使者与唐王朝边疆民族管理体制

Envoys and the Tang dynasty's administrative system in ethnic minority areas in borderland

本文以唐代为例对使者在边疆民族管理体制中的作用进行了探讨,认为我们应该用“使者”而不是“聘使”来称呼这些负有特殊使命的官员;这些使者因为其使命的不同可以分为册封和册立吊祭使者,安抚、招抚和宣慰使者,宣谕使者,责让使者,朝贡使者,朝见使者,和亲使者,求请使者等诸多种类,是他们通过其活动在密切着唐王朝和边疆民族的关系;使者由于有着特殊的身份,是唐王朝边疆民族管理体制中的重要一环,并具有十分重要的作用;使者的研究涉及到民族关系、历史地理等诸多方面。

With the Tang dynasty as an example in point this article dicusses envoys' functions in the administrative system in ethnic minority areas in the borderland and holds that these officials shouldering special missions should be correctly called `shizhe'(envoy) ,and not `pinshi'(invited messenger),who,because of their different missions , can be divided into many kinds such as envoys of condolence,envoys of placation, envoys for offering amnesty and enlistment to rebels ,envoys for announcing imperial edicts, envoys for negotiations ,envoys for presenting tribute,envoys for having audience with the native rulers in the borderland areas,envoys for cementing relations with rulers of ethnic minorities in border areas by marrying daughters of the royal family to them, envoys asking for assistance, all of whom were granted with different titles by royal edicts or imperial orders,it were they who built closer relations between the Tang dynasty and the ethnic groups in border areas,thereby were the important links in the Tang dynasty's administrative system in ethnic minority areas in the borderland and played very important roles;researches on envoys involve many academic fields such as ethnic relations and historical geography, however, researches on envoys have not drawn the academic circle's due attention at present.