Maritime Frontier Governance and the Evolution of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasised, “We must adhere to making the advancement of the building of the Chinese national community the main line of work in border and ethnic regions,” and “Advancing border governance requires strengthening theoretical support. We must strengthen multidisciplinary research related to border history and border governance, and accelerate the construction of China’s independent knowledge system of border studies.” These important expositions have significant guiding significance for deepening our research on border governance and the formation and development of the Chinese national community.

习近平总书记强调，“要坚持把推进中华民族共同体建设作为边疆民族地区工作的主线”，“推进边疆治理，需要强化理论支撑。要加强边疆史和边疆治理相关的多学科研究，加快建构中国自主的边疆学知识体系”。这些重要论述对我们深化边疆治理与推进中华民族共同体的形成和发展研究具有重要指导意义。

China’s borders include both land borders and maritime borders. In recent years, academic circles have accumulated rich research results on the sense of community for the Chinese nation from the perspective of border governance, greatly promoting the in-depth development of research on border governance and the sense of community for the Chinese nation. However, existing research is mostly based on the reality of land borders, exploring the sense of community for the Chinese nation from the perspective of land border governance, while the examination of the relationship between maritime frontier governance and the evolution of the sense of community for the Chinese nation remains insufficient. In view of this, this article attempts to explore the internal logic between maritime frontier governance and the consolidation of the sense of community for the Chinese nation from the perspective of maritime frontier governance.

中国的边疆包括陆疆和海疆。近年来，学术界从边疆治理的角度对中华民族共同体意识的探讨已积累了丰富的研究成果，极大推动了边疆治理与中华民族共同体意识研究的深入发展。但既有研究多立足于陆疆现实，从陆疆治理视角对中华民族共同体意识展开探讨，而对海疆治理与中华民族共同体意识演进之间关系的考察仍显不足。有鉴于此，本文试图从海疆治理视角，探讨其与铸牢中华民族共同体意识之间的内在逻辑。

Opening Up Territories and Seas: Ancient Dynastic Maritime Frontier Governance and the Germination of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

开疆拓海：古代王朝海疆治理与中华民族共同体意识的萌芽

In ancient China, the maritime frontier and inland regions together constituted the overall space for the survival and development of the Chinese nation. The central government’s governance of the maritime frontier and the opening up of territories and seas were important components of national governance, which not only promoted the exchange and integration of various ethnic groups but also fostered the germination of the sense of community for the Chinese nation.

古代中国，海疆与内陆地区共同构成中华民族生存发展的整体空间。中央政府对海疆的治理与开疆拓海，是国家治理的重要组成部分，不仅推动了各民族的交流融合，也促进了中华民族共同体意识的萌芽。

During the pre-Qin period, the management of the maritime frontier was relatively loose, but through continuous exchanges, wars, and integration between coastal tribes and inland tribes, their connections gradually became closer. Ultimately, the Huaxia people of the Central Plains and the Dongyi and other ethnic groups of the coastal regions achieved ethnic integration during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods. During the Qin and Han dynasties, the establishment of unified dynasties strengthened maritime frontier governance. From Qin Shi Huang setting up commanderies and counties to manage coastal areas to the Han dynasty opening the Maritime Silk Road, these measures not only strengthened the central government’s control over the maritime frontier but also broadened exchanges between coastal and inland populations. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, nomadic, agricultural, and mountain peoples accelerated their integration through further migration. By the late Southern and Northern Dynasties, the Wuhuan, Xianbei, and Baiyue peoples of the coastal regions had merged into the Han and other ethnic groups. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, the ethnic ideology of “the Huaxia and the Yi as one family” gradually took shape. The central government implemented loose-rein rule and marriage alliance policies towards the coastal ethnic groups, treating all ethnic groups equally in actual governance. The pattern of “mixed habitation of Yi and Xia” in the maritime frontier regions was continuously consolidated. In the Song dynasty, navigation technology achieved major breakthroughs, and the central government actively encouraged overseas trade. The Yuan government abolished loose-rein rule over all ethnic groups and fully implemented the provincial system, promoting further economic prosperity and inter-ethnic interaction in coastal regions, where “Hu and Han as one family” became the norm. From the Ming to the early Qing dynasty, a maritime defence system was implemented, registering coastal water and land ethnic groups uniformly into household registers and absorbing troops from different ethnic groups to jointly maintain peace and order in coastal areas. It can be seen that successive central governments, while strengthening control over coastal regions, promoted the blood integration of coastal ethnic groups. The sense of community for the Chinese nation continuously germinated and developed within maritime frontier governance, laying the foundation for united resistance against foreign aggression in modern times.

