The Great Ming Without Colonies

Name: The Great Ming Without Colonies
Author: Mountain Ghost of Spring City

大明不殖民

by Mountain Ghost of Spring City (春城山鬼)

Status: Completed
Length: 216k Words
Genre: Historical
Subgenre: Historical & Ancient
Updated: 9mo ago
Source: Fanqie

Request a translation

Refreshed 5h ago

Translated by GPT-6 Luna

Report

Synopsis

The Uncolonized Ming is an alternate-history novel that begins in the thirteenth year of the Yongle reign. Zheng He returns from his fourth voyage to the Western Ocean with the Map of the Myriad Countries. Military officials at court champion expansion by force, while Xu Hongyuan, a scholar at the Directorate of Astronomy, establishes the Four Seas Commercial Accounting Office with the Crown Prince’s support, hoping to replace traditional conquest with a new system.

Xu Hongyuan pushes for the South China Sea Trade Code, resolving disputes through arbitration; forms a joint escort fleet to protect shared trade routes; shares agricultural, industrial, and medical expertise, turning targets of plunder into partners; and establishes overseas academies, replacing religious proselytizing with dialogue between civilizations. Yet this path faces concerted opposition from military officials at court, wealthy Jiangnan smuggling merchants, and eunuchs of the Directorate of Ceremonial Affairs. From the experiment at Old Harbor to the cannon fire at Malacca, from the monument to the people at the Yangtze estuary to sunken ships in the deep sea, Xu Hongyuan and his companions spend five years proving that true borders can exist in people’s hearts.

As Spain and Portugal use guns, slaves, and gold to pursue colonialism, the treasure ships of the Ming open sea routes through rules, mutual benefit, and dialogue between civilizations. This book is not only a “historical possibility experiment” set five hundred years ago, but also a reflection on modern globalization, asking whether the Chinese vision of “all under heaven” can offer the world a way for civilizations to coexist beyond the succession of hegemons.

Keywords: Zheng He’s voyages to the Western Ocean, non-colonial expansion, institutional innovation, dialogue between civilizations

Central conflict: conquest by the sword vs. building together through rules, short-term plunder vs. long-term mutual benefit

Unique appeal: meticulous historical detail combined with in-depth institutional design, bringing to life a civilizational breakthrough that “should have happened.”

Stats

What these numbers mean →

50Chapters

19Reads

1Listens

984Reads · all time

More by this author

Border Fires of the Great Ming

I Possess Chongzhen: My Ming Dynasty Will Never Fall

The Seventeenth Year of Chongzhen: The Empire's Collapse

In booklists 35

Explore more →

The Hottest Political Fiction

355Books32.4MViews7hUpdated

Looking for High-Quality Historical War Novels

787Books35.9MViews10hUpdated

Historically Accurate, Without Making Things Up

Historical fiction has more room for worldbuilding, with vivid characters and no distortion of history. I want a satisfying read that covers dynasties, major and minor events, wars, and loyal civil and military officials, all presented in a historical setting.

696Books7.8MViews11hUpdated

The Only 9.9-Rated Masterpiece I’ve Found

701Books16.1MViews11hUpdated

Ming Dynasty History

I hope someone writes a story about transmigrating into the period after the Tumu Crisis, involving Zhu Qiyu and Zhu Qizhen.

206Books54.8MViews14hUpdated

Epic War Novels With Grand, Passionate Battle Scenes

Guys, any novels with epic, large-scale battle scenes? Passionate ones are fine too. It doesn't have to be war or fantasy, anything goes as long as the battles are grand.

471Books11MViews15hUpdated

The Pinnacle of Ming Dynasty Novels, Utterly Unputdownable

Looking for books similar to Longevity: I Was Taken in by Xu Da in the Ming Dynasty (The Imperial Son-in-Law).

241Books1MViews16hUpdated

Looking for Great Works About the Ming Dynasty!

“From this day forward, all in the Great Ming, from emperors to commoners, must honor these principles: No marriage alliances! No reparations! No ceding territory! No tribute! The emperor guards the nation's gates; the sovereign dies with the realm!”

679Books10.8MViews17hUpdated

High-Quality Novels About the Ming Dynasty

Looking for books like Reborn as Zhu Yuntong: Building a Golden Age for the Great Ming. High-quality novels themed around the Ming dynasty.

159Books553kViews17hUpdated

Books Just for Older Readers

Looking for books similar to "Nine-Tenths Foolish".

1.5kBooks102.4MViews19hUpdated

The Ming Dynasty Series Has No Bad Books. I Dare You to Disagree!

