From about 1600 to 1800, the Qing empire of China expanded to unprecedented size. Through astute diplomacy, economic investment, and a series of ambitious military campaigns into the heart of Central Eurasia, the Manchu rulers defeated the Zunghar Mongols, and brought all of modern Xinjiang and Mongolia under their control, while gaining dominant influence in Tibet. The China we know is a product of these vast conquests.
Peter C. Perdue chronicles this little-known story of China’s expansion into the northwestern frontier. Unlike previous Chinese dynasties, the Qing achieved lasting domination over the eastern half of the Eurasian continent. Rulers used forcible repression when faced with resistance, but also aimed to win over subject peoples by peaceful means. They invested heavily in the economic and administrative development of the frontier, promoted trade networks, and adapted ceremonies to the distinct regional cultures.
Perdue thus illuminates how China came to rule Central Eurasia and how it justifies that control, what holds the Chinese nation together, and how its relations with the Islamic world and Mongolia developed. He offers valuable comparisons to other colonial empires and discusses the legacy left by China’s frontier expansion. The Beijing government today faces unrest on its frontiers from peoples who reject its autocratic rule. At the same time, China has launched an ambitious development program in its interior that in many ways echoes the old Qing policies.
China Marches West is a tour de force that will fundamentally alter the way we understand Central Eurasia.
List of Maps*
Preface
Acknowledgments
Note on Names, Dates, Weights and Measures, and Chinese Characters
Introduction
History, Time, and Memory
The Qing Conquests as a World Historical Event
I. The Formation of the Central Eurasian States
1. Environments, State Building, and National Identity
The Unboundedness of Central Eurasia
Trade, Transport, and Travel
The Frontier Zone
Isolation and Integration
2. The Ming, Muscovy, and Siberia, 1400–1600
The Ming and the Mongols
State Formation in Muscovy and Russian Expansion
Siberian and Chinese Frontiers
3. Central Eurasian Interactions and the Rise of the Manchus, 1600–1670
Building the Zunghar State
The Rise of the Manchus
Mongolian Influence on the Manchu State
Early Modern State Building Compared
II. Contending for Power
4. Manchus, Mongols, and Russians in Conflict, 1670–1690
Kangxi the Ruler
Galdan’s Intervention
Kangxi’s First Personal Expedition
The Treaty of Nerchinsk and the Excluded Middle
5. Eating Snow: The End of Galdan, 1690–1697
The Dolon Nor Assembly
The Battle of Jao Modo
The Emperor Rewrites History
The Final Campaigns and the Fate of Galdan
6. Imperial Overreach and Zunghar Survival, 1700–1731
The Rise of Tsewang Rabdan
Three Central Eurasian Travelers
The Penetration of Turkestan and Tibet
The New Emperor Changes Tack
7. The Final Blows, 1734–1771
Transforming the Barbarians through Trade
The Death Knell of the Zunghar State
The Conquest of Turkestan
The Return of the Torghuts
III. The Economic Basis of Empire
8. Cannons on Camelback: Ecological Structures and Economic Conjunctures
Galdan the State Builder
Nian Gengyao and the Incorporation of Qinghai
Administering the Frontier
9. Land Settlement and Military Colonies
Deportation from Turfan
Settlement of Xinjiang
Colonization and Land Clearance
Economic Development
10. Harvests and Relief
Harvests and Yields
Granary Reserves
The Contribution Scandal
The Relief Campaign of 1756
11. Currency and Commerce
Money on the Frontier, from Song through Ming
Integration and Stabilization
Commerce as a Weapon of War
Tribute and Frontier Trade
IV. Fixing Frontiers
12. Moving through the Land
Travel and Authority
Marking Space in Stone
Maps and Power
Expanding the Imperial Gaze
13. Marking Time: Writing Imperial History
Kangxi’s Campaign History
Yongzheng and the Dayi Juemilu
Qianlong’s Account of the Zunghar Mongols
A View from the Frontier
Nomadic Chronicles
V. Legacies and Implications
14. Writing the National History of Conquest
Statecraft Writers and Empire
Geopolitics and Emperor Worship
Chinese Historians and the Multicultural State
Soviet and Mongolian Attacks on Qing Aggression
Empires, Nations, and Peoples
15. State Building in Europe and Asia
The Political Ecology of Frontier Conquest
European, Chinese, and Inner Asian Models
Theories of Nomadic Empires
Rethinking the Qing in the World
16. Frontier Expansion in the Rise and Fall of the Qing
The End of the Qing State
Northwest and Southern Frontiers
The Negotiated State
Commercialization and Regionalization
Appendixes
A. Rulers and Reigns
B. The Yongzheng Emperor Reels from the News of the Disaster, 1731
C. Haggling at the Border
D. Gansu Harvests and Yields
E. Climate and Harvests in the Northwest
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Illustration Credits
Index
* Maps
1. The Qing empire, ca. 1800
2. The Zunghar empire
3. Ecological zones of Eurasia
4. Tribal peoples and Russian settlements in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries
5. The Sino–Russian frontier
6. The Kangxi emperor’s Zunghar campaigns, 1690–1697
7. The Qianlong emperor’s western campaigns, 1755–1760
8a. Grain price integration in Gansu, 1739–1864
8b. Grain price integration in Gansu with famine years omitted, 1739–1864
9. Grain price integration in Xinjiang, 1777–1860
《白色记事簿2:病床前的战争》内容简介:“医院奇闻录”纪实系列,“魔宙”旗下非虚构品牌“天才捕手计划”重磅作品,引发无数粉丝
原来如此:1840-1949中国底本(插图珍藏版) 本书特色 通过历史事件片断和一些具有代表意义的话,来折射一段历史或一个人物,本书以短语的形式集韵味思想于一体...
