本文以北宋資江流域一帶的歷史演變作為討論的主軸，探討僧侶在政府經略邊疆中的角色。本文以唐五代時期活躍於湘中的僧侶及「梅山蠻」為故事開端，宋熙寧年間「開梅山」為主線，政府在梅山地區設縣戌兵為終結，從而說明在宋神宗開發資江流域的過程中，僧侶有看關鍵性的主導作用。在這一過程中，王朝國家借用了僧侶及寺院來建立國家的權威與地區的社會秩序。

This paper explores the role of Buddhist monks in assisting the imperial government in opening up frontier regions in the northern Song dynasty, with special reference to the Zijiang river basin in central Hunan. There is documentary evidence of Buddhist monks and Meishan Man aboriginal groups active in the region from the Tang and Five Dynasties period. During the northern Song, when the region lay on the frontier of the empire, it was forcibly opened by the imperial government with the assistance of Buddhist monks. In this process, the imperial government made use of Buddhism to establish imperial authority and create a new social order.