Banditry was a recurring problem on the mountainous, island-dotted south coast of the Ming Empire (1368–1644). Scholars mainly discuss banditry on the south coast in the context of growing international trade and focus on the sixteenth century while largely ignoring endemic forms of banditry. This article studies the interaction of bandit groups, coastal communities and Ming officials during the fifteenth century to show that banditry was an integral part of life on the south coast of the Ming Empire. Furthermore, it argues that the inability of Ming officials to understand how banditry was integrated in coastal society limited their capacity to secure long-term solutions.

中文翻译：

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变土匪为“好公民”：十五世纪明帝国南岸的沿海暴动

盗贼是明帝国（1368-1644 年）多山、岛屿星罗棋布的南海岸反复出现的问题。学者们主要在国际贸易不断增长的背景下讨论南海岸的盗匪行为，并关注 16 世纪，而在很大程度上忽略了地方性的盗匪行为。本文研究了 15 世纪土匪团体、沿海社区和明朝官员的互动，以表明土匪是明帝国南海岸生活中不可或缺的一部分。此外，它认为明朝官员无法了解盗贼如何融入沿海社会，这限制了他们寻求长期解决方案的能力。