祭祀圈理論是人類學區域社會研究的重要理論範式,受到學界的廣泛重視。中渡作為西南邊陲的小鎮,每年城隍巡街吸引了周邊民眾參與其中。一方面,運用歷史資料和傳說,以國家與社會為視角,說明帝國為了教化邊疆把城隍帶入中渡,而中渡由於其移民社會的特質,接納並廣泛祭祀城隍。另一方面,結合民族志,當下中渡民眾由於不同的訴求對城隍有不同的理解,在地方社會呈現出不一樣的意義圖式。在此基礎上,進而說明祭祀圈理論不僅要關注"地"對"人"的影響,也要研究"人"對"地"的作用,才會具有更強的解釋力。

The theory of ritual ring is an important theoretical paradigm and focus in the anthropological study of local societies. Zhongdu is a small town in the borderland of southwest China,and its annual ritual of Inspecting the Territory by Town God always attracts the neighboring people. From the social and national perspectives and with an analysis of historical and legendary data,this paper points out that the Imperial Court introduced Town God to this town to cultivate the borderers while the local people composed of immigrants willingly accepted and offered sacrifices to Town God. The ethnological records reveal that nowadays the Zhongdu people have different understandings of Town God due to their different demands and with different kinds of significance in the local societies. The paper concludes that the theory of ritual ring should not only pay attention to the impacts of the local society on the local people but also vice versa if this theory is expects to work well.