| The Xunjiansi(Patrol and Inspection Administration)was one of the most widely established county-level administrative institutions in the Qing Dynasty.Generally distributed in those important regions or towns outside of the prefectures and counties,they served an important role in maintaining local security and governing.This article takes the establishment of the Guangxi Patrol and Inspection Administration in the Qing Dynasty as the main research object,and a detailed review is presented to analyze the time of their establishment and dissolution,the change of location,and the reasons for their establishment.Then the article would further analyze the feature and the pattern of the spatial-temporal distribution of the Guangxi Xunjiansi in the Qing Dynasty.Based on the time of their temporal distribution,the research finds that most Guangxi Xunjiansi in the Qing Dynasty were inherited from the Ming Dynasty while there was a massive adjustment during the reign of Yongzheng and Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty.Generally,the Guangxi Xunjiansi in the Qing Dynasty went through three stages of inheritance,adjustment,and decline,which were closely related to such three factors as the land returning during the reign of Yongzheng,the border crisis at the end of the Qing Dynasty,and also the complicated relationship among various ethnic groups in Guangxi.Based on their spatial distribution,the research finds that the regional distribution of Xunjiansi in Guangxi was so uneven that the number of Xunjiansi in the eastern part of Guangxi was far more than those in the western part,and a steady decrease existed in the number of Xunjiansi from east to west.There was a closely-knitted relationship between the county-level governing and the role of Guangxi Xunjiansi in the Qing Dynasty,which played a significant role in maintaining social security and governing,managing local administrative affairs,and participating in the judicial process.The widespread distribution of Xunjiansi,together with other regional institutions such as the village-level governing organization,Zuoza(assistant governors),and Yingxun(border guard)system,formed the county-level governing pattern in the Qing Dynasty. |
