“A Sketch Map of the Distribution and Classification of Ethnic Groups in Southwest China”， drawn by Liang Zhaotao梁钊韬 in the 1940s， was the first map of Southwest China’s ethnic groups produced by a Chinese scholar. This map transcended the boundaries of geographical features and administrative divisions， reflecting the understanding and conceptualization within Chinese academic circles during the first half of the 20th century regarding the geographical space of Southwest China and the classification of its ethnic groups. It also embodied the academic orientations of ethnic studies at Sun Yat-sen University and West China Union University. Simultaneously， the map reveals the responses and concerns of Chinese intellectuals toward practical issues amid the crisis on the southwestern frontier. The perspective on ethnic classification presented in the map reveals the developmental trajectory of ethnology and anthropology in China’s studies of Southwest China， illustrating a gradual shift from the introduction and adaptation of foreign academic frameworks toward the formation of localized approaches.