近代大凉山彝族的强盛使彝族倍受学术界的关注，但长期以来民族史和民族学（人类学）两个主要研究领域，要么采用比较内部化、单一的视角进行讨论，割裂了族群之间的关系；要么对地方历史发展脉络把握不足，对我们认识大凉山彝族等族群问题均造成不同程度的影响：一方面在宏观上，由于缺乏多族群视野下的比较研究，彝族历史被刻画和建构的过于失真，使我们对彝族历史的认识产生偏差；另一方面在微观上，由于对地方历史脉络的把握不足，许多具体问题的讨论被置于宏大理论模式的解释之下，亦偏离了族群问题的本质。本文在反思上述研究的基础上，综合运用正史、文集、档案、族谱、契约、碑刻等资料，将近代大凉山西部彝族的强盛置于多族群视野和长时段的地方历史发展脉络中加以讨论，以期更具历史深度、更加全面、客观地去认识和理解大凉山的彝族。 为从多族群的视野来观察大凉山彝族，本文在结构上以不同时期的地方族群格局作为全文主要线索，并依次分为上、中、下三篇，共八章。三篇在逻辑上呈现出族群格局形成、发展、变化的脉络；八章则汇聚了边略推行、地方开发和族群变化三条影响族群发展的主线。具体来说，上篇包括第一、二两章，主要讨论元、明时期大凉山西部“多元并立”的族群格局形成和延续的问题；中篇包括第三、四、五、六章，主要分析入清后族群势力消长变化导致的“潮起潮落”的族群局面；下篇包括第七、八两章，主要讨论经过清初以来的变化，晚清时期地方“黑夷独盛、各族不振”局面最终形成的表现和原因。正是在上述过程中，大凉山西部彝族的强盛得以在近代凸显。 通过以上三篇的论述，在结语当中，笔者将在总结论文内容的基础上，进一步从宏观和微观等层面阐述本文透过多族群视野和历时性观察得出的结论，与以往研究对大凉山彝族认识的不同。

The emergence of the Yi people in modern times in western Daliangshan has received considerable scholarly attention. Researches following national-historical and ethnological perspectives have their discussions dominated by introverted, isolated views, severing thus the inter-ethnic connections. Moreover, the inefficient understanding of local-historical context has rendered a proper understanding of Yi ethnicity difficult. On the one hand, due to a lack of comparisons between multiple ethnics, the Yi history has been projected without conforming to historical reality. On the other, discussions on specific issues have been subject to grand-narrative explanation, deviating thus from the nature of ethnic issues. The thesis draws on various sources such as official histories, miscellanies, archives, genealogies, deeds and stelae inscriptions, sets the discussion of a powerful Yi in western Daliangshan in a multi-ethnic and local historical context with long durée perspective so as to achieve a study with deeper historical depth, more comprehensiveness and more objectiveness. The story line revolves around different ethnic situations in different periods.The thesis is composed of three parts and eight chapters, outlining the formation, evolvement and changes of the ethnic landscape accordingly. The eight chapters are arranged along three lines: the promotionf of state frontier strategy, regional development and ethnic transformation. To be specific, the first part (chapters 1-2) mainly concerns with the formation and continuation of the multiplicity of the ethnic situation in the Yuan and Ming periods. The second part (chapters 3-6) devotes to an analysis of the rises and falls of different ethnic groups in the Qing dynasty, while the third (chapters 7-8) is a description and explanation of the “heiyi solely prospers, others remain weak” situation in the late Qing. The Yi rose up in just the process. The conclusion begins with a summary of the thesis, it then goes on with a further expounding on macro and micro levels the findings derived from multi-ethnic and diachronic perspectives, as well as how they differ from previous studies.