清代海洋失事查勘制度建设及其困境

Construction and Dilemma of the Marine Accident Survey System in the Qing Dynasty

清康熙二十三年开海后,中国近海海域因海盗活动造成的商民船只失事案件持续增加。为维护海洋社会秩序,强化海上司法管辖,清政府在全面勘定沿海地方海域边界和内外洋界限的基础上,建立起一套海洋失事查勘制度,试图使海洋失事案件责有攸归。不过,随着清廷对失事查勘主体的问责机制日趋严密,加之缺乏有效的激励手段,海洋失事查勘制度的推行面临沿海文武官员的层层阻力。同时,失事船主“候官会勘”司法程序的取消、传统水师洋图绘制技术的滞后,也影响了该制度的实际运行效果。朝廷定例与沿海地方司法实践之间的矛盾,是清代海洋失事查勘制度陷入困境的症结所在。

The number of marine accident caused by piracy in China’s offshore waters continued to increase after lifting the sea ban in the 23rd year of the Emperor Kangxi reign of the Qing Dynasty.In order to preserve the social order of the sea and strengthen judicial jurisdiction over the sea,the Qing governors had established a marine accident survey system on the basis of comprehensively maritime boundary settlements as well as inland and outside sea boundary settlements,trying to make marine accident cases take responsibility.However,with the increasingly strict accountability mechanism of the imperial court for the main body of the accident survey,coupled with the lack of effective incentives,the implementation of the marine accident survey system was facing the resistance of the coastal civil and military officials.At the same time,the cancellation of the judicial procedure of the shipwrecked ship owner’s“waiting for officials to survey”and the lag of the traditional marine chart drawing technology also affect the actual operation effect of the system.The contradiction between the imperial court rules and the coastal local judicial practice was the deep crux of the marine accident survey system running into dilemma in the Qing Dynasty.