarb produced in our country is relatively low in potency.’41) Therefore, Japan imported Chinese rhubarb in large quantities even though it can be produced by themself. In 1774, the annual import volume even reached 175,000 catties.42)
The development of medicinal material production in the Qing Dynasty not only satisfied the domestic market, but also made the large-scale export of medicinal materials possible. Owing to the large-scale export of medicinal materials and the adjustment of Japan and Korea’s foreign trade policies in the 18th century, medicinal materials quickly replaced silk and became the largest commodity imported by Japan and Korea.
Japan and Korea have long been aware of the Chinese market’s desire for sea cucumber, ginseng and other nourishing medicinal materials. Hence, the two countries actively promoted the export of such products. However, in the early stage of policy adjustment, the effect was not obvious. In the early 18th century, Japan’s sea cucumber exports were only 6,000 catties, and the total price was 20,780 taels. In the late 18th century, when Korea resumed ginseng exports, the initial quota was only 120 catties, which was even less than one-tenth of the average sales volume in the early 18th century. The problems of quality and output limited the export capacity of nourishing medicinal materials in Japan and Korea.
Since the beginning of the 18th century, Japan has actively encouraged the production of sea cucumber and other marine products. In some coastal fishing villages, the production of sea cucumber, abalone and other marine products began to demonstrate market-oriented characteristics, and some professionals even started specialising in the fishing of related commodities(Tanaka Toyoji, 1974: 271-313). In addition, major production areas for sea cucumber, abalone and kelp were formed in the vicinity of Nagasaki, Tohoku area and Hokkaido regions.
The shogunate also issued orders to encourage production. An order in the mid-18th century stated:
There are fishermen who have never been familiar with fishing sea cucumbers and abalones, or the methods of making dried sea cucumbers and abalones that meet the needs of the Chinese, causing some fishing villages not to pay attention to these seafood produce. Not only the fishermen who have always been engaged in fishing, even the fishermen who are not familiar with fishing and its production methods in each fishing villages, should learn the method of fishing and making from the fisherman familiar with it. The order for production increase cannot be neglected.43)
The order clearly required fishermen not only to learn how to fish for sea cucumbers and abalone, but also to process sea cucumbers and abalone according to the preferences of Chinese people. These measures were for the purpose of meeting the needs of the Chinese market in order to expand external exports.
Hence, in the late 18th century, the output of marine products increased significantly, and the export capacity also increased. Matsuura Akira’s research shows that, from the 17th to the 19th century, Japan’s exports of sea cucumbers, kelp, abalone and shark fins to China continued to increase, as shown in <Table 1> and <Table 2>:
There were marked changes in the structure of Japan’s exports. In 1709, the most important commodity of the 7th ship was copper. Two precious metals, copper and a small amount of silver, accounted for 56% of the total value of exported commodities and 69% of the cargo weight. Sea cucumbers, abalones, shark fins and other health-preserving marine products accounted for 37% of total exports and 27% of the cargo weight. In the second half of the 18th century, the share of commodities such as seafood and other medicinal materials increased significantly, accounting for 82% of the total cargo, whereas that of copper and silver had fallen to 18%. Sea cucumbers, abalone, shark fins and other health-preserving marine products became Japan’s largest export commodities in the late 18th century.
In terms of the amount of trade, the value of health-preserving marine products exported in 1709 was 28,853.36 taels, which increased to 159,564.4 taels in 1762, representing an increase from 37% to 57%. The export of health-preserving medicinal materials also led to a substantial increase in the Sino-Japan trade volume. In the early 18th century, the trade volume of a single ship was only 77,485 taels, whereas in the late 18th century, it increased to 279,885 taels, representing a total trade volume increase of 3.6 times of the original.
Ginseng was Korea’s most important trade resource. Before the 18th century, all export was wild ginseng collected by villagers. However, due to the massive export in the late 17 th and early 18 th centuries, wild ginseng resources become scarce. In 1733, a Joseon Korea officer mentioned that ‘ginseng is now extinct in Yeongnam area’.44) In the following year, records stated that ‘recently, ginseng is extremely expensive, and it is almost extinct (in the market). Not just because of smuggling in the Dongnae (東萊) area, but the producing area of ginseng is not as good as before.’45)
Thus, for a long time in the mid-18th century, there was no record of large-scale export of Korean ginseng. This situation continued until the end of the 18th century. ‘Economy of Forest and Field’ recorded that:
Ginseng is of high value and is an important commodity for tribute to the court, for folk treatment, and for export to China and Japan. In the past few decades, the wild has gradually been exhausted, and a method of artificial cultivation began in Yeongnam and has spread throughout the country.46)
Although the artificial cultivation of ginseng was realised in Korea at the end of the 18th century, it was not until more than 20 years later that large-scale production was realised. Another record stated:
Artificial cultivation of ginseng started in the early years of King Jeong-jo and flourished in the middle of King Sunjo. Now, it is as cheap as platycodon, and wild ginseng is produced everywhere.47)
Korean ginseng’s artificial cultivation started in the late 18th century, and the production increased rapidly in the first half of the 19th century. It achieved large-scale production until the mid-19th century. During this period, Korea commercial capital was involved in the planting and production of ginseng, and formed an industrial chain specialised in cultivation, production and sales in the Kaesong area.(Yang JeongPil, 2001: 5-10) The ginseng produced by Kaesong was highly recognised by the market. For example, in Kaesong’s local historical record, ‘red ginseng of Kaesong is good all over the world. Its appearance is well known to every people of Qing Dynasty.’48)
Compare the export of Korean ginseng in the same period:
The export quota of Korean ginseng was only 120 catties in the first 12 years, and it significantly increased in the 1820s. Large-scale export was not realised until the 1840s, which is consistent with the description of the changes in ginseng production in the records above.
