In a re-organisation of the salt monopoly, the salt pans of Kwun Fu Cheung were merged with those in Huangtian (黃田) in the early Ming.[28] From then onwards until the late Qing, edible salt was transported by vessels purposely built with shallow draughts so the craft carrying the vital commodity could travel along the small tributaries of the Pearl River as well as the Xijiang (西江) to remote areas such as Yunnan (雲南) and Sichuan (四川). A small amount of the edible salt was sold to the local population along the coast and in the delta region. Salt produced by the pans east of Yantian (鹽田) was gathered there for shipment. The boats would sail along the legendary coastal route from Fat Tong Mun to Kap Shui Mun (急水門), as described in Zhinan Zhengfa, before heading upriver.[29]
Trade and industrial production went on relatively peacefully, even though Japanese wakos (倭寇), together with their Chinese accomplices, often raided the coastline to the north, occasionally making incursions into villages in the Pearl River estuary, including the Hong Kong region.
Furthermore, a small group of boat dwellers, called Dan people, or Tanka (蜑民、蜑家), began settling on the offshore islands. They engaged in fishing, but on occasions engaged in piracy.[30]
The early Ming official ban on overseas trade was finally lifted by Emperor Longqing (隆慶) in 1567, but shipping for foreign trade could only be conducted in one port, Zhangzhou’s Yuegang (漳州月港). As trade thrived, the demand for ceramics also soared. To meet the overseas demand, kiln sites were established along the coast near Yuegang. One such kiln was set up towards the latter half of the Ming Dynasty at Wun Yiu (碗窰) in Tai Po, Hong Kong. The kiln was possibly built in Wanli’s reign (萬曆) (1573-1620).[31] The site is blessed with large quantities of kaolin clay, derived from decomposed granite which is the raw material for porcelain ware. Firewood was also abundant. The finished products were shipped to Yuegang for transshipment onto Chinese ocean-going junks and sometimes Dutch vessels, or to Macao for transshipment to Portuguese ships for delivery to buyers overseas.
Studies by ceramic specialists discovered great similarities between the dishes and bowls produced in Wun Yiu and those found in the Malaysia island of Tiomen. The island itself was a centuries-old shipping hub for Chinese junks sailing from China to South-East Asia.[32] Similarly, ceramic cargo salvaged from the sunken Portuguese shipwreck San Diego, reportedly lost at sea in 1600 (the 28th year of Wanli) , as well as a Dutch vessel, the White Leeuw, lost in 1613 (41st year of Wanli), included cups, bowls and dishes bearing a strong resemblance to those from Wun Yiu.[33] Similar finds were also discovered in other shipwrecks, such as the Manila galleon, the Conception, sunk in 1632. The latest wreckage with what is believed to be Wun Yiu products was the British ship, the Diana, which sank off the coast of Malacca while en route from Macao to India with a cargo dated to the Jiaqing period (嘉慶) (1796-1820).[34]
Records in Hong Kong show that the production activities of Wun Yiu went on until the 20th century. In 1912, a Hong Kong Government report written by G. N. Orme registered Wun Yiu’s production of ceramic utensils at 400,000 pieces per annum. But the market for these ceramics was no longer overseas. The bulk of products were shipped to the surrounding villages in the provinces of Guangdong and Fujian, while some were sold locally in Hong Kong.[35] It is believed that production gradually tapered out and the site was abandoned after 1935.
Notes:
- [28]靳文謨：《新安縣志》，卷十，田賦志，鹽課，1688；舒懋官、王崇熙：《新安縣志》，卷八，政經略，鹽政，1819。
- [29]《指南正法》，〈北太武往廣東山形水勢〉條：「樑頭門［佛堂門］：入門是媽祖廟前好拋舡，入去小急水，九龍澳後好拋舡，入出是大急水門，流水急深無礁，北邊大山是傳門澳［屯門］，好拋舡」。
- [30]《明太祖實錄》，卷223：「洪武二十五年甲子，廣東都指揮使花茂奏：東莞香山等縣大溪山［今大嶼山］，橫琴山逋逃蜑户輋人凡一千余户，附居海島，不習耕稼，止以操舟為業，會官軍則捕魚，遇番賊則同為寇盗…」。
- [31]區家發等：《香港大埔碗窰青花瓷窰址：調查與研究》（香港區域市政局，1997）；嚴瑞源編審：《香港大埔碗窰青花瓷窰址：發掘與研究》（香港文化博物館，2000）。
- [32]區家發等：《香港大埔碗窰青花瓷窰址：調查與研究》，頁126-127。
- [33]See the detailed report including the shipwreck ceramics: 林業強：〈再說香港大埔碗窰四題〉，載於嚴瑞源編審：《香港大埔碗窰青花瓷窰址：發掘與研究》（香港文化博物館，2000），頁146-162。
- [34]周世榮：〈海濱瓷都：香港大埔碗窑青花瓷的初步研究〉，載於區家發等：《香港大埔碗窰青花瓷窰址：調查與研究》，頁142-143。
- [35]G. N. Orme, ‘Reporton the New Territories, 1899-1912’, Hong Kong Sessional Papers, 1912.
Part 1 Chapter 1.8 - Industrial production supported by maritime logistics in the Ming period
