Was there any seclusion during the Ming Dynasty? How did the Ming Dynasty achieve seclusion?

Strictly speaking, the Ming Dynasty did not have a closed-door policy. What he implemented was only a sea ban. The so-called sea ban meant that no one was allowed to go to the sea, no one was allowed to enter the sea, and no one was allowed to go to the sea for trade. The seclusion policy implemented by the Qing Dynasty was proposed during the Yongzheng period, was highly strengthened during the Qianlong period, and finally ended after the outbreak of the Opium War. During the Yongzheng period, foreign missionaries were prohibited from entering China to preach and trade between China and foreign countries was restricted. As soon as Qianlong received the imperial edict, the Qing Dynasty implemented a one-stop trade policy.

When the Ming Dynasty implemented maritime bans, the most important consideration was to prevent Japanese pirates. During the Ming Dynasty, Japanese pirates were very common and frequently robbed merchant ships and people along the coast. The sea ban does not mean that we stop interacting with the world, it is just a self-isolation implemented by some people in the upper class. Some non-governmental exchanges have actually never been cut off. Through the policy of maritime ban, the government takes some important trade into its own hands and prevents ordinary people from participating.

After the Japanese pirates were eliminated, the maritime ban actually had no substantial content. With the expansion of private foreign trade in the Ming Dynasty, the court's tax revenue also increased. In some respects, the imperial court acquiesced to private foreign trade, and even allowed some people to go sailing. This is how the early Southeast Asian immigrants came.

Of course, the official policy of the Ming Dynasty was not to allow foreign trade, because after all, it was related to the face of the court. The Ming Dynasty never stopped cultural and technological exchanges with foreign countries. Most of the sea bans are targeted at Japan, and trade with other Southeast Asian countries has never been interrupted.

After the opening of new sea routes, the world has become a whole, and silver has become the currency of the world. The Ming Dynasty also participated in world-class trade, and a large amount of silver also flowed into China. Therefore, the Ming Dynasty did not implement a closed-door policy.