沈家门水寨六百年史考

Six Hundred Years History of Shenjiamen Shuizhai Town

明代是我国海防建设史上的重要时期。永乐年间迫于倭患加剧，明廷掣调两浙沿海守军及舰船，立沈家门水寨镇戍东南海道。在明初的浙、闽、粤三省诸水寨中，沈家门水寨设立时间最早，防守范围最大，舰队实力最强。戍守水寨的也并非且耕且守的地方卫所旗军，而是集中用于特定战役方向的处于临战状态的海上作战兵团。这种聚重兵于一处的布防态势，反映了沈家门水寨在明代海防战略体系以及中国海防史上的重要地位。

Ming dynasty was an important period in the history of coastal defense in China. Suffered from the Japanese＇ harass during the Yongle reign, the Ming Court adjusted the coastal garrison and naval vessels in Zhejiang province, and established Shenjiamen Shuizhai Town as the southeast sea way. In the early time of Ming, Zhejiang, Fujian and Guangdong provinces established various Shuizhai towns, among which Shenjiamen Shuizhai was the oldest one and had the largest defensive boundary and most powerful fleet. The guards in Shuizhai were not the farming and local people, but the Marine Corps in readiness of operations focused on a specific direction of campaign. This heavily deployed posture in one place reflected the important position of Shenjiamen Shuizhai in the coastal defense strategic system in the Ming Dynasty and the history of coastal defense in China.