先秦时期，对海疆的管理较为松散，但沿海部落与内陆部落间通过不断的交流、征战与融合，联系逐渐紧密，最终中原地区的华夏族与沿海地区的东夷等族群在春秋战国时期实现民族融合。秦汉时期，大一统王朝的建立使得海疆治理得到加强，从秦始皇设郡县管理沿海地区到汉朝开辟海上丝绸之路，这些举措不仅强化了中央政府对海疆的控制，也让沿海与内陆的民众交流更趋广泛。魏晋南北朝时期，游牧民族、农耕民族与山地民族在进一步的迁徙中加速融合，至南北朝后期，沿海地区的乌桓、鲜卑、百越民族融入汉族与其他族群中。隋唐时期“华夷一家”的民族思想逐渐形成，中央政府对沿海各族实行羁縻统治与和亲政策，在实际治理中对各民族一视同仁，海疆地区“夷夏混居”的格局不断巩固。宋代航海技术取得重大突破，中央政府积极鼓励海外贸易，元朝政府取消对各族的羁縻统治，全面推行行省制，促进了沿海地区经济的进一步繁荣和族际交往，沿海地区“胡汉一家”成为常态。明至清前期实行海防制度，将沿海水陆族群统一编户齐民，并吸纳不同族群军队，共同维护沿海地区安宁。可见，历代中央政府在强化对沿海地区管控的同时，促进了沿海各民族血脉相融，中华民族共同体意识在海疆治理中不断萌芽、发展，为近代团结御侮夯实基础。

Equal Emphasis on Sea and Land: Modern Maritime Frontier Crises and the Awakening of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

海塞并重：近代海疆危机与中华民族共同体意识的觉醒

The Opium War broke out in 1840, and China’s maritime frontier faced unprecedented crises. The signing of a series of unequal treaties caused China to lose a large number of maritime frontier rights and interests. Under this severe situation, the ideology of “equal emphasis on sea and land” emerged. The Qing government began to build a modern navy, but due to the decay of the feudal system and backward military technology, the Fujian Fleet and the Beiyang Fleet were almost completely annihilated in the Battle of Fuzhou and the Battle of the Yalu River, and coastal provinces were divided into spheres of influence by the great powers. The Xinhai Revolution broke out in 1911, and the Republic of China was established. Although national unification was nominally achieved, China remained surrounded by great powers. The outbreak of the War of Resistance Against Japan made China’s maritime frontier crisis unprecedentedly severe, bringing the nation to the brink of subjugation and extinction. The severe maritime frontier crisis awakened the sense of community for the Chinese nation. Facing foreign invasion, the people of coastal and inland regions were unprecedentedly united in shared hatred of the enemy. The Sanyuanli people’s resistance against the British, the Taiwanese people’s struggle against the cession of Taiwan, and the entire nation’s fourteen-year War of Resistance Against Japan are vivid portrayals of the Chinese nation uniting as one to resist foreign aggression. The Chinese nation increasingly coalesced as a whole, and the concept of the Chinese nation began to be recognised by people of all ethnic groups, promoting the great transformation of the Chinese nation from a state of being-in-itself to being-for-itself.

