| Grand coordinator (Ming) Governor (Qing) | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 巡撫 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 巡抚 | ||||||||
| Literal meaning | itinerant-&-pacifying [official] itinerant pacifier | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese alphabet | Tuần phủ / Tuần vũ | ||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 巡撫 | ||||||||
Axunfu was an importantimperial Chinese provincial office under both theMing (14th–17th centuries) andQing (17th–20th centuries) dynasties.[1] However, the purview of the office under the two dynasties differed markedly. Under the Ming dynasty, the post originated around 1430 as a kind of inspector-general and ad hoc provincial-level administrator; such axunfu is usually translated as agrand coordinator.[1] However, beginning in the mid-17th century,xunfu became the title of a regular provincialgovernor overseeing civil administration in the Qing dynasty.[1]
Under both dynasties, thexunfu was subordinate in military affairs to the multi-provincialzongdu (總督), usually translated as "supreme commander" under the Ming and "governor-general" or "viceroy" under the Qing.[1]
TheNguyễn dynasty of Vietnam also established the position (known astuần phủ ortuần vũ 巡撫) based on the contemporaneous position of Qing China.
The "grand coordinator" of theMing dynasty (1368–1644) was one of several institutional innovations promoted by theXuande Emperor (r. 1425–1435).[2] Following precedents set by theHongwu andYongle emperors, who had sent officials on temporary civilian and military missions in the provinces, in September 1425 Xuande appointed officials to "tour and pacify" (xunfu) two southern provinces.[3] Five years later, three more officials from the central government were sent toHenan,Shaanxi, andSichuan on similar assignments.[3] There is also evidence that more "touring pacifiers" were sent to the field between 1425 and 1430, when the position did not yet formally exist.[4] In 1435, grand coordinators were also dispatched to provinces on the northern borders of the Ming empire, fromGansu in the west toLiaodong in the east.[5] Eventually there were grand coordinators in every province.[6]
Grand coordinators could also take charge of strategically important regions that were not provinces. In 1547, one was sent to curb smuggling andpiracy on the coasts of Fujian and Zhejiang.[7] Another one was appointed toTianjin to protect access to Beijing in 1597 during a large-scaleJapanese attack on Korea.[6]
Grand coordinators were members of no specific agency and only received ad hoc commissions with no definite tenure.[8] They managed and oversaw provincial government by coordinating the work of the three highest provincial agencies: the Provincial administration commission (buzheng si 布政司), the Provincial surveillance commission (ancha si 按察司), and the Regional military commissioner (du si 都司).[9] Because grand coordinators were also high-ranking members of theCensorate, they had impeachment powers and direct access to the throne, which considered them to be "provincial-level surrogate[s] of the emperor".[6] Although they were civil officials, they also received military titles when they had to supervise important military matters.[8]
TheQing dynasty (1644–1912) kept the position ofxunfu, but gave it a meaning different enough that scholars have translated the Qingxunfu as "governor" instead of "grand coordinator".[10]
InVietnam under theNguyễn dynasty the title ofTuần phủ (巡撫), ortuần vũ, existed as a similar office based on the contemporary Qing administrative position.[11] ATuần phủ typically governed a single province and was below the authority of aTổng đốc.[11]
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