宋代厢军军事职能述论

On the Military Functions of Xiang Force of Song Dynasty

在宋代,厢军是役兵,从事杂役,如修城、铺路、造船等。然而,宋代主力作战部队主要集中于边疆,造成兵力短缺,鉴于此,宋廷不得不赋予厢军以重要的军事职能。在这样一种情况下,厢军不仅被当成内部主要镇守兵力,执行对内镇压职能,如镇守地方、参与巡检等,还被当做对外防御的兵力,执行对外防御职能,如戍守边疆、对敌作战等。正是通过履行以上职能,从而为维护宋王朝的稳定作出了重大贡献。

In Song Dynasty, the Xiang Force was a kind of service soldier. It was engaged in miscellaneous service, such as repairing castles, paving road surface, manufacturing ships etc. However, the main army force of Song Dynasty were stationed at the frontier,this resulted in the shortage of soldiers . So the Song Empire had to use the Xiang Force as the main army force. Then the Xiang soldiers were not only used to maintain the unification of Song Empire, but also used to defend against the invasion of other Empires.