明代鎮守中官曾經在地方存在一段很長的時間，由於知識份子有系統地清除相關紀錄，因此鎮守中官在地方的形象與作為變得零碎而模糊。知識份子進一步建構宦官的負面形象，認為內臣是破壞明代政治運作的根源之一。本文從零碎的地方紀錄中，還原明代中期駐在福州近二十年的福建鎮守中官陳道，其在地方從事的活動包括：城市營建、災後重建、管理地方軍事、協調地方官員，並從事地方志編纂等文化事業。陳道不僅與地方官員及知識份子相處融洽，還積極參與各項城市公共事務。透過所參與活動的動機分析，發現鎮守中官實為聯繫宮廷、中央與地方的重要環節，並且處於明代地方政治運作的關鍵位置。由於宦官全面滲透到明代政治各個環節的過程，引起知識份子一連串的反彈聲浪，最終導致宦官從地方回到宮廷，相關紀錄也遭到清除。從陳道案例研究可以得知，鎮守中官已是運作成熟的政治制度，才有可能在福州從事如此豐富多元的公共事務。

In the Ming dynasty, emperors had traditionally dispatched eunuchs in the imperial court to the local administrations to assume the position of Zhen-shou Zhong-guang(鎮守中官). Because intellectuals systematically erased historical records concerning their activities, their involvements in the local public affairs faded away in the history. By constructing a notorious image of these officials, intellectuals further blackened them as one of the fundamental hampers to the governmental operation in the Ming dynasty. From fragmental records in the local history, this paper re-presented activities of Chen Dao, who served as the Zhen-shou Zhong-guang of Fujiang for twenty years in Fuzhou in the mid-Ming dynasty. He had been involved in city planning, post- havoc reconstruction, management of local military, and coordination among departments of the province. In addition, he had also participated in historiography of local gazetteers and other cultural affairs. During his stay, Chen Dao not only established friendly relationships with the local intellectuals and high ranking officials, but enthusiastically dedicated to manifold city public affairs. Through an exploration of his activities, the study found that Zhen-shou Zhong-guang was a crucial link of communication among emperors, ministers, and the local administrators; consequently played a key role of the political implementation in the Ming dynasty Due to their interference in a wide spectrum of administrative duties, activities of the eunuch officials incurred widespread discontent of intellectuals. The conflict with these officials eventually led to their return to the imperial court from the local administrative system. The records of their activities in the provinces were sequentially obliterated. The case of Chen Dao, however, proved that Zhen-shou Zhong-guang was a sophisticated political institution, which enabled his participation in the manifold city public affairs.