“百粤行将遍,三春思转穷”——论潘季驯巡按广东的政绩

On Achievements of Pan Ji-xun in His Post as Patrolling Censor of Guangdong

潘季驯是中国古代历史上最卓越的水利专家之一,他的政绩还涉及吏治、民生、赋役改革等多方面。他于明朝中期被委派到当时最复杂难治之地的广东任巡按御史。在任期的两年多时间里,他大力整顿吏治,连续查办了潮阳县知县蔡明复、海丰县县丞朱杰、博罗县知县舒颛三人违法乱纪、贪黩殃民的三大案件,震撼了广东官场。而他巡按广东期间最大的贡献,影响也最深远的,是推行“均平里甲法”,它是张居正在全国推行的“一条鞭法”赋役制度的前身。正是由于潘季驯在广东推行“均平里甲法”的成功,才有了万历初年张居正在全国普遍实行的、对后世影响深远的“一条鞭法”。

Pan Ji-xun was one of the most outstanding experts at water conservancy in ancient China, whose achievements related to the administration of officials, people's livelihood, and the reform of taxes and labor, etc. During the middle Ming Dynasty, he was sent to Guangdong, the most complex and most difficult place to administrate, as a patrolling censor. During his more than two years tenure, he energetically rectified the administration of officials, continuously investigated and dealt with three big cases, including Caoyang county magistrate Cai Mingfu, assistant of Haifeng county magistrate Zhu Jie, and Boluo county magistrate Shu Zhuan, which shocked the Guangdong officialdom. The biggest contribution of his patrolling Guangdong was that he carried out “The Law of Averaging Community”, the predecessor of taxes and labor system “Yi-tiao-bian Law” by Zhang Juzheng. It was the success of Pan Jixun's‘The Law of Averaging Community’in Guangdong that made Zhang Ju-zheng's “Yi-tiao-bian Law”, which was carried out all over the country and had far-reaching influence to later ages in early Wanli years.