1840年鸦片战争爆发，中国海疆面临前所未有的危机，一系列不平等条约的签订，使中国丧失大量海疆权益。在这种严峻的形势下，“海塞并重”思想兴起，清政府开始筹建近代海军，但由于封建制度的腐朽和军事技术落后，在马尾海战与甲午海战中，福建水师、北洋水师几乎全军覆没，沿海各省被列强划为势力范围。1911年辛亥革命爆发，中华民国成立，虽然在名义上实现了国家统一，但中国仍处于列强环伺之中，抗日战争的爆发更使中国的海疆危机空前严重，国家已经到了亡国灭种的边缘。严重的海疆危机激发了中华民族共同体意识的觉醒，面对外敌入侵，沿海与内陆各族人民空前团结、同仇敌忾。三元里人民抗英斗争、台湾人民反割台斗争、全国人民十四年抗日战争等都是中华民族团结一心、共御外侮的生动写照，中华民族作为一个整体日益凝聚起来，中华民族的观念开始为各族人民所认同，推动了中华民族从自在到自觉的伟大转变。

The awakening of the sense of community for the Chinese nation laid a solid ideological foundation for China’s modern national liberation movement and national independence. The community concept of sharing weal and woe, honour and disgrace, life and death, and destiny gradually took shape. After the victory of the War of Resistance Against Japan, China smoothly recovered Taiwan Island and numerous maritime frontier rights and interests, and delineated the eleven-dash line for the scope of sovereignty in the South China Sea, which had a profound impact.

中华民族共同体意识的觉醒为中国近代以来的民族解放运动和国家独立奠定坚实思想基础，休戚与共、荣辱与共、生死与共、命运与共的共同体理念逐渐形成。在抗日战争胜利后，中国顺利收复台湾岛及众多海疆权益，并划定南海主权范围的十一段线，影响深远。

Striving for Strength from the Sea: New China’s Maritime Frontier Construction and the Formation of the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

向海图强：新中国海疆建设与中华民族共同体意识的形成

After the founding of New China, maritime frontier construction was elevated to a national strategic level. In the early days of New China, the central government immediately began to establish the People’s Navy, committed to safeguarding the nation’s maritime rights, interests, and territorial integrity. In the process of defending the maritime frontier, the People’s Navy gradually grew into a maritime force with a relatively high level of modernisation, providing a solid guarantee for the nation’s peace and stability. Since reform and opening up, with the development of the national economy and the enhancement of comprehensive national power, New China’s maritime frontier construction has entered a new stage of development. While vigorously developing the marine economy, naval ship formations have carried out normalised long-distance training, and the People’s Navy has become more actively involved in regional and international maritime affairs. In terms of administrative divisions, Sansha City was established to strengthen administrative jurisdiction over the South China Sea islands and their waters, effectively safeguarding national sovereignty and maritime rights and interests.

新中国成立后，海疆建设被提升到国家战略高度。新中国成立初，中央政府即开始组建人民海军，致力于维护国家的海洋权益和领土完整。人民海军在保卫海疆的过程中，逐渐成长为一支具有较高现代化水平的海上力量，为国家的和平稳定提供坚实保障。改革开放以来，随着国家经济的发展和综合国力的提升，新中国的海疆建设进入新的发展阶段。在大力发展海洋经济的同时，海军舰艇编队开展常态化远航训练，人民海军更加积极地参与地区和国际的海洋事务。在行政区划上，设立三沙市强化对南海诸岛及其海域的行政管辖，有效维护了国家主权和海洋权益。

