Abstract: Since the establishment of the jurisdiction of Lin'an Kaiguang Dao, an administrative body equivalent to today's prefectural level government in the late Qing Dynasty,Mengzi has been the site of the jurisdiction institutions. In the Republican period, the administrative body was changed into Mengzi Dao. Its main role was to fortify and defend the border area. The magistrates performed their duties according to the laws. They also assumed the administrative tasks concerning the YunnanVietnam border and foreign affairs. However, as the magistrates of Mengzi Dao(Lin'an Kaiguang Dao) were designated by the central government in the early years of the Republic of China,and then by the provincial government,they were inevitably involved in the game between central and provincial governments, and in game between local powers. Due to the constant bandit problem and military despotism, the magistrates of Mengzi Dao failed to make remarkable political achievements. And the history of Mengzi Dao administration still remains unknown today. Based on previous documents,this article tries to probe into the history of Mengzi Dao administration and find out how many administrators were in office and who,and what political achievements they made.

Key words: the Republic of China, Mengzi, Mengzi Dao magistrate, modern history of Southwest China, local culture and history