Frontier Policy of Qing Dynasty and Its Historical Role

China, short for People's Republic of China (PRC), is a unified multi-ethnic country. However, China's concept has a historical development process, from the initial capital (note: Poetry, Elegance and People's Labor) to "benefit China and tolerate all directions". According to Mao Chuan, "China is also the capital". ), Huaxia region, to the area ruled by the dynasty established by the Han nationality and other nationalities, only refers to the whole Chinese nation (including the Han nationality and other nationalities) in modern times * * * Some countries are China, which is different from other countries and has a modern national title. In a word, the evolution of China's concept is the product of the historical development of China's unified multi-ethnic country.

Frontier is a concept with a wide meaning, and the explanations given in domestic and foreign literatures are very similar. Generally, it is interpreted as "the place close to the national border", and some people say: "the frontier is the place where the frontier is blocked" (Note: Ci Yuan, revised edition of the Commercial Press, 1983, p. 3095. Others said, "Frontier, territory close to national borders." (Note: Modern Chinese Dictionary, Commercial Press, 1986, p. 64. In foreign language dictionaries, the frontier refers to "the remote areas of a country" (note: Soviet Encyclopedia Dictionary (Russian version), 1985, p. 1205. )。 In short, in Chinese and foreign literature, the frontier is interpreted as a relatively remote area or zone near the border of a country.

Frontier is a geographical concept. The territory of China includes land and sea. Land boundary refers to an area with a certain width along the inner side of national boundaries, which can only be called land boundary area if the following conditions are met, that is, there must be national boundaries connected with neighboring countries; Second, we should have our own characteristics in nature, history and culture. Accordingly, the land provinces in contemporary China include Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Gansu, Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Xizang Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Yunnan. Strictly speaking, we can't regard the whole Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and Heilongjiang, Jilin, Liaoning, Yunnan and other provinces as land areas. Although Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region is a region where Mongolians generally live in terms of humanities, it also has the integrity and particularity of its development in history. However, due to the existence of the yinshan mountains, there are great differences in natural conditions, historical and cultural characteristics and economic development level between Shannan and northern Shaanxi. Therefore, it is more appropriate to regard the area north of Yinshan Mountain as a border area and consider the integrity of the administrative area, and also regard Xilin Gol League, Wulanchabu League and Bayannur League across Yinshan Mountain as border areas. Guilin and Wuzhou in the northeast of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region should not be regarded as border areas. Harbin and its surrounding areas in the south of Heilongjiang Province, areas outside Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture, Changbai Korean Autonomous County and Ji 'an City in Jilin Province, areas outside Dandong in Liaoning Province, and areas outside the border States and regions in Yunnan Province should not be regarded as border areas. In short, the sum of all the border counties with national boundaries is the border area in the narrow sense of contemporary China. By the way, in people's habits today, Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, Qinghai, Guizhou and other provinces are also called "border areas", which is actually inaccurate. We can call it a "remote area", but we can't call it a border area, because none of these provinces have borders with neighboring countries.

Frontier is a historical concept, which is gradually formed and fixed with the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic country. China is a unified multi-ethnic country with a long history and splendid culture. Since Qin Shihuang established a feudal centralized state, there have been many great unification situations. The Qin and Han Dynasties initiated the national unification, and the development of Sui and Tang Dynasties expanded the traditional political, economic and cultural ties between the Central Plains and the border areas, and realized the "harmony between Huarong and Daoism", "the crown was replaced by foreigners, and the car was replaced by Wan Li". During the Song, Liao and Jin Dynasties, the Han nationality and the border ethnic minorities further enhanced their understanding of China under the new historical conditions, and the people of all ethnic groups overcame all kinds of difficulties brought about by the war, and the development and exchanges between the mainland and the border areas further developed. The Yuan Dynasty established by Mongols initiated the national unification of China's ethnic minorities. The politics, economy, culture and the nation itself of the Central Plains and the border areas have experienced a century-long sharp integration, which has changed the traditional structure and narrow concept of a unified multi-ethnic country. In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, especially in the early Qing Dynasty, the Qing government achieved new national unity on the basis of the Yuan and Ming Dynasties. In the early Qing Dynasty, the mainland was divided into 18 provinces, namely Zhili, Shanxi, Shandong, Anhui, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Henan, Hubei, Hunan, Guangdong, Guangxi, Sichuan, Guizhou, Yunnan, Fujian, Shaanxi and Gansu. Among them, Yunnan, Guangxi, Taiwan Province Province, Hainan and Nanhai Islands are classified as 18 provinces, but they are located in the border and border with neighboring countries. The Qing government's policy towards these areas was different from that of the mainland. Except for the above areas, they are generally considered as frontier areas. Thus, the frontiers in Qing Dynasty included three northeastern provinces, Mongolia, Xinjiang, Tibet, Yunnan, Guangxi, Taiwan Province Province, Hainan Island and South China Sea Islands, which basically formed the present territorial scope.

