明清江南市镇的行政管理

The Administrative Modes of Towns South of the Yangtze River during the Ming and Qing Dynasties

明清时期,随着商品经济的繁荣与市场交流的扩大,江南地区各类商业、手工业专业市镇大量涌现,江南经济也因此而引人注目。这些蓬勃兴起的各类市镇,不仅在经济结构上各有千秋,在行政管理上也各具特色。有的市镇位于两省、两府或两县的交界处,在行政区划及管理上分属两个府或两个县;有些市镇,明朝时没有任何管理机构,至清代也不是县级行政机构的中心,却委派县级行政管理人员驻镇管理;有的由政府设立更高级别(府厅级)的官员负责管理;还有的市镇自明至清,尽管建置规模多有变化,但却始终维持原来的管理模式。其他如钞关、临海港口等功能特殊的市镇,政府也采取了相应的特殊管理形式。这种多类型、多层次的行政管理模式,一方面反映了这一时期政府行政管理体系的相对灵活性,使江南市镇的商品经济有了相对宽松的发展空间;另一方面,由于管理始终缺乏主动意识,对暴露出来的社会问题被动应付,最终又制约了江南市镇的进一步发展。

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, a lot of towns specializing in commerce and handicrafts emerged in south of the Yangtze River. These towns differed not only in the economic structure, but also in their administrative modes. The multi-type and multi-layer administrative structure, for one thing, indicated the flexibility of the administrative system of the government at the time, which allowed a relatively loose space for the development of commodity economy in the towns south of the Yangtze River. However, the further development of these towns was restricted by the absence of initiative of the administrative institutions and their passive reaction to the social problems.