After the Ming Dynasty pacified Yunnan, during the period from Hongwu to Zheng Tong (1368- 1449), various measures and even war measures were taken to smash the border crisis caused by the separatist forces Lu Chuan, and the territory of the southwest frontier was greatly expanded. In its heyday, the territory of the Ming Dynasty covered almost the whole territory of Myanmar today, and the traditional border administrative system could no longer meet the needs of border control at this time. In order to adapt to the social development of the southwest frontier under the new situation, the Ming Dynasty gradually established a set of administrative system of hierarchical management of "inner border area" and "outer border area" in the southwest frontier, which profoundly affected the development and territory formation of the southwest frontier.
Division of "Inside" and "Outside" in Southwest Frontier Administrative Region in Ming Dynasty
The National Annals and Yunnan Annals compiled in Ming Dynasty completely recorded the social situation in Yunnan from Hongwu to the Apocalypse. Whether it is Global Annals, Ming Unification Annals, Jingtai Yunnan Pictorial Annals, Zhengde Yunnan Annals, Wanli Yunnan Annals and Apocalypse Yunnan Annals, they all reflect the administrative system of Yunnan in Ming Dynasty and the southwest of Ming Dynasty.
The earliest surviving chronicle of the Ming Dynasty in Yunnan, Jingtai Yunnan Atlas, records the administrative establishment of the Chief Secretary of Yunnan: "Zhili Prefecture, Fujian Province and Fansi are twenty-nine, and foreign states, Fujian Province and Fansi are seventeen." (1) It is worth noting that why is the Chief Secretary of Yunnan under the jurisdiction of "Zhili Prefecture, Prefecture and Division" and "Foreign Prefecture, Prefecture and Division" respectively? What is an "alien"? According to this book, in the sixth year of Jingtai (1455), the administrative districts in Yunnan were set up as follows: ① Chief secretaries of Zhili, Prefecture and Division in Yunnan; ② Yunnan, Chengjiang, Qujing, Xundian, Wuding, Lin 'an, Guangxi, Guangnan, Yuanjiang, Zhenyuan and Malong Talangdian. Foreign yamen offices, prefectures and departments in Yunnan: ③ Mubang Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Myanmar Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Mengyang Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Cheli Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Badian Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Laos Military and Civilian Propaganda Department, Mengding Government, Meng Gen Government, Ganya Propaganda Department, Nandian Propaganda Department, Longchuan Propaganda Department, Zhenkang Prefecture and Wandian Prefecture. ④