史海钩沉话平生 大家掌故.第三辑(精装) 本书特色 1 大师风范 真实回忆 隐秘往事2. 明报月刊五十年精华选集金 庸大师一手创办 二十余位海纳外学者心血之作 ...
《宋词殿军张炎研究》内容简介:本书从家世家学与词集词论、生平事迹考述及发覆、“文化遗民”身份与《山中白云词》思想倾向、《词
典章制度卷-辽宋西夏金代通史-贰 内容简介 《辽宋西夏金代通史》是根据享誉海内外的宋史专家邓广铭先生和漆侠先生的提议,由漆侠先生与河北大学宋史研究中心组...
《读史的智慧》主要内容包括:谈古论今第一人——司马迁和他的《史记》,漫谈读书,二十世纪中国的元史研究,二十世纪中国的元史
动荡的青春-红色大院的女儿们 内容简介 这是一部两人口述的成长史。口述者带着重新审视历史、反思既往的目光,向读者展现了形形色色革命下的社会图景和青年人的激情与迷...
中国八大诗人 本书特色 《中国八大诗人》通过对中国古代八位伟大诗人的介绍,梳理出了古代诗歌的发展脉络和艺术走向,可称是一部简明的中国古代诗史。胡怀琛先生从个人的...
《宪法与澳门基本法》内容简介:本书从宪法的基本理论、宪法规范的国家治理体系、公民的基本权利、国家机构、澳门基本法原理、中央
砖塔胡同 本书特色 砖塔胡同位于:北京市西城区的中心地带,以其东口的“万松老人塔”而得名。万松老人是金末元初著名的高僧,在他圆寂后,为他修筑了这座塔,至今尚存。...
中国的历史 第一卷:从神话到历史中华的摇篮 本书特色 “日本中国历史题材**人”柏杨和司马辽太郎高度推崇的历史作家陈舜臣 代表作中国史研究的集大成之作日本学界盛...
明治维新-改变日本的五十年-(上下册) 本书特色 近代史上*命人瞩目的【变革】中?卧榻之侧·*令人震惊的崛起《日本战国史》姐妹篇2011年全新推出中国人不能不看...
匡谬正俗平议 内容简介 《匡谬正俗》是一本刊正误解字义和误读字音的书。唐代颜师古撰。颜师古博学多识,精于文字、音韵、训诂之学。书中收有 182条,指陈前人对书传...
《国防论》内容简介:本书蒋百里的主要论点是:第一,用空间换时间,“胜也罢,负也罢,就是不要和它讲和”;第二,不畏鲸吞,只怕
咸丰同治年间广东土客大械斗是一件被人们遗忘的重大历史事件。本书利用大量档案、官书和方志等资料,对这场斗祸作了详细的记述和
《轴心时代》内容简介:“轴心时代”是人类历史上光耀千古的时代,是人类伟大思想传统的发端,也是人类精神给养取之不尽、用之不竭
《深度实践OpenStack》内容简介:本书是根据北京海云捷迅科技有限公司内部培训教程重新整理编辑而成,内容包括Python语言基础及开发
李零自选集 本书特色 《李零自选集》讲述了:90年代以来,这批学人更以一种成熟的心态,对新世纪的学术前景作了从容的思考。由此我们也就有理由期望他们在步入下一个世...
法国敦煌学精粹 全三册 兰州大学敦煌研究所法国汉学研究丛书(2011/4) 本书特色 ★ 所属丛书曾获第四届中华优秀出版物图书提名奖★ 教育部人文社会科学重点研...
宫变-中国古代历史上最具影响力的宫廷政变 本书特色 《宫变》是一本讲述中国古代宫廷政变的历史通俗读物。中国古代的宫廷政变数以百计。从大禹的儿子启违背父亲传位贤人...