Jiangsu Coast

The Jiangsu coast faced a Yellow Sea shore continually altered by river sediment. During the Ming and Qing periods, the Yellow River discharged through the Huai system, extending the northern coastal plain seaward. Salt-makers followed the moving shoreline: old works lost access to strong brine as channels silted and the sea retreated, while newly formed tidal lands offered sites for fresh furnaces.

Salt production required more than seawater. Coastal grasslands supplied the fuel for boiling brine, making control of the marshes a matter of imperial revenue. Qing restrictions on reclaiming salt lands protected this fuel supply, even when households sought additional farmland. In 1770 the court again ordered recently reclaimed land outside the dikes abandoned and prohibited further cultivation. Administrative offices moved with the industry: the Dingxi salt office shifted east in 1746, and the Xiaohai office followed in 1766. The coast's changing geography thus continually rearranged workplaces, channels and official jurisdictions, tying the labour of salt-making families to the finances of the state.