本文試圖藉由通事吳鳳的個案，說明清廷對於臺灣熟、化番通事制度的演變過程，也提供審視在帝國邊緣之外游移的人群如何建立秩序的實證研究。18世紀初清廷在沿山地區實行的番界政策，表面上投射出清帝國體認漢人越界私墾引發衝突的焦慮，實際上在考量界外化番貿易需求下，番界從未成為杜絕人民穿越帝國邊緣的阻礙，反將越界者帶向利用國家制度合法建立界外秩序的道路，即對「化番通事制度」的利用，這也是雍乾以來通事權力擴張的真正原因。在番界外的族群互動呈現不穩定、複雜的現象。越界漢人與阿里山番人兩者企圖在糾紛衝突與妥協納租中建構相對穩定的互動關係。當兩者失衡時，獵首成為番人對漢人侵擾的報復；而山區漢人則利用防番信仰的建立，與番人展開界外生存空間的競逐。是故，吳鳳信仰的形成與擴張，代表著19世紀以來漢番界外勢力消長的過程。19世紀嘉義沿山邊區村落形成過程，展現了漢移墾者以通事制度下「阿里山番租」繳納、吳鳳防番信仰建立等多重機制，與阿里山社（鄒族）進行互動，從而形成界外邊區地方秩序的過程。

This article, a case study of the Han Interpreter (tongshi) Wu Feng, illustrates the evolution of the interpreter system implemented by the Qing court among the shufan (literally ＂cooked/cultivated＂ savages, plains aborigines) and huafan (naturalized aborigines) in Taiwan. The article is also an empirical study of how migrant ethnic groups established social order on the Qing imperial periphery. In the early eighteenth century, the Qing court implemented an aboriginal frontier policy in upland areas of Taiwan. In theory, the policy was an expression of court concern about conflicts between aborigines and Han settlers who occupied and began to cultivate aboriginal lands. In practice, the demarcation of the aboriginal boundary failed to serve its purpose of deterring trespassers. Opportunities for trade with the aborigines beyond the frontier meant that the border never became an effective barrier. Those who crossed the boundary even took advantage of the imperial interpreter system to establish a legal social order outside the Qing boundary. This contributed to the increasing power of Han interpreters along the aboriginal frontier. Interaction among the ethnic groups in the aboriginal frontier was unstable and complex. The relationship between the Han trespassers and Alishan aborigines fluctuated between compromise and confrontation, between peaceful landlord-tenant coexistence and violent clashes. In the face of competition for living space, the Han in the mountain areas tried to foster greater unity against the aborigines by promoting the cult of Interpreter Wu Feng. Hence, the emergence and spread of the Wu Feng cult was a reflection of the power struggle between the Han and the aborigines in the nineteenth century. Examining the process of village formation process in the upland region of Chiayi reveals how multiple mechanisms played a role in the establishment of social order in the frontier region. Among these mechanisms was the landlord-tenant relationship between the Alishan aborigines and the Han, facilitated by the Interpreter system as well as the anti-aboriginal legends about Wu Feng.