A Study On Northwest Inner Frontier During The Reign Of Qianlong

Before the unification of Xinjiang in the 24th year of Qianlong,the Qing dynasty devoted itself to the operation of the west area of Jiayuguan(嘉峪关)pass.By means of“building temples and erecting monuments”and“setting up officials and station troops”,it strengthened the management of Hami(哈密)and Guanxi(关西)areas and formed the“Hami-Guanxi transition zone”(“哈密—关西过渡地带”).After Xinjiang was opened up,a hierarchical territorial structure of“Gansu inland—Gansu Xinjiang—Xinjiang”(“甘肃内地—甘肃新疆—新疆”)was formed in northwest China.The scope of“Gansu Xinjiang”is the east of the Tianshan Mountains,including Urumchi(乌鲁木齐),Balikun(巴里坤),Hami,Turpan(吐鲁番).From the perspective of the Qing dynasty’s territory positioning,this region was in a special position between the inland and the frontier,becoming the“inner frontier”(“内边疆”)between the two.This area is a typical immigration area and its development depends on a large number of immigrants.The main types of immigrants are the green-flag army and the eight banners,the Uigur(维吾尔)returnees to Turpan,the installed Erlutes(厄鲁特)and Turhutes(土尔扈特),the dispatched criminals,and the immigrants from Gansu(甘肃).Among them,the latter become the main residents of the district.At the same time,the Qing dynasty began to change the management system of the imperial commissioners during the war with the establishment of green-flag and prefectures system,so that the region as a whole was incorporated into the governor of Shangan Zongdu(陕甘总督).With the establishment of the manchurian garrison after the thirty-sixth year of Qianlong,Urumchi Canzandachen(乌鲁木齐参赞大臣)and Urumqi Dutong(乌鲁木齐都统)were established successively.Urumqi Canzandachen is responsible for the affairs of the Mita system of manchuria and green-flag army in Urumchi and Barlikun,and does not control prefectures system.The establishment of Dutong was closely related to the adjustment of county construction in this period.The political intention behind it is to unify and manage civil affairs.The establishment of Dutong system forced the process of“inland”of the east of the Tianshan Mountains to be blocked,and the“frontiernature”was remade.The jurisdiction of Urumchi Dutong was continuously expanded,and Shangan Zongdu still participated in the military and political affairs of the east of the Tianshan Mountains region to varying degrees.The integration of power in this area ended with the combination of the two management systems of“inland”and“frontier”,showing a similar feature of“competitive politics”.And this became the defining feature of the“inner frontier”.