Warfare, Military Men, and the Maritime Orientation of Northeast Asia in the Late Sixteenth and Early Seventeenth Centuries research-article Jing Liu Journal of Asian History, Jahrgang 54 (2020), Ausgabe 2, Seite 281 - 310 This article examines how, under the impact of the Imjin War (1592–1598), the maritime orientation of China and Korea's northern space, and the penetration of power and expansion of the Ming coastal forces in this region, mutually influenced each other. It first investigates two remarkable changes in the Ming state's maritime practice within and its perception of this region. These changes encouraged the development of this region from being separated to integrated and from being circumscribed to becoming inclusive. The article then demonstrates how the presence of the Ming southern forces facilitated the coastal militarization of Northeast Asia by looking at an insignificant southern officer's political career. While the Ming southern soldiers were appointed as coastal defenders, their violent tendencies and cross-border mobility also culminated in illegal transmarine activities that challenged state control over the peripheries.