In the long history of China, there have been wars and divisions, but each war and division has prepared the conditions for a larger scale of reunification and development in the next period. Therefore, when discussing the frontier issues in history, we should consider the following two interrelated factors: first, it refers to the provinces and regions connected with the frontier of China people; Secondly, on this basis, tracing back to ancient times and referring to the actual situation in the frontier areas of feudal dynasties, a comprehensive investigation was carried out. That is to say, the contemporary Chinese frontier and the historical Chinese frontier have historical inheritance and continuity, but the contemporary Chinese frontier cannot be simply equated with the ancient frontier, because the ancient China territory presents the characteristics of combining stability and volatility.

According to the existing understanding, the maritime boundary can include two parts. One is the sea area between the mainland coastline and the territorial sea baseline, which is a domestic sea with the same legal status as the territory; Second, according to the currently recognized international law, the sea areas under national jurisdiction beyond the baseline of territorial sea include islands under national jurisdiction such as territorial sea, contiguous zone, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf. According to the above standards, the coastal area of China is more than 4,000 kilometers from the mouth of Yalu River to Zengmu shoal, and its east-west width is about 700- 1600 kilometers. In addition to the Bohai Sea, the edge of Chinese mainland is at home and abroad, and there are the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Therefore, it is divided into the Yellow Sea, the East China Sea and the South China Sea. The largest islands in the above-mentioned coastal areas are Taiwan Province Province and Hainan Province (which have been divided into two provinces in People's Republic of China (PRC)), but when talking about historical coastal areas, we must also consider the objective reality of provinces and regions with mainland coastlines.

Therefore, it can be considered that:

First of all, frontier is a political concept. In the history of China, the form of state power's rule over this region often presents two situations: one is highly centralized rule, and even military control; The other is a high degree of local autonomy. As for which way to implement it in a certain place, it depends on local conditions or time. Therefore, in a sense, China's frontier in history is formally a transitional region from the ruling center of state power to the outside, that is, a specific region from governance to ungovernable.

Second, the frontier has military significance. The frontier region is the frontier of national defense, that is, the frontier region, so its strategic position in the military is naturally very important, especially when the country faces external military threats or armed aggression.

Third, the border has an economic impact. Due to the natural environment, culture and social conditions, border areas are often very different from the mainland in terms of economic geographical types and development level.

Fourth, the frontier also has cultural meaning. It is precisely because the border areas are often different from the mainland in the above aspects that the formation of their regional cultural types is the result of the long-term and deep-seated evolution of social development in the border areas, which has a very important relationship with the composition of residents in the border areas (mainly ethnic or racial conditions), but even the same ethnic group will change its social and cultural characteristics in cultural exchanges with the outside world (mainly between the border areas and the mainland).

Obviously, China's frontier is a historical and relative concept. Only by comprehensively considering political, military, economic, cultural, geographical and other factors can we get a relatively clear answer. From a historical point of view, many ethnic autonomous areas (the nature and form of ethnic autonomy are different in different times and regions, such as ancient Jimufu Prefecture and Tusi Prefecture) belong to the frontier areas, but it cannot be concluded that areas with high degree of autonomy are frontier areas.

