Under conditions of coastal accretion and the highly dynamic
resource changes, the way to effectively control the coastal resources
and stabilize salt production were the core objective of the
government coastal management in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Because of the prestigious position of the Jiangsu coastal salt production,
the Ming and Qing governments had actively promoted a
land use policy driven by the salt industry for a long time, in which
the salt industry is the major focus. In particular, the government
supported salt production but restricted reclamation in the Jiangsu
coastal land use policy. It was a typical reflection of Jiangsu coastal
zone land utilization system in the 16e19th centuries. Such a policy
monopolized coastal resources and unified allocation by the government:
reclamation by local people was prohibited, which was
referred to as the system of “accumulating grass and support
decocted salt production” (AGSD) in the historical documents.