Sable, sea otter, and lynx furs, as well as other valuable pelts, were much sought after luxury items during the Ming dynasty. Unfortunately, due to the regulations of the time, the use and enjoyment of these furs was limited to the royal family, government officials, and eunuchs only. During the Ming dynasty, valuable furs were mainly imported from Manchurian and Mongolian regions. However, because only a few tens of thousands of furs were imported every year, an amount far smaller than that imported during the Qing dynasty, these furs were especially rare. Like jewelry, sable furs created in the rich the desire to imitate those persons of greater power or higher stature than themselves. At the turn of the sixteenth century, a number of Beijing's literati as well as wealthy merchants, noble ladies, famous prostitutes, and powerful servants began to dress above their class, and the imperial government even had to issue sumptuary laws to forbid this practice. However, when compared with the government's continual issuance of laws prohibiting the use of silk clothing, it is obvious that fur apparel was targeted much less frequently as sporting furs was forbidden only four times during the Ming. After 1570, following a tributary arrangement arrived at by the Ming and Mongolian governments, avenues for fur importation became more diverse, and records of people donning sable apparel also increased. Fur clothing spread from previous fur centers like Beijing and Nan Zhili to the Shandong, Henan, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, and Huguang regions as well. However, by the second half of the sixteenth century, a sable coat cost at least one hundred taels of silver, a price even some government officials could not afford. After 1610, fewer and fewer high quality Manchurian furs were imported due to attacks lead by the Manchurian leader Nurhachi. This caused frequent increases in fur prices, and, as a result, even fewer people could afford to wear fur items. When viewing the issue from a climatic perspective, we can see that because the Nan Zhili, Zhejiang, and Huguang areas were located in the south, valuable fur coats, known for their ability to provide warmth, were not, in fact, necessary in these regions. However, richer classes still wore those furs as a means by which to flaunt their wealth. On the other hand, the greater portion of the common people in the bitter cold border regions along the Great Wall wore only cotton or lambskin coats to pass the winter. Due to sable's high value, it became a prime tool with which to bribe powerful officials or eunuchs as well as a means by which to flatter officials inspecting border passes, and some furs were even made into curtains, toilet seat covers, or floor spreads and rugs.
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