Entering the New Era, China has proposed the development strategy of “striving for strength from the sea,” placing greater emphasis on building a maritime power. The advancement of the Belt and Road Initiative has opened up new space for maritime cooperation between China and partner countries, strengthening China’s economic ties and cultural exchanges with the world. The coastal regional economy is booming, connections with inland regions are becoming closer, and exchanges of people, goods, and information are increasingly frequent, effectively promoting mutual understanding and identification among people from different regions. At the same time, the rights and interests of overseas Chinese have received increasing attention and protection from the state, enhancing their sense of belonging and identification with the motherland. With the further enhancement of comprehensive national power, the state has continuously improved maritime laws and regulations, strengthened maritime law enforcement, and firmly upheld maritime order and national maritime rights and interests. In addition, the government has increased investment in marine science and technology, promoting innovation in marine science and technology—from the “Jiaolong” deep-sea submersible to the “Xuelong” polar exploration, from offshore wind power to deep-sea drilling—the strategy of striving for strength from the sea is being steadily advanced.

进入新时代，中国提出“向海图强”的发展战略，更加注重海洋强国建设。共建“一带一路”倡议的推进，为中国与共建国家的海洋合作开辟了崭新空间，加强了中国与世界的经济联系和文化交流。沿海地区经济蓬勃发展，与内陆地区的联系更加紧密，人员、物资、信息交流日趋频繁，有力促进了不同地区人民之间的相互了解和认同。同时，海外侨民的权益得到国家越来越多的重视与保护，增强了他们对祖国的归属感和认同感。随着综合国力的进一步提升，国家不断完善海洋法规，加强海洋执法力度，坚定维护海洋秩序和国家海洋权益。此外，政府还加大对海洋科技的投入，推动海洋科技创新，从“蛟龙”深潜到“雪龙”探极、从海上风电到深海钻探，向海图强的战略持续推进。

New China’s maritime frontier construction has comprehensively promoted the formation and consolidation of the sense of community for the Chinese nation. Coastal and inland regions develop in coordination, ethnic unity builds the deep-blue dream together, gathering the mighty force for realising the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In the New Era, the sense of community for the Chinese nation inspires all Chinese sons and daughters to continue striving to realise the dream of a maritime power and national rejuvenation.

新中国的海疆建设，全方位地推动了中华民族共同体意识的形成和巩固。沿海与内陆协同发展，民族团结共筑深蓝梦想，凝聚起实现中华民族伟大复兴的磅礴力量。新时代，中华民族共同体意识激励着全体中华儿女继续为实现海洋强国和民族复兴的梦想而努力奋斗。

From the ancient central government’s maritime frontier governance to modern maritime frontier crises and then to New China’s maritime frontier construction, maritime frontier governance and the evolution of the sense of community for the Chinese nation have always been closely linked and mutually reinforcing. Maritime frontier governance has provided a practical foundation and realistic support for the development of the sense of community for the Chinese nation, while the sense of community for the Chinese nation has injected strong spiritual momentum and ideological guarantees into maritime frontier governance. In the process of maritime frontier governance, people from different regions, through personnel exchanges, economic interaction, cultural integration, and other means, have gradually forged common historical memories, spiritual beliefs, and value concepts. The sense of community for the Chinese nation prompts people to more consciously safeguard national unity and territorial integrity, contributing strength to the goal of building a maritime power.

从古代中央政府海疆治理到近代海疆危机再到新中国海疆建设，海疆治理与中华民族共同体意识演进始终紧密相连、相互促进。海疆治理为中华民族共同体意识的发展提供了实践基础和现实支撑，而中华民族共同体意识则为海疆治理注入了强大的精神动力和思想保障。在海疆治理过程中，不同区域的人们通过人员往来、经济交流、文化融合等方式，逐渐铸就了共同的历史记忆、精神信仰和价值观念。中华民族共同体意识促使人们更加自觉地维护国家统一和领土完整，为实现海洋强国的目标贡献力量。

(The authors are researchers at the Research Base for Consolidating the Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation, Jinan University; and Deputy Party Secretary and Professor at Jinan University.)

（作者系暨南大学铸牢中华民族共同体意识研究基地研究员；暨南大学党委副书记、教授）