Looking for books like The Ming Dynasty's First Duke. What does the Ming Dynasty mean to us? The last Han Chinese dynasty? Factional strife and popular resentment? Or the emperor guarding the nation's borders and dying for his country? The Ming Dynasty was the last backbone of Chinese civilization. If you had the chance, would you be willing to go to the Ming

289Books8.1MViews20hUpdated

History Novels That Get Your Blood Pumping

The emperor defends the nation's borders; the ruler dies for the state.

660Books7.2MViews1dUpdated

New Books Set in the Ming Dynasty

Set during the Hongwu era, preferably with Zhu Yingying and Zhu Biao as the main characters.

194Books493.9kViews1dUpdated

Ming Dynasty Historical Fiction with Sound Logic, Please. No Mindless Transmigration!

Looking for books similar to Two Deserters and a Widow.

363Books5.3MViews1dUpdated

Stories Set in the Ming Dynasty Are Awesome. I’m Reading One Now, Recommended by a Bookworm Who’s Read 5,000 Novels

492Books11.9MViews1dUpdated

Looking for High-IQ War and Historical Novels

Looking for high-IQ war and historical novels.

354Books5.9MViews1dUpdated

Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty, Ming Dynasty! Rated 9.2 or Higher!!! Nothing Below That! Don't You Dare Be Blind!

Looking for books like "The Ming Dynasty’s Blind Eldest Grandson: Old Zhu Spoils Me Rotten".

445Books25.5MViews1dUpdated

My Five Favorite Historical Novels

693Books7.1MViews1dUpdated

Don’t Look Any Further! The 5 Most Explosive Masterpieces of 2025 Are Here, and 9.5 Stars Is Just the Beginning

I’m looking for stories like "Transmigrated as a Mean Old Lady, and Every Granddaughter Became a Big Shot". Changing fate, period settings, satisfying revenge, the apocalypse… Whatever you’re in the mood for, it’s all here! Every book is certified by night owls as the kind you start reading and suddenly it’s morning!

972Books18.5MViews1dUpdated

Looking for Stories About Campaigning, Rising Through the Ranks From the Bottom, and the Age of Cold Weapons

I'm looking for books like Tang Yin in Another World.

635Books23.1MViews1dUpdated

Any More Good Ming Dynasty Stories? Looking for Stories About Saving Zhu Biao, Empress Ma, or Zhu Xiongying

Looking for books like "Ming Dynasty: I’m Done Pretending, Your Grandpa Is Zhu Yuanzhang". I haven’t found a single good book about the Ming Dynasty besides this one.

443Books42.2MViews2dUpdated

Straightforward Historical Military Fiction

576Books30.9MViews2dUpdated

Late Ming Dynasty Conquest Novels

Looking for books similar to Ming Dynasty: I Told You to Hang Yourself, Not Rebuild the Ming Dynasty. I'm looking for late Ming novels where the protagonist rises from humble beginnings, becomes powerful, and are well researched historically.

284Books1.8MViews2dUpdated

Late Ming Dynasty + No System + Maritime Exploration and Colonization

The protagonist transmigrates to the end of the Ming dynasty and rises to power as a pirate. He builds ships, guns, and cannons, wages war across the inland seas, then advances onto the mainland, unifies the country, and launches the great age of Chinese exploration. If you like this kind of story, The Ming Dynasty Pirate is well worth reading.

132Books2.6MViews3dUpdated

Reader comments 2

Translated by Google Translate

"Reflections of a Primary School Graduate" Without understanding the history of the Ming Dynasty, I watched it with excitement and passion. In it, you can see the prototypes of some current organizations and institutions, and truly understand the true meaning of the existence of these organizations and institutions from the stories. "Atlas of All Nations" maps the formation and importance of contemporary world maps "General Rules of Trade in the South China Sea" sees the background of the formation of the World Trade Organization and the United Nations; and the importance of the strength of major countries in the formulation and influence of rules. Back to the characters; coincidentally, heroism belongs to the victor. The concept of rule without colonization, led by Xu Hongyuan, was finally realized after many obstacles from the war faction. Is it really wrong for the main war faction headed by Zhang Wu to advocate siege and garrison troops? Looking at the modern history of the world, among the current world powers, which countries have not established their own colonies on a global scale? Through the ideas of the warring faction in the book, they plundered colonial resources and established their country among the contemporary powers, becoming the rule makers. Thought provoking The ending given by the author reflects the author's inner conflict; maybe the story is not over yet! Or the author also feels that the world is inherently contradictory, and there is always a contradiction between ideals and reality. Conclusion: During the process of watching, some pictures will constantly appear in the brain, which gives a strong sense of immersion. It reminds me of "Lychee in Chang'an", a story line that connects the background of an era. I hope this novel can be presented on television. Pay tribute to the heroes and authors, who interpret greatness in their own ways!
5 likes8mo ago
It is rich in content and has ups and downs of the plot. It is a very good book. Come on! This book will be a hit
1 like8mo ago

Save search