The changes in the production of medicinal materials also affected the consumer market. In terms of market evaluation and selection of overseas medicinal materials, as an example, before the 17th century, Chinese people generally believed that the Liao ginseng (遼參) produced in the Northeast of China was the best.49) In the 18th century, Chinese medical books still believed that Liao ginseng was the best, but it also recorded Korean ginseng (高麗參) to be ‘as effective as Liao ginseng’, while Japanese ginseng was relatively inferior to Liao ginseng and Korean ginseng.50) At the beginning of the 19th century, as previously described in Junggyongji, the reputation of Liao ginseng had been replaced by the Korean red ginseng (高麗紅參).
Another example is sea cucumbers. In the 18th and 19th centuries, because of the huge market demand, sea cucumbers were also caught along the eastern coast of China, but the quality was poor. Thus, during this period, whether in medical books or local chronicles, it was generally believed that the best quality sea cucumber was the Liao sea cucumber(遼海參). In the Jilin Tongzhi(吉林通志), sea cucumber produced in HunChun, located at the Tumen Estuary on the border between China and Korea, was considered the best.51) This sea area was also in the place where the Korean and Japanese sea cucumber producing region was located. Thus, the Liao sea cucumber was circulating in the Chinese market in Qing Dynasty, actually including sea cucumber from Northeast China, Korea and Japan.
The same situation also occurred in Korea and Japan. Some Korean prescription books place the word ‘Tang(唐)’ in front of the name of the medicinal materials, which clearly indicates that Tangyak should be used.52) The Japanese book, Characteristics of Medicine(薬徴) investigated and differentiated the Chinese, Korean and domestic medicinal materials sold in the Japan market at the time. It is also pointed out that some medicinal materials, like liquorice, astragalus and rhubarb, produced in China were the best, while the best ginseng and schisandra chinensis were produced in Korea.53)
Although no record calling overseas medicinal materials as ‘Doji Pharmaceutical’ can be found, the markets and physicians in the three countries in East Asia in the 17th and 19th centuries were familiar with high-quality medicinal materials produced overseas. Among the items of international trade in medicinal materials of East Asia were many kinds of medicinal materials produced by its country but still imported in large quantities, which further promoted the prosperity of the trade in East Asian medicinal materials.
Therefore, for Japan and Korea, despite the policy to encourage the export of sea cucumber, ginseng and other nourishing medicinal materials, large-scale export was not possible only until these high-quality medicinal materials were professionally produced. From the 17th to the 19th century, China, Japan and Korea showed remarkable characteristics of specialisation and marketisation of medicinal material production driven by trade. The changes in the field of medicinal material production provided more high-quality and abundant trade resources than before. In turn, the production of medicinal materials promoted the development of international trade in medicinal materials, and production and international trade exhibited simultaneous growth. The advancement in the production and improvement of species also affected the market’s recognition and selection of overseas medicinal materials and promoted the further growth of trade in medicinal materials. Finally, medicinal materials became a bulk commodity circulated across East Asia.
5. Conclusion
The growth of international trade of medicinal materials of East Asia in the 18th century was not only a phenomenon in the development of East Asian trade. It is an important variable in the process of East Asian economy and international trade development.
In the late 17th century, medicinal material trade formed specialist exchange markets and a circulation network that far exceeded that of other commodities. It truly connected the production, circulation, and consumption processes of medicinal materials in different regions, making large-scale, cross-regional commodity exchange possible. It also laid the foundation for a further development of medicinal material trade and production.
To limit silver outflow, the change of Japan and Korea’s trade policy in the 17th and 18th centuries created an opportunity for medicinal materials to replace silk quickly in the 18th century. Medicinal materials also became the most import merchandise of Japan and Korea in this period. At the same time, Japan and Korea encouraged the production and export of sea cucumber, ginseng and other nourishing medicinal materials that are valued by the Chinese market.
The changes in the international trade environment from the 17th to the 19th centuries greatly increased the demand for medicinal materials. It also affected the production of medicinal materials. The medicinal material industries in East Asian countries were characterised by specialisation and marketisation and provided the market with abundant and high-quality medicinal materials. In turn, the development of the medicinal material industry promoted international trade, making medicinal materials the largest traded commodity in East Asia.
In the 18th century, the development of medicinal material trade promoted the recalibration of international trade and changed the commodity structure of East Asian trade. In some sense, the international trade of medicinal materials restructured trade in East Asia. The investigation of the trade in medicinal materials may help provide an in-depth understanding of the pre-modern international market and exchange of traditional medicine in East Asia.
The change in the trade structure during the 18th century and the robust circulation of medicinal materials in East Asia are also important factors that cannot be ignored in the investigation of the development of East Asian medicine, herbalism, natural history and the transformation of early modern medicinal materials trade.
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