When people understand and study the frontier issues, they should look at the frontier issues from a historical, multi-level and multi-angle perspective. They should not only pay attention to the ever-developing and unified frontier of multi-ethnic China, but also consider studying from a single frontier perspective or some local issues.

Facing the complicated historical development process, the reason why we think that China's frontier can be studied as an independent and complete object depends on the development of China's unified multi-ethnic country and its rich and complex frontier.

Second, the development trend and historical characteristics of China's unified multi-ethnic country and its frontiers.

China is a multi-ethnic country with a vast territory and many nationalities. After a long and tortuous development process, it has initially formed a modern country. Although this process is very long and tortuous, the general trend is that from the pre-Qin period, a core area began to form on the map of modern China, and this core position is not fixed in one place (roughly from the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River). In this central region, there are both Chinese and foreigners, both Han and other ethnic minorities who have established political power. When a central government collapses due to internal reasons (such as political corruption, political division, economic collapse, etc.). ) or external reasons (such as improper handling of internal and external relations, invasion by foreign enemies, etc. ) or domestic troubles and foreign invasion, a new and more dynamic regime will replace the former, which is a common phenomenon in the history of dynasty ups and downs. Of course, the division of a single center into two or more centers is also a very common phenomenon in history, which is often called the separatist period. However, even in the period of multi-regime separation, every successful ruler often thinks that he is the representative of a larger center and tries to put this desire into practice. After some efforts (long or short, smooth or tortuous), a bigger and more unified country was finally born. In the Qing Dynasty, China's ancient unified multi-ethnic country reached the highest level. Since modern times, the threat of foreign aggression has become more and more serious, and at the same time its internal social and economic problems have become more and more serious. China began to become a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. After four crises, the people of China started a new road to get rich. After more than 100 years of struggle, a unified multi-ethnic country has been reborn-People's Republic of China (PRC) was born and developed.

The development of border areas is an integral part of the development process of a unified multi-ethnic China. The development of the whole country determines the basis of the development of border areas, and the development of border areas also has an important impact on the development of the whole country. There are roughly three development trends or destinations in the history of China: First, it used to be a frontier area, and after a long time or even repeated development, it gradually became a part of the mainland; Second, areas that used to be foreign countries or frontier areas are still part of China's frontier after a long period of even repeated development; Thirdly, due to the influence of external forces (directly or indirectly), the area that used to be an organic part of China's frontier has become a place outside China today. If we observe the general trend of China's frontier development from a macro perspective, we can only conclude that in the long river of historical development, with the development, growth and foundation of a unified multi-ethnic country, the vast frontier areas have gradually become an organic part of a unified multi-ethnic China.

China's frontier is the product of the long-term development of China's unified multi-ethnic country, which not only has obvious natural characteristics, but also has a long history. Analyzing the historical characteristics of China's border areas is of great significance for deepening the understanding of the whole development process of China's unified multi-ethnic country and studying China's border issues. China's frontier includes at least the following four characteristics.

