明末史料中「塘報」一詞頻現，惟因其在當時是家喻戶曉之物，故時人也未多加說明。馴致今日學者對其揣測擬想，莫衷一是；乃至望文生意，曲解附會，脫離史實越來越遠。本文首先澄清塘報的字義和由來，直溯至明初東南海防傳報體系；再追索其發展，循序深究此模式引介至北方和西南邊防之演變進程。其次本文並分析了塘報文本中的體例和內容，再探究其實際運作細節，指出以當時傳報速度，中央政府實無法據此有效指揮前線戰鬥。相對的，朝廷是就塘報所提供之戰情訊息，擬定戰略、政略等高層決策。最後本文言明塘報的史料價值，昔日全盤肯定或否定該史料的態度，均失之過激。其實應區分塘報中哪些部分可信、哪些無事實根據，如此才能去蕪存菁，用其所長。結論中筆者點出塘報、邸報兩系統相結合，構成明帝國的資訊傳遞網路，攸關政軍運作的效率，同時也為後世留下珍貴的史料。

Military Reports（T’ang-pao, 塘報）were quite common to people in Ming times, so that they used this term without explanation in the historical materials left down to the present time. Modern historians, confused by the term, tried hard to explore the true meaning of it, even extorting or making up the origins for Miltary Reports, when failed to find out the right answer. This article, hence, first traces the development of the Military Reports system back to the military barriers along the seashore of the empire in early Ming times. Secondly, this article analyzes the structure and contains of Military Reports and concludes that, because of their comparatively low speed of transmission, Military Reports, instead of being information relied on by the court to control battles, could serve only as data basis on which the central government formed long-term stratgies and policies. Thirdly, this article points out that, as very important historical materials, Military Reports have to be prudently treated, culling histonical facts from those forged or exaggerated. The systems of Military Reports and Residential Reports（Ti-pao, 邸報）jointly formed the nerve network of the Ming empire and, consequently preserved precious documents for modern historians to reconstruct the political and institutional aspects of the Ming Dynasty.