The monkey and the bird gun : western firearms and the question of state service in Ming China

This thesis examines the impact of Western firearms on Ming China across two periods: 1517–1600 and 1620–1639. It focuses on how the introduction and spread of these weapons disrupted the court’s monopoly over firearms by becoming accessible to individuals on the peripheries—particularly along the southeast coast. This development created a perceived imbalance, as those who had not previously been expected—or permitted—to engage with firearms were now seen as more capable of adapting to new firearms technologies. This shift created space for individuals to exercise agency by offering their newly acquired firearms to the court, while also providing the court with opportunities to rely on them as intermediaries in accessing and integrating foreign firearms. This thesis proposes to understand this reciprocal relationship through the lens of “service.” It argues that Ming officials mediated and defined this relationship across different moments of the two periods by proposing an expansion of who could provide firearms-related service—whether individuals on the peripheries or foreigners—and what forms that service could take, including manufacture, use, training, and funding. Focusing on the writings of Ming officials—through memorials, military manuals, and collected works—this thesis demonstrates that the proposed expansion of firearms-related service was neither natural nor automatic. Officials justified their proposals by criticizing the shortcomings of firearms personnel in the capital, emphasizing the urgency of military situations, and arguing that those they sought to incorporate could, in fact, be trusted. They also confronted and responded to concerns about reliability and expertise, as well as entrenched regulations that restricted private involvement with firearms. By foregrounding the perceptions and proposals surrounding the acquisition of Western firearms, this thesis highlights Ming China’s openness to the outside world, its active adaptation to foreign knowledge and technologies, and its efforts to identify and incorporate those who could provide them. It also contributes to a more nuanced understanding of the transformative impact of Western firearms in Ming China—extending beyond battlefield tactics and military operations to how court and state actors perceived those outside official institutions and the roles they could play in state defence.