開山撫番事業是晚清臺灣官員推動的自強運動之重要一環，李國祁、戴國煇與劉進慶等學者在討論開山撫番政策時，常透過其與清朝前期消極的封山禁墾政策之斷裂性，以及其與晚清臺灣北部社會經濟顯著發展的表面關聯，而逕自強調開山撫番事業的近代化意涵。然而，這些詮釋並未緊扣統治理性與社會結構轉型的問題，以致忽視該事業與之前理番政策間的內在連續性，以及其與北臺社會經濟發展間的真正關聯。本文認為所謂的近代化涉及國家統治性質以及國家與社會關係的結構轉型，而晚清臺灣開山撫番政策，並未改變清代國家的統治理性以及其對臺灣社會與人民的間接控制關係。因此嚴格說來，開山撫番事業與其說造就了十九世紀臺灣史的近代化轉型，不如說是清代前中期相關政策的進一步延續。

The policy of opening up Taiwan’s mountain areas and pacifying the aboriginal people living there formed an important part of the so-called “Self-Strengthening Movement” advanced by Taiwanese officials in the late Qing. Past scholars frequently emphasize that this apparent break with the previous, relatively hands-off policy and its superficial links to late Qing socio-economic development in northern Taiwan imply modernization. However, this interpretation overlooks intrinsic policy continuities and the true connections with socioeconomic development. Taking the view that modernization relates to the nature of governing and the structural transformation of the relationship between state and society, this paper argues that this enterprise did not change existing patterns of governing rationality and the indirect ruling relationship between state and society/subjects. Therefore, rather than ushering in Taiwan’s modernization, it was in fact a continuation of earlier policies.