Maritime Frontiers, Territorial Expansion and Haifang 61
Terms such as yaofu, huangfu, Yi, Man or Fan remained in use, but
now indicated lands and peoples farther away, beyond the new Chinese
boundaries. Within China proper, the terms bantu (household register
and territorial map) and banji (household register) came into use as
alternate terms to indicate the imperial domain or territories in which the
junxian (prefecture-district) administrations were formed. The junxian
administrative units served to enhance the awareness of territorial
boundaries since each unit was meticulously demarcated for tax collection
and other responsibilities. This institution subsequently became the
essential mechanism in establishing territorial control. For example,
from the early Ming Dynasty, the establishment of xian administrations
was used as an effective way to tackle the problem of local disturbances
caused by banditry or rebellious forces. When a territory was placed
under the jurisdiction of a local ofβicial, education and sacriβices would
be encouraged and the people would be led to observe the proprieties
and become governable.^9 Chinese civilization was thereby enabled to
embrace the new territories, and that in turn helped to strengthen the
governance.
Following the Qin conquest, the Chinese control of the south had
still not been βirmly established, and this explains why military ofβicers
were appointed to head the regional administrations. In the words of Gu
Yanwu (1613‒82), when the reβined inβluence of culture and virtue was
insufβicient, then force would be needed (wende buzu er hou you wugong).
Territories falling into this category were the faraway lands of Guangdong
and Guangxi in the south, that were conquered by the Qin and named
Nanhai and Gueilin prefectures, and that required military rule under
a “commandery defender” (junwei). Unfortunately the high-ranking
regional ofβicials were often grasping and their exactions led to numerous
rebellions by lower ofβicers (li) and the common people. Insurgencies
among the minority peoples were also a frequent occurrence. A civil
ofβicial with the rank of prefect was βirst appointed only after the early
Han re-conquest of the region.^10
In traditional Chinese historiography, conquests were not often
advocated. This assertion can be best illustrated in the following passage
taken from the Bei shi (Standard history of the Northern Dynasties):
Since early times, it was because the rulers were ambitious and
the ministers were fond of meddling that the country reached the
faraway people and extended itself to the distant lands.... Once
the ruler is eager to advance the distant people, he will have the- TXJGLBS, 26: 24a
- Ibid., 27: la–2a, 3a, 4a–b.