Abstract

Since the 16th century, a significant volume of silver from Spanish America and Japan has circulated globally. Concurrently, the early 16th century implementation of the single-whip policy by the Ming dynasty, which consolidated all taxes and labor obligations into a singular silver payment, constituted a important fiscal reform for the empire and substantially increased its domestic demand for silver. Numerous historians contend that Ming China emerged as a primary recipient of silver trade during this era, significantly contributing to the early stages of globalization. Yet, the dynamics of silver Influence Dynamics: China’s Strategies in Central Asia amidst Sinophilia and Sinophobia

distribution within China and the impact of substantial foreign silver influxes on its economic framework remain underexplored. Addressing this gap necessitates an examination of both textual records and archaeologically identified tax silver. A groundbreaking opportunity for such an investigation was provided by an excavation at Jiangkou, conducted by the Sichuan Provincial Institute of Archaeology. This excavation uncovered over 1000 official silver bullions, minted by local authorities across China for tax collection purposes. Through the development of networks based on the morphology and material provenance of these bullions—utilizing morphometric measurements, trace elemental, and isotopic analyses—a novel perspective on the Late Ming China’s taxation system and the silver market dynamics has been unveiled.