Slaving and Trafficking in Ming China

Abstract This article challenges arguments that slavery was not important in early modern China by examining slaving and trafficking practices during the Ming dynasty (1368–1644). Rather than applying economic and maritime-centric analytical categories derived from Atlantic slavery studies, it calls for the use of contextually defined categories as operational units of observation. Through a systematic digital processing of the Annals of the Ming Dynasty ( Mingshi 明史) developed by the China Human Trafficking and Slaving project, the study shines new light on the persistence of enslavement and capture throughout Ming territory. While the Annals ’ state-centric perspective emphasizes conflict-related capture and official responses to trafficking, analysis of 174 of its 332 juan (rolls) reveals the scale and dynamics of this activity which involved hundreds of thousands of captives. These findings demonstrate that slaving in Ming China is important to understanding China’s place in global slavery studies.