明代环南海地区防御中参将的设置及辖区变动考

The Establishment of the Commander System and the Change of Jurisdiction in the Defense of the South China Sea Region in the Ming Dynasty

从明代整体防务格局来看,前中期的重心集中在北部沿边地区,嘉靖以后倭寇日炽,防务重心逐渐转移至东南沿海。就环南海区域①防务格局而言,嘉靖以前主要为镇压西段广西和粤西地区的少数民族叛乱。嘉靖末年,环南海地区东段海防形势上升,但西部“瑶乱”仍未完全平定,因此,环南海地区的防御重心呈现东西重、中部轻的态势。万历以后随着葡萄牙人的入侵和澳门商业地位日隆,加之倭寇海盗的威胁,环南海地区中段逐渐上升为防务的重心。这一军事防务的演变过程与参将的设置及其辖区的时空变动密迩相关。

As regards the overall defense pattern of the Ming Dynasty,the early and mid-term defense was concentrated on the northern border areas,whereas the defense focus gradually shifted to the southeast coast due to the frequent encroachment of Japanese pirates in periods after the rule of Ming emperor Jiaqing.In terms of the regional defense pattern around the South China Sea,it was centered on the suppression of rebellions of ethnic minorities in the western part of Guangxi and the western part of Guangdong in the period prior to the reign of Emperor Jiaqing.At the end of the reign of Emperor Jiajing,the coastal defense in the eastern part of regions around the South China Sea became somewhat compounded,but the“the rebellion of the Yao minority”in the western part of China remained unsettled,so regions around the South China Sea were well-fortified and much-defended in their eastern and western parts but somewhat slacken in their central part.In the period following the reign of Emperor Wanli,with the invasion of the Portuguese and the increasing commercial status of Macao,coupled with the threat of Japanese pirates,the middle section of the South China Sea region gradually became the defense focus.The evolution of this military defense is closely related to the setup of the commander system and the temporal and spatial changes in their jurisdiction.