Abstract
Lin Xiyuan’s (林希元) life (1480-1565) coincided with the late 15th to mid-16th centuries. He was an official, a scholar, a gentry, and perhaps even a merchant. Lin held a number of official positions, but most of them were on the southern border of China, in Fujian, Guangdong, and Guangxi, where most of the foreign interaction took place. So, he had many opinions about the foreign policy of the Ming. He noticed the severe diplomatic situation called “northern barbarians and southern bandits (beilu nanwo, 北虏南倭).” He not only discussed the problem of piracy along the coast, but also repeatedly advised the northern border on the question of Mongolia, even to the point of angering the emperor. Additionally, as a neo-Confucian scholar, he discussed all kinds of philosophical issues, not only about academic and personal cultivation, but also practical questions like trade and piracy. Although he was pro-business, his identity as a gentry was also evident, such as his strong attachment to his hometown and land. And for his merchant identity, officials who disagreed with him at the time, such as Zhu Wan (朱紈), even accused him of being involved in smuggling by wokou and the Portuguese. From my research, I do not consider that he was involved in piracy or smuggling, but he was a proponent of opening the seas and wrote a lot about it. Therefore, it is meaningful to conduct unified research on Lin Xiyuan’s multiple identities.