First of all, the vast territory-the unity after the evolution of decentralized development. China is a unified multi-ethnic country with a vast territory and vast border areas. From northeast to southwest, the land border area is more than half of the national area, and there is a very broad sea border. China's border areas are often very different in social and cultural environment and natural geological conditions, while China's border areas are unified after decentralized development and evolution. There are two meanings here: decentralization and unification. Decentralization means dividing the frontier into several regions from a national perspective, or it can be divided into several relatively self-contained parts in a large region. Talk about unification, including the process of gradual unification of major border areas in China and the evolution of internal integration in border areas. Every big border area has its own development history, which is not only the social development history of this area, but also an important part of the border history of a unified multi-ethnic country. The northeast frontier region is located in the corner of Northeast Asia, bordering the sea in the east, Daxinganling in the west, the frigid zone in the northeast and northwest in the north and North China in the south. This region has a long history of regional social development, which is often related to the social development of the Mongolian Plateau and the Korean Peninsula, but more importantly, it is closely related to the development of the Central Plains. On the basis of social development in Northeast China, the rule of the Central Plains Dynasty in this area changed from time to time. When the Khitan and Nuzhen (and later Manchuria) developed in this area and gradually entered the Central Plains, the position of this area as a part of China's vast frontier was further consolidated. The northern border areas, mainly the Mongolian plateau, are open and suitable for the development of animal husbandry, but they also encounter natural disasters caused by bad weather. The economy in this area is mainly nomadic, with great fluctuations in social development and strong mobility of residents. Since ancient times, this area has been closely linked with the Central Plains, and wars, marriages, economic and trade personnel exchanges and immigration tides are all connecting ties. Through the historical development of Mongols in this area, the status of this area as the northern frontier of China has been further confirmed. Of course, the social development of the northern region is also related to the development of the northeast and northwest regions in many aspects. Northwest frontier region, with a vast territory, is separated by mountains and deserts; The road here is long and arduous, but it is also an important channel for economic and cultural exchanges and ethnic migration from East Asia to Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia. This has led to the tortuous and complicated situation of social development in this region, but the trend towards unity on the basis of decentralized development in various regions is very obvious. In the western border areas, mainly the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the barrier between mountains and rivers has delayed the process of unified development in this area. However, since the rise of Tubo, the contact between this area and the mainland and other frontier areas has become increasingly close, and the two-way exchanges in all aspects have deepened, which eventually led to it becoming an important part of China's frontier. In the southwest frontier region, the terrain of tropical and subtropical plateau and flat dam is more complex, and the natural environment also provides small-scale living space for small-scale people. The residents here have a long development process that is relatively isolated from the outside world, but the slow and solid unification process represents the main aspect of social development in this area. With the rise of Nanzhao and Dali and the realization of regional unification, the development of the southwest frontier area unified in China has been steadily integrated into the development process of China. In the southern coastal and island areas (mainly Taiwan Province Island and Hainan Island), there is also a historical development process in which border areas develop relatively independently and gradually integrate into the national development process.

Second, multi-ethnic groups-integration on the basis of independent development. China is a unified multi-ethnic country, with 56 recognized ethnic groups in modern times, and the evolution of ethnic groups (tribes) in the history of China is a very complicated issue. The border issue in China is closely related to the ethnic issues in China, not only because the border area in China is the main settlement of ethnic minorities, but also the integrated development of ethnic groups on the basis of independent development (each ethnic group has its own development history as the main line) is the cornerstone of a unified multi-ethnic China border area. Here, we should establish a standard to measure the development of a country-any form of integration is progress in the history of national development. Han nationality is the most populous nation in China, and it is also the most widely inhabited nation. The development of the Han nationality is of great significance to the formation and development of a unified multi-ethnic China and its frontiers. The Han nationality has a very long and uninterrupted history of development, and one of the important reasons why the Han nationality can stand on its own feet among the nations of the world in such a powerful state in modern times is its continuous integration with other nationalities. Huaxia nationality is the main source of Han nationality, but in the process of its own development, Huaxia nationality has also forged a long-term indissoluble bond with barbarians, foreigners, Rong nationality and Di nationality. The concept of "Yi Xia Guan", which was formed in the pre-Qin period and became an ancient tradition in China, is not only based on ethnic blood relationship, but also the cultural standard plays a leading role in distinguishing China people from foreigners. The unification of Qin and Han dynasties promoted the formation of the Han nationality and the integration of the Han nationality with other neighboring nationalities. Since its formation, the Han nationality has maintained an uninterrupted history of independent development and has integrated a large number of other nationalities. At the same time, a considerable number of Han people have merged with other neighboring ethnic groups. It is precisely because of this two-way integration phenomenon that a wider range of ethnic integration has been promoted. Generally speaking, the independent development and ethnic integration of other ethnic groups in China are often tortuous and complicated. The lack of historical materials has hindered future generations from understanding the development history of ethnic minorities, and the development paths of ancient ethnic minorities in China are also very diverse. Some ethnic groups have great mobility, and the degree and scale of exchanges and integration with other ethnic groups are also great. The self-reliance development history of many ethnic groups that was once prominent did not last for a long time; Some ethnic groups rarely migrate and communicate with the outside world, and many ethnic groups develop slowly and continue to this day. Many northern nomadic peoples belong to the former type, while many tropical and subtropical jungle farming peoples often belong to the latter type. After a long process of historical evolution, the Chinese nation, the master of a unified multi-ethnic China, was finally formed. In the border areas of China, there is also a common ethnic phenomenon, that is, the existence of cross-border ethnic groups. The reasons for the formation of a nationality's cross-border residence are complicated. However, in China, many cross-border nationalities were formed in the process of imperialist colonialists invading China and its neighboring countries. The existence of this phenomenon of cross-border nationalities has increased the complexity of ethnic problems in the border areas of China.

