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Why didn't Spain go to war with the Chinese Ming dynasty?
为什么16世纪的西班牙不与明朝开战？
Brandon Li,
The Spanish leadership in the Philippines seriously considered a major invasion of China in 1586 with 20–25,000 men, half of whom would be fresh Spanish troops and the rest split half and half between Filipinos and Japanese mercenaries. This force was supposed to land in Fujian Province and then make the long 1,500 mile march to Beijing to decapitate the Imperial government. However, the Spanish did have some understanding of the task before them, with the plan emphasizing the need to preserve the existing government system to rule through; they evidently understood that the best way to conquer China was to keep the current method of ruling while simply switching out the Ming Dynasty for the Spanish.
1586年，西班牙在菲律宾的领导层曾认真考虑过对中国进行一次大规模侵略，当时计划动员2万—— 2.5万人，其中一半是新到的西班牙军队，另一半则由菲律宾人和日本雇佣兵各占一半。这支部队原计划在福建省登陆，然后长途跋涉1500英里，来到北京，直击帝国政府中心。
西班牙人确实了解任务的目的，该计划强调有必要维持中国现有的政府制度，以便进行统治;他们显然明白，征服中国的最好办法是保持目前的统治方式，也就是说，在保持运行方式不变的的同时，把统治者由老朱家换成西班牙王室。
At this point, it is worthwhile to examine some contemporary conflicts between the Ming and the West. In the early 1500’s, the Portuguese fought multiple naval battles with the Ming over the kidnapping of Chinese children as slaves and were defeated each time. A century later, the Dutch built a massive maritime network in East Asia and attempted to force the Ming into trade on Dutch terms
在这一点上，我们有必要研究一下当代中西之间的一些冲突。早在15世纪初，葡萄牙人就绑架中国儿童奴隶问题与明朝进行了多次海战，每次都以失败告终。一个世纪后，荷兰人在东亚建立了一个庞大的海上网络，并试图迫使明朝按照荷兰的条件进行贸易。
The Dutch were defeated in a war from 1622–1624 while being forced to withdraw from fortifications they built on the Pescadores Islands between China and Taiwan. Conflict again flared up in 1633 when the Dutch were defeated at Liaoluo Bay, losing 100 sailors, and then again three decades later when Ming loyalists fleeing the Manchus seized the Dutch colony in Taiwan altogether.
1622年至1624年，荷兰人在一场战争中战败，被迫从中国大陆和台湾之间的澎湖列岛上撤出。1633年，冲突再次爆发，荷兰人在辽罗湾战败，失去了100名船员。三十年后，明朝的效忠者（郑成功）逃离满族，占领了当时的荷兰殖民地——台湾
This impressive track record implies the Ming would have swatted the Spanish aside with ease, but it hides the immense difficulties of each of these conflicts; even in the early 16th century conflicts with the Portuguese, Ming admirals acknowledged that their foes both had more maneuverable ships and better cannon than anything available to China at the time.
这一令人印象深刻的历史记录意味着，当时的明朝会轻而易举地将这点西班牙人一巴掌拍飞，但在冲突之下也隐藏着危机;即在16世纪初与葡萄牙的冲突中，明朝的将领们也承认他们的敌人拥有比当时中国操纵性更好的船只和更好的大炮。
Rather than technological superiority, the Ming found victory through massive numerical advantages and shrewd tactics in their engagements. Even then, the European fleets could still usually retreat with most of their ships intact. A Spanish expedition would enjoy a qualitative advantage, although not an overwhelming one.
明朝不是凭借技术上的优势，而是凭借数量上的巨大优势和作战中的精明战术取得了胜利。即便如此，欧洲舰队通常仍可以在大部分船只完好无损的情况下撤退。一支西班牙探险队将在质量上享有优势，尽管不是战斗中的压倒性优势。
Besides actual military discrepancies, the Ming bureaucracy by the end of the 16th century suffered from mind numbing inefficiencies. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea in 1592 with over 100,000 men, his forces nearly conquered the peninsula before the Chinese governor of neighboring Liaoding Province sent 5,000 men to the defense of Pyongyang.
除了军事上的实际差异，明朝的官僚机构在16世纪末还遭遇了令人麻木的低效。1592年日本丰臣秀吉率领10多万人入侵朝鲜时，日本的军队几乎占领了朝鲜半岛，不知情况的中国辽东总督只派出了5000人保卫平壤
This small force was easily defeated and it would be months more before the Imperial Court itself satisfactorily completed a fact finding mission and then assembled its army. It wasn’t until 1593, more than half a year after the Japanese overran much of Korea, that the Ming seriously intervened in the war and began rolling back the Japanese
毫无疑问，
这支小部队很快就被击溃了，明朝政府完成了一项惨痛的事实调查任务，开始集结它的军队，在此期间又花了几个月的时间。直到1593年，也就是日本占领朝鲜大部分地区半年多之后，明朝才真正介入战争，并最终击退日本
Although the Ming army was still powerful, it moved to war at a lugubrious pace, a huge boon to a fast moving Spanish expedition. The Imperial Board of War responded even more poorly to local raids, which is what the Spanish invasion would have almost certainly been categorized as initially
虽然当时的明朝军队仍然强大，但他们投入战争的速度令人沮丧，这对一支擅长快速行进的西班牙探险队来说是一个巨大的机遇。至于明帝国的卫所兵对待突然发生的袭击时，那反应就更差了。
In 1555, a band of less than 100 Wakou pirates ravaged the lands around the former capital of Nanjing for nearly 3 months before they were put down. Before the end of the fiasco, perhaps 4,000 people were killed by this tiny band which was supposed to have been stopped by the 120,000 strong garrison around Nanjing. However, a result of the corruption of the late Ming meant most of these supposed troops didn’t exist; they were only listed so that commanding officers could collect extra salaries.
