巡检司与元帝国的海疆治理

The Xunjiansi Department and the Coastal Management of the Yuan Dynasty

元代继承宋代的巡检司制度,藉由积极开放的海洋政策,亦为扫除南宋残余海上势力所需,于偏远的港湾、海岛、滩涂等海疆地区广泛设置巡检司,澎湖巡检司就是典型例证,使之成为元帝国海疆治理的重要机构。海疆巡检司的职责与内陆巡检司有所不同,涵盖缉捕海寇、打击海上走私、维护海疆社会稳定等。巡检司对于海疆治理虽有一定成效,不过在实际运作中,存在选人用人不当、所属弓兵战斗力低下、吏治腐败严重等问题,不仅对海疆地区造成民生困扰,元末方国珍等海寇起事之时亦未能有效扑灭,其历史教训为明初君臣所借鉴,影响明代海疆巡检司的设置部署与制度设计。

In order to carry out the marine policy actively and destroy the remaining forces of the Southern Song Dynasty, the Yuan Dynasty followed the practice of the Song Dynasty with the establishment of the Xunjiansi, which was set up in remote ports, islands, and mud flats, among which, the Penghu Xunjiansi was a typical example. Different from the Xunjiansi in the interior of the country, the Xunjiansi in border areas and coastal regions was charged with duties of settling disputes in fishery industry and fighting criminals, which included armed robbery at sea, maritime smuggling and illegal seaborne trade. The Xunjiansi achieved some success in the governance of boarder areas and coastal regions. But in the actual operation, there were some big problems, such as improper selecting and appointing of people, insufficient military training, and serious corruption, which caused distress to common people and resulted in the failure to timely destroy the uprising with leaders such as Fang Guozhen and other pirates in the late Yuan Dynasty. And the lessons of the Xunjiansi in the Yuan Dynasty were used by emperors of the early Ming Dynasty and deeply affected its system design and specific deployment.