在中國國族國家建構的過程中，最重要的變遷之一是發生在中國邊疆、邊界上的鉅大變遷――過去清帝國邊疆藩屬與部落之民被轉化為國族國家內的少數民族。本文以中央研究院在1929 及1933 年進行的兩個邊疆民族考察為例，說明民族學知識、方法，與學者之田野活動，在完成此最終造成中國少數民族識別與劃分之近代變遷過程中所扮演的角色。並且，經由分析民族考察者與本地人士間的互動，本文說明這些歷史變化發生的微觀社會情境。最後本文強調微觀社會研究之意義；探索一時代變遷邊緣之微觀社會情境，我們可以體察人們的行為如何一方面受種種社會規範與結構的約制，一方面又顯現個人的選擇與創造力，這些可以幫助我們對社會及歷史變遷有更多的了解。

In the process of China’s nation-state building, one of the most important changes was the huge transformation that occurred on her frontiers, where the previous non-Han peoples living in vassal states or tribal societies in borderlands of the Qing Empire were transformed into ethnic minorities within the Chinese nation. Based on two pioneering ethnological/anthropological fieldwork studies by scholars from the Academia Sinica in 1929 and 1933, this article explains the roles of anthropological knowledge, methods and related fieldwork activities in accomplishing this transformation, which eventually led to the identification and delimitation of many national minorities. And, by analyzing the interaction between these ethnographers/scholars and the minorities they studied, this article explains the micro-social context within which these historical changes occurred. The article concludes by highlighting the significance of studying the micro-social context. Exploring the micro-social context in a time of transition, we can observe how people’s actions were, on the one hand, restricted by various social rules and “structures,” but on the other hand, revealed individual choices and creativity. These observations can help us to gain a better understanding of social and historical dynamics.

國族主義；人類學；田野調查；少數民族；微觀社會情境；邊緣與邊界研究

nationalism; anthropology; field work; national minorities; micro-social context; the study of borders and boundaries