Was there a concept of "smuggling" in ancient times?

There was a concept of smuggling in ancient times.

Smuggling across the border refers to the act that a natural person violates the laws and regulations on the administration of the country (border) and can be investigated for administrative or criminal responsibility without going through the designated port or border inspection, or crossing the border or passing through the statutory imaginary border without an exit permit or an entry permit. It is illegal to cross the border illegally.

With the rise of the European capital movement 500 years ago, some transnational business transactions increased day by day, and many businessmen started large-scale illegal entry and "smuggling" under the condition of imperfect laws at that time.

Among them, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese and British "sneaked into" Taiwan Province Province, Hongkong and Macau on the southeast coast of China to do business.

From the Ming Dynasty, accompanied by powerful gunboats, Zheng He, China, made seven voyages to the West, and wandered uninvited in Southeast Asia, South Asia and East Africa along the Indian Ocean. Especially after the Opium War, businessmen from Spain, Britain and other western countries smuggled hundreds of thousands of laborers from Xiamen and Shantou to North and South America and South Africa respectively.

Among them, from 1847 to 1852, there were 15000 Chinese workers who smuggled out of Xiamen. After 1852, 40,000 China laborers "smuggled" from Shantou; In addition, this trade, which was accused by Chinese people of selling "piglets", was also transferred to Macao. According to relevant historical statistics, hundreds of thousands of Chinese workers smuggled from Macao to Cuba and Peru.

By 1882, 290,000 China laborers had been "smuggled" by western powers to San Francisco in the western United States to develop gold mines and build railways in San Francisco.

According to relevant statistics, from 1807 to 1925, more than 3 million Chinese workers illegally "smuggled" into the world through the hands of the Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, France, Britain, the United States and other countries.

The origin of these illegal immigration activities began with the expansion of western powers. Successive governments in China have resolutely opposed this large-scale illegal "smuggling" of immigrants across the ocean, being locked in a ship's cabin without personal safety guarantee.

This illegal smuggling behavior taught by western ancestors has already formed the custom of "going out" in the southeast coast of China.