中文摘要：

苗疆边墙是明代在湘西苗疆修筑的一项拟军事工程,它在发挥军事震慑功能的同时还具有诸多的社会功能。明代边墙是在萧授兴建＂二十四堡＂,张岳改建＂十三哨所＂的基础上,由蔡复一组织修建完成。治理苗疆的政策从表面上看变动十分明显,但若就其实质而言却一脉相承,核心内容都是要对苗民实施招抚和教化,征讨和防御等军事手段仅是不得已而为之。但是之所以能做到这一步,关键得力于明代完善的土司和土官制度。因而,不管是＂二十四堡＂、＂十三哨所＂还是＂边墙＂,都是以土司和土官为依托,军事设防仅仅局限于土司领地的缺口,也就是＂滇黔驿路＂主干线起点地带的软肋。明代＂治苗＂决策的调整,其根本动因不是苗民＂叛服＂无常,而是依据苗疆区域特点与民族文化差异实施地＂因俗设置＂。

英文摘要：

Building frontier walls in the Miao regions in Xiangxi in the Ming Dynasty was design to be a military engineering. In fact, it had also shouldered many social functions. These walls had undergone several processes by different hands. The strategies to govern the Miao people had changed obviously, but essentially they came down in a continuous line,which was to offer amnesty and enlistment to the Miao People, with the purpose of defending being secondary. The social functions of the frontier walls also re- lied on the perfect Tusi and Tuguan system （system Of appointing national minority hereditary headmen）, so the forts,and the walls as well,all depended on the Tusi and Tuguan system, with the mili- tary defenses mainly located in the Tusi manors. The adjustment of the strategies to govern the Miao people in the Ming Dynasty was not because of the rebellious Miao people,but because of the governors＇ strategies to govern according to local features and cultural differences.