過去關於保標與標局的研究，多以稗官野史的記載為憑。殆以正史闕如，諱莫如深。本文嘗試以檔案文書為主，探討明清之際保標活動的蛛絲馬跡。軍力不足一直是晚明邊防的隱憂，如何招募江湖草澤之士，並將之整編為效命廟堂征戰疆場之兵，成為朝廷應對遼東邊關戰火的當務之急。本文利用庋藏於史語所內閣大庫的明代檔案，並對照相關疏議，指證當時山東臨清的保標武力開始受到重視。保標的發祥與臨清有深厚的地緣關係。臨清位居京杭大運河的樞紐，為水陸兩路的交通要衝，商貿鼎盛，北方京省對南方標布的大量需求，更對保標活動的專業化發展推波助瀾。對比明代小說《金瓶梅》所載，可佐證該書所虛擬的「清河縣」，當以成書之際─明代中晚期的臨清州為臨摹的藍本。當時臨清乃為天下的水馬頭，商旅輻輳、標客雲集，儘管《金瓶梅》成書之際，西門慶經營的標船，尚未有運用武力護衛的描述，但逮至萬曆晚年，臨清保標的武力，儼然已聲聞京師。護送標商的民間武力在晚明危急存亡之秋，成為廟堂招募江湖的兵源之一。迨至清朝國力中衰以後，軍事防禦兵力需求正殷，保標亦曾一度被視為可供收編的應急戰力。行走江湖的標客，再度搖身變為效命廟堂的標兵。只不過這批臨時被國家收編的民間武力，平常或許可以弭平江湖上的小風小浪於一時一地，但終究無法扶正將傾的廟堂大廈，挽回既倒的

appearing regularly in personal anecdotes, literary romances, and martial arts fiction, private security services (baobiao) have largely eluded scholarly scrutiny. Drawing on a variety of official documents, this article traces the emergence of private security services. It shows that the Ming government used them to resist the Manchu invasion. The rise of armed escorts as a profession had a strong geographic link to Linqing Department of Shandong Province, which served as a pivotal transportation hub on the Grand Canal. A growing demand for cloth from the South, among other goods, transformed Linqing into a prosperous trading center. For merchants who gathered there, protecting their goods and money was a pressing issue. The term for armed escorts (baobiao) reflects its origin in the Linqing cloth trade. Bao came from “to safeguard” the transportation of biao, the cotton piece goods. Hence private security services emerged as a new vocation to protect the delivery of goods and provide security for their payment. The private security forces figured prominently when the Ming government faced the increasing Manchu threat from the northeast. Exploring the extant memorials of the late Ming, I have found that recruiting these escort forces in Linqing was proposed as a contingency plan to fight against the Manchus during the Wanli period. Yet there is no evidence whether the plan was put into practice then. In the Chongzhen reign, however, the dynastic government implemented the plan. Approximately three thousand men from private security forces were enlisted into the imperial army. Unfortunately, they were annihilated by the Manchus in the final battle of the Chulai Mountain in Shandong. It is worth noting that during the Qing dynasty’s last days, when the fate of the state was at stake, it was once again proposed that private security forces be incorporated into imperial military forces. However, the ragtag band of armed escorts was insufficient to turn the revolutionary tide and salvage the struggling dynasty from eventual collapse.

保標(鏢；鑣)；臨清；標兵；廟堂；江湖

private security services; Linqing; Grand Canal; cotton piece goods; Chulai Mountain