Japanese Silver Attracted Foreign Smugglers (4)

      Wang Zhi (?-1560) was born in She County, Anhui Province, China.  According to Zheng Ruoceng, Wang moved to Guangdong in 1540, built a huge ship there, smuggled illegal goods prohibited by Ming government with Japan and Southeast Asia countries, and made an enormous fortune.  According to Zheng Shungong, Wang visited Hakata in 1545, brought Sukezaemon and 2 other Japanese merchants to Shuangyu, Zhejiang Province, and smuggled with them there.

     Under the embargo policy of Ming government, Wang Zhi, who called himself a sea trader, smuggled niter, sulfur, silk, cotton, etc. across the East China Sea and the South China Sea along with other Chinese smugglers such as Xu Dong (?-1548?), Li Guangtou (?-1548?), Chen Sixi (?-1551), Xu Hai (?-1556), and Ye Zongman (?-?) while Ming government officers such as Zhu Wan (1494-1550), Yu Dayou (1503-1579), and Hu Zongxian (1512-1565) kept attacking them.