嘉義城，原稱諸羅城，始建於康熙四十三年（1704），為木柵 城，為全台各城垣最早建造者。在康熙末年朱一貴之役後，府城建木 柵城，諸羅城則與鳳山城建土城，然在林爽文之後時仍被攻破。林爽 文之役後，府城建糖水灰城，並未改建。彰化縣先為竹城，嘉慶十六 年（1811）改建磚石城，為全台最早者。諸羅城在林爽文之役後改稱 嘉義城，城垣重建為糖水灰城，然在道光十三年（1831）改建為磚石 城，雖遲於彰化城，然在戰役中仍告失陷，而仍為糖水灰城之府城則未 曾失陷。 除此之外，嘉義城尚有全台僅有之特色。其一，城垣所圍之範圍， 一般城垣建城之材質雖有改變，然範圍因之擴大者極少，台灣府城甚至 縮小，成為『半月沉江』。嘉義城則在建土城、磚土城時，以文廟在 城外，為收文廟於城內，二度擴大城垣範圍，形成桃仔城，為全台之孤 例。其二，在城門城樓上供奉神明，為台灣各城所僅見。其三，在建城 時特別規劃水涵，即排水系統於西門城南。其四，守城兵力在朱一貴之 役後，兵力不增反減，守將由參將降為守備，實無法鎮壓反叛，嘉義城 多變亂，實與此有關。 唯城垣為外在有形防衛設施，城內外居民之組織，則對城防之助益 甚大。府城對外貿易興盛，商人組織三郊實力強大，與官府相抗衡，官 府不敢過份囂擺，而士民可借三郊向官府討公道，無反叛之必要。故嘉 慶元年（1796）三郊成立之後，終清之世府城四周未見民變。嘉義雖 有提督王得祿坐鎮，然無郊商奧援，故城垣再堅固，仍無法避免戰亂， 以德服人，不以力服人之史實，或可為掌權者定政策時之鏡鑑。

The first walled city in Taiwan, Chia Yi city, or Truro Area, was built bywooded-railing in Kang-Xi 43-Nian (1704). After Zhu, Yi Gui uprising (1721), the governments of Truro and Feng Shan constructed their soil walls while Tainan city started building bamboo wall. Truro and Feng Shan was still captured during the Lin, Shuang Wen uprising (1787-1788) despite their firm walls. Thereafter, Tainan's city wall was replaced by limestone and syrup, and Chia Yi's was rebuilt to brick and stone in Dao Guang 13-Nian (1831). After that, however; Chia Yi was occupied by other battles. The features of Chia Yi's city wall could generally depict as: (1)The range of castle system was continuously extended and shaped it into a peach form because the authorities attempted to bring Munmyo inside, on the other hand; Tainan city was reduced to be the "Ban Yue Chen Jiang".(2)We could merely findany city enshrined the gods in gate tower except Chia Yi. (3) The drainage system was set in the Western Gate's southern area. (4)The number of troops was diminished, and the high ranking officer, Can Jiang, was degraded to Shou Bei.That’s why the army lost might to quell riots over time. In addition to fortifications, the organized system of inhabitants can also assist in city defense. Especially, ThreeJiao, the commercial societies in Tainan, relied on their enormous potentialities to be a mediator between government and residents. The officials couldn't suppress its people, and there was no reason for the populace rebelled against the state. From Chia Ching 1-Nian (1796), the year Three- Jiao instituted, there were no civil commotion happened in Tainan nearby. Although the famous Ti- Du ,General Wang, De Lu, guarded Chia Yi; without the aid of business organization, Chia Yi city was unable to escape the chaos caused by wars. If the history can offer some rulesof human movements, we should say that treating people with ideal virtue is very significant for the authorities when making policy.

木柵城；刺竹城；糖水灰城；磚石城；以德服人

Railing wall；Bamboo Wall；Syrup and Limestone Wall；Brick and Stone Wall；Offer Virtues