Through an exhaustive analysis of the historical records, this article concludes that the ideological roots of the coastal areas and territorial seas policy of the Qing government sprang from the Confucian method of frontier administration. Taking humanity and justice as its core, conciliation as its means, and defensive preparations as its deterrent force, the policy advocated changing the foreign countries which dealt with China and influencing them morally to enable these countries to achieve order and render the whole world peaceful. The author further finds that the Qing rulers of China did not merely inherit the traditional thought on frontier administration but also made many breakthroughs and developments.