Historical Geography Research >
The ‘Kuan’ Organization in Chengzhou and Huizhou: Transformation of Frontier Governance Mechanisms from Song to Ming Dynasties
Received date: 2024-04-24
Online published: 2025-07-16
The Jimi (loose-rein, 羁縻) and Zhouxian (prefecture-county, 州县) systems represent fundamentally distinct governance approaches. While dynastic states typically transformed governance by Tusi (abolishing hereditary chieftains, 土司) in monarchical ethnic regions, the Yao communities (徭蛮) along the Jinghu-Guangnan (荆湖、广南) frontier lacked centralized leadership. Scholars conventionally assumed this region transitioned directly from Jimi to Zhouxian systems. Contrary to this view, the indigenous ‘Kuan’ (pledge-based alliance, 款) organization profoundly shaped governance transformation. Between the Song and Ming dynasties, state officials consistently leveraged the Kuan framework to advance frontier governance through phased policies, from militarizing Kuan members, military integration of Kuan structures, to administrative conversion that replacing Kuan with Li (里) units. During this transition from frontier institution to Zhouxian governance, the Kuan evolved from a provisional civil-defense organization into a foundational administrative unit responsible for taxation, conscription, public security, and Confucian indoctrination.
Key words: Kuan; frontier governance; Jimi; Zhouxian
Wu Juanting . The ‘Kuan’ Organization in Chengzhou and Huizhou: Transformation of Frontier Governance Mechanisms from Song to Ming Dynasties[J]. Historical Geography Research, 2025 , 45(2) : 49 -62 . DOI: 10.20166/j.issn.2096-6822.L20240150
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