Third, it has a long history-continuity in the tortuous development process. China is a famous ancient civilization in the world, and it is the only country among the early civilized countries in the world that has never interrupted its own civilization development. On this premise, China's frontier not only has the longest development history in the history of human civilization, but also has obvious continuity. Generally speaking, the development history of China's frontier can be traced back to the ancient Stone Age. The social development speed of the border areas is fast or slow, but sooner or later, they are all brought into the track of the continuous development of China's unified multi-ethnic country. The ancient civilization of China was first developed in the agricultural area of Central Plains. In two major directions (including northeast, northwest and southwest), there are nomadic and agricultural peoples in tropical and subtropical jungle areas. The enlarged Central Plains region constitutes the central region of China, a multi-ethnic developing country with a vast frontier outside. In the long years, the exchanges between the Central Plains and the border areas have been continuous (both economic and cultural exchanges, political rule or war), and China's border areas have developed in such a complex environment. In the face of the crisis in modern China's frontier, that is, before the invasion of imperialist colonialists, the general trend of China's frontier situation evolved in a direction conducive to the development of a unified multi-ethnic country. Even the northern nomadic people who came to the Central Plains with fierce momentum never interrupted the historical development of China. By the middle of19th century, the imperialist colonial invaders had brought a new border crisis to China, which was a social crisis completely different from the previous border issues in China, and the history of China's independent development was in danger of being interrupted. However, powerful challenges have gradually awakened the people of all ethnic groups in China. After more than 100 years of arduous and tortuous exploration and struggle, a unified multi-ethnic China has risen again, and China's border areas have entered a new stage of development on the basis of inheriting thousands of years of historical heritage.

Fourth, the complex problem-the superposition of multiple contradictions. From the perspective of historical development, China's frontier is the inevitable product of the development of China's unified multi-ethnic country to a certain historical stage, and the result of the superposition of multiple social contradictions. As a part of China's unified multi-ethnic country, contradictions encountered in ethnic development will also occur in border areas, which is a common aspect of contradictions. This contradiction includes the contradiction between human survival and development and the restriction of natural environment, the contradiction between the development of productive forces and the restriction of production relations, the contradiction between different social classes, the contradiction between different nationalities, the contradiction between different cultural traditions and ideologies, and the contradiction between countries. Discriminating these contradictory movements is the premise of understanding China's frontier phenomenon; At the same time, it can not be ignored that the movement of social contradictions in China's border areas has its particularity; Social contradictory movements in different border areas have their own particularities, and distinguishing those special contradictory movements is the key to understand the development of China's border areas. The particularity of social contradictions in border areas is often reflected in the fact that the above-mentioned contradictions are more concentrated in one place. The superposition of multiple contradictions increases the complexity of social contradictions in border areas and increases the difficulty of identifying and analyzing contradictions and solving them.

Third, China's ancient frontier policy.

In the history of China, no matter which dynasty or generation, it has its own frontier problems. In order to consolidate their feudal rule, rulers of past dynasties formulated and implemented policies to govern the border areas in order to implement effective jurisdiction. After the unification of the Qin Empire, it laid a general pattern for the ancient administrative regions of China, that is, there was a relatively stable Central Plains region for a long time and a vast surrounding area. Based on the Central Plains, the Chinese nation has developed into remote areas within natural boundaries and gradually formed a multi-ethnic unified country. Outside this unified multi-ethnic country, a traditional custom line based on natural boundaries has been formed. This objective traditional custom line has become the basic basis for formally delineating national boundaries since modern times. Therefore, the ancient territory of China not only includes the territory of the Central Plains dynasty, but also includes the territory of the neighboring minority regimes. In the historical process of the development of China, a unified multi-ethnic country, there has been a border issue with the characteristics of ancient China.