1555年，一群不到100人的倭寇洗劫了明朝前首都南京附近的区域，将近3个月才被消灭。在这场惨败结束之前，这支本来应该驻扎在南京周边负责护卫的12万驻军，却被杀死了大约4000人。然而，由于明朝晚期的腐败，这些所谓的军队大多不存在;他们作为一个个空洞的名字被列在名单上，只是为了军官们能捞到额外的油水。
Despite these crippling weaknesses, the Ming proved that it could still send over 100,000 men to competently defend an ally against a serious enemy during the war with Japan. It would undoubtedly be able to muster more men to defend against a Spanish army speeding for Beijing.
尽管有这些致命的弱点，明朝还是证明了它仍然可以派出10多万人，在与日本的战争中很好地保卫盟友，对抗一个强大的敌人。毫无疑问，它将能够召集更多的兵力，抵御快速向北京逼近的西班牙军队
As a result, the Spanish wouldn’t have had much of a chance of conquering China, but they would have gotten surprisingly far, not through their own skill, but through the sheer incompetence of the Ming government.
结果，西班牙人没有多少机会征服中国，但他们却一直在向前进步，不是因为自己的技能有多么厉害，而是无能的明朝政府作为反面教材衬托的好。
Richard Stanfield
It was largely a timing issue. While invasion was considered at one point (as mentioned in another answer), the Spanish Empire’s zenith came and went before Ming was well and truly vulnerable. During the 17th century, the one in which the Ming dynasty would come to an end, the Spanish Governor of the Philippines wrote saying effectively “give me at dozen galleons and ten-thousand men and I will give you China.” The Ming dynasty if I recall correctly was presently embroiled in conflict with the Manchu’s that would in a few decades replace them.
这在很大程度上是一个时机问题。，在明朝真正步入衰弱的时候，西班牙帝国的鼎盛时期就已经结束了。在17世纪，也就是明朝即将结束的那个世纪初，西班牙驻菲律宾总督写道:“给我十几门大炮，一万个人，我就给你一个中国。”“如果我没记错的话，明朝当时正与满族人发生冲突，几十年后满族人就会取而代之。”
However, that time coincided with the unsuccessful wars against the Dutch, and against France, in the 80 years war and 30 years war respectively
然而，与此同时，在80年战争和30年战争中，西班牙在对荷兰和对法国的战争中都遭遇了失败
However, if 17th century Spain had the resources and audacity of her 16th century self, subjugating much of the Chinese coastline would not have been out of her reach
然而，如果17世纪的西班牙拥有16世纪时的资源和胆识，征服中国的大部分海岸线也不会超出他的能力范围
Constantine Lovos,
further to the remarks others have already made I must observe the following:
Despite the obvious advantage of muskets it would never have been enough to offset tens of thousands of Chinese archers. The sheer numerical superiority of the Chinese would have been impossible to overcome at this stage.
除了其他人已经说过的话之外，我还必须指出:
尽管火绳枪有明显的优势，但它永远不足以抵消数万名中国弓箭手。中国在数量上的绝对优势在那个时候是不可能被克服的。
Geography. The Europeans were aware that the Chinese hinterland was vast, which was enough to deter them, but they did not have a reliable map which only served to deter them further.
地理位置。欧洲人知道中国的腹地广阔，这足以阻止他们，他们更没有一张可靠的地图，所以困难更大。
要攻打中国的城池和要塞，所需的兵力根本无法提供。
The forces that would be required to storm Chinese walled and/or fortified cities (of which the Europeans were aware) were simply not available.
Logistics. Even the Spanish or the Dutch for that reason must have understood that supply lines would be required to advance into China. That would be a sheer impossibility
后勤。即便是西班牙或荷兰，出于这个原因，也必须明白，要进入中国，就必须有漫长的供应线。这在当时是完全不可能的
Ross Bundy
The logistics for Spain to invade China were simply too great.
西班牙入侵中国需要的后勤支持实在是太庞大了
in areas where they held significant technological advantage like the areas you state. Trade with the Ming Dynasty was what financed the Spanish Empire. The Ming Dynasty produced the most and best products in the world at the time and their primary means of exchange was silver. Spain mined gold and silver in the Americas, kept the gold for their own finances, and used the silver to buy Ming products that they then resold for more gold in Europe. Even if it weren't nearly logistically impossible for the Spanish to do anything against China, it would also have been severely economically damaging for them to do so.
西班牙与明朝的贸易是为了给西班牙帝国提供了资金。明朝生产了当时世界上最多最好的产品，他们的主要交换工具是白银。西班牙在美洲开采黄金和白银，将黄金用于自己的财政，然后用这些白银购买明朝的产品，然后在欧洲以更高的价格转售。一来西班牙人因为后勤的限制几乎不可能对中国采取任何行动，二来这样做也会对他们的经济造成严重损害。
Joss Farino
One of the reasons is China's way too far to have a big war with them; is not worth it, the Ming even though behind in technology they weren't that behind and they still possessed resources to make and nice size military. Also other European superpowers such as the French, or the Dutch, or even down east not a super power but still a Empire the Ottomans; they may take advantage of Spain having a full fledge war against Ming.
其中一个原因是西班牙离中国太远了，西班牙不能和他们打一场大仗;这是不值得的，明朝虽然在技术上有些落后，但差距并不大，他们仍然拥有制造资源和集结强大军事力量的能力。
而且当时还有其他欧洲超级大国，如法国，荷兰，甚至在东部还盘踞着奥斯曼帝国;他们都可能会在西班牙对明朝的全面战争中虎视眈眈。
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