The Structure Of Circles: The Spatial Characteristics Of The Administrative Regions Of Yunnan In The Ming Dynasty

The administrative region is an important carrier and key element of the state's governance of the place.The rulers of all ages have paid special attention to it.The significant changes occurred in the administrative regions of Yunnan during the Ming Dynasty.The spatial distribution of the structure of the region was evidently characterized by the structure of the circle.This spatial structure is the result of inheritance and transformation and has exerted an important influence on the spatial structure of Yunnan's political regions in later generations.This paper selects Yunnan's administrative districts of the Ming Dynasty as the research object,based on the theory of historical political geography,puts the Yunnan administrative region in the context of changes in space and time in the Ming Dynasty,and contemplates the rules and spatial characteristics of the establishment and change of Yunnan's administrative regions in the Ming Dynasty.By sorting out the diachronic changes of the spatial pattern of Yunnan's political districts before the Ming Dynasty,the basic context of the evolution of Yunnan's political and geographic spatial structure before the Ming Dynasty was clarified.In the context of historical development,through the inheritance and transformation of the Yunnan administrative region,three major changes took place in the Ming Dynasty: the Hongwu periods in the early Ming Dynasty,the Yongle and Zhengtong periods in the early Ming Dynasty,and the Jiajing and Wanli periods in the middle and late Ming Dynasty.The important historical events of the period are the entry point.This paper sorts out and restores the basic features of the establishment and change of Yunnan's administrative regions in the Ming Dynasty,and refines three basic types of the existence of Zhili-style administrative districts,Yuyi-style administrative districts,and Waiyi-style administrative districts in the Yunnan administrative district have been abstracted,and in the actual geographic space,they have clearly manifested the characteristics of the circular structure..In a seemingly unified inner and outer circle structure,the characteristics of the circle structure in Yunnan's administrative districts show a rich connotation and extension.Under the influence of Confucianism,geopolitical situations,internal and external transportation,and military garrison systems,core and marginalities,the special political regions represented by the Shitu-Weisuo,and Heterogeneous layer structure are the main manifestation of the structural characteristics of the circle in Yunnan during the Ming Dynasty.This circle-structured spatial pattern has important influence and significance.It has maintained the stability of the southwestern border of Ming Dynasty,achieved the internal and external interactions between Yunnan's different types of political areas in the Ming Dynasty,and laid the foundation for the spatial structure of the administrative region of southwest China's border areas in inheritance and transformation.