The basic purpose of the frontier policy is simply that a country and a government, under the guidance of certain ideas, take various means to hold a line (border) and manage a piece of land (border) well. Frontier policy has very rich connotations, and its important aspects include land and sea border policies and border management policies of different regimes in various historical periods; Ethnic policies, religious policies, border defense policies, foreign policies related to border negotiations, border administrative system and border economic development in past dynasties; And the traditional border management thought, which is one of the important prerequisites for formulating border policy.

In the history of China, the frontier policy of the unified dynasty has its own characteristics, inheritance and creativity. This paper attempts to summarize the frontier governance and frontier policies in the Han, Tang, Yuan and Qing Dynasties.

1. Frontier Policy in Han Dynasty

(1) Set up different management agencies for unified management according to different frontier situations. During the Han Dynasty, there were many frontier nationalities. Because the Han Dynasty unified these nationalities in different ways, and the relationship between nationalities and the Han Dynasty was also different, the Han Dynasty adopted different management methods for them. Border defense agencies in Han Dynasty can be roughly divided into the following categories: First, setting up counties. After Qin Shihuang unified the whole country, the world was divided into 36 counties, and the county system was extended to the frontier. The Han Dynasty inherited this system and established many counties in the border areas of northern Xinjiang, northeastern Xinjiang, southwest and south, such as Xuantu County, Liaodong County and Liaoxi County in the northeast border area. These counties not only manage the civil affairs in the border areas, but also manage the defense in the border areas. The second is to establish a vassal state and manage frontier nationalities. When the Han Dynasty unified the frontier, some frontier nationalities migrated from the national subject to the inland. In order to manage these nationalities, the Han Dynasty established a vassal state and put it under the management of a vassal state leader, but its internal affairs were still in the charge of the chiefs of immigrant nationalities. For example, the Western Han Dynasty established five kingdoms of Xiongnu and Qiuci in Shanxi and northern Shaanxi. On the one hand, these migrating nationalities became subjects under the direct jurisdiction of the Han Dynasty, and at the same time, they became an important force in the border defense of the Han Dynasty. The third is to set up a specialized agency for management. In some frontier areas without county management, the Han Dynasty set up some specialized institutions, such as the Western Regions Metropolitan Government, which is the highest management institution in the vast northwest frontier areas, including today's Xinjiang; Hu Wuhuan, a captain, manages Wuhuan, Xianbei and other ethnic groups living in the northeast frontier; Let the Xiongnu corps commander be in charge of the Xiongnu forces in northern Xinjiang; General Du Liao is the administrative organ of northern Xinjiang from the western regions to the vast areas of northeast China. These specialized agencies are the highest officials stationed in the border areas in the Han Dynasty and also the defense officials in the border areas. They are in charge of civil affairs, border ethnic affairs, military and political affairs, garrison troops and station troops, and are responsible for maintaining stability in border areas.

(2) A perfect border defense system has been established. On the basis of the frontier defense system of the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty further improved the frontier defense system. The frontier defense management system in Han dynasty generally consists of blocking pavilions, waiting for posts, and reclaiming fields. Hanwang Dynasty took the Great Wall as the main line in the vast border areas, and set up a perfect border defense system consisting of blockades, barriers, pavilions, cranes, etc., which can not only grasp the situation in the border areas in time, but also resist foreign invasion and maintain border stability. Waiting system is a command system of frontier defense organizations, which consists of county magistrate-county captain-waiting-waiting-pavilion, captain-garrison and so on. And can coordinate border defense in an organized way. In addition, the Han Dynasty carried out standardized reclamation activities in the northwest frontier region, the northern frontier region and the eastern frontier region, including both military and civilian camps, but mainly military camps. These garrisons are controlled by border guards or specialized border agencies and commanders. They are not only an important force in border development, but also an important force in maintaining border stability.