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
《别让孩子独自玩耍》内容简介:社交心理是孩子心理健康的一个重要标志,在童年饱受孤独折磨的孩子,他们的内心世界无人能够走近。
故纸眉批-一个传媒人的读史心得 本书特色 《故纸眉批:一个传媒人的读史心得》为作者近四五年来的文史随笔结集。作者以新闻人的眼光关照历史,从寻常的历史事件中发现独...
三国志索引 内容简介 一、本书以中华书局一九八二年标点本《三国志》为底本编纂而成。索引的字形、标点与中华书局一九六五年版《三国志》相同,可以对中华书局一九五九年...
人类的故事 本书特色 本书以平铺直叙的手法、幽默风趣的语言、俏皮睿智的文笔、独具匠心的构思,从人类登上历史舞台、史前人类、象形文字、尼罗河流域、古希腊域邦、罗马...
《我与冯至》内容简介:本书是冯至的夫人姚可崑在八十五岁时所写的一部回忆录,记录了她与冯至先生共同度过的一生,平实却充满温情
InlateimperialChina,operatransmittedideasacrossthesocialhierarchyabouttheself,fa...
二十四史三表(共五册) 本书特色 ★ 16开精装,北京图书馆出版社(国家图书馆前身)2005年5月1版1印★ 全书收入《历代统纪表》《历代疆域表》《历代沿革表》...
《野人山转战记:一位远征军幸存老兵的战地日记》讲述了中国远征军第五军二十二师入缅甸同日军作战的一段历史。远征军大撤退时,因
大正-百花盛放的新思维 奇女子 本书特色 茂吕美耶,《阴阳师》作者梦枕貘尤为信赖的中文代言人,用汉语写作的日本文化达人!◆关东大地震促成大众食堂普及,咖喱饭、猪...
大明王朝-建文悲歌 本书特色 明朝建文年间的“靖难之役”是古今中外少有的历史事件、它是一个藩王谋篡而且反叛成功的事件,它是尾大不掉的强...
读史质疑:戳破历史的华美外壳 内容简介 乌鸦喝水之后有一只乌鸦,渴得难受,便到处找水喝。这时,它看到一个瓶子里装了一些水,可是怎么也够不到。于是便开动脑筋,把旁...
文明的滥觞:从人类起源到最初的伟大帝国:全彩图文本 本书特色 1——这套《图说世界》所呈现出的内容非常系统,并且富有吸引力,是学校和公共图书馆不可或缺的收藏本。...
《解密·肌筋膜疼痛》内容简介:肌肉筋膜疼痛是怎么回事?如何治疗?本书从“未病先防,既病防变”的理念出发,分别从认识篇、诊断
《王选传》内容简介:方正人生,他完成了印刷史上从“铅与火”成为“光与电”的技术革命,推动了中华民族的文明进程。他用一个科学
全隋文补遗 内容简介 隋王朝是中国历史上极具典型意义的封建帝国。它结束了西晋末年以来近三百年的分裂混乱局面,革除积弊,颇多创新,社会安定,经济发展,史称 开皇十...
北京文化史举要 内容简介 本书是著名历史学者、北京史专家阎崇年先生撰写的一本简要介绍北京文化发展的小书。全书以时间为线索,以历史事件、历史人物为要素,像读者介绍...
《中国非物质文化遗产数字传播研究报告(2018-2022年)》内容简介:本书是中国非物质文化遗产数字传播的研究报告,该报告通过对中国
《职业素养入门与提升》内容简介:本书是一本介绍大学生必备职业素养的书籍,基于我国多所高校的具体做法和和经验总结,较系统地构
当今中国正在继续发轫于近代的借鉴西方走向富强之路的现代化进程,而中华民族悲壮的近代磨难的主要原因便在于对西方文化的跨文化
《妇产科男医生告诉你》内容简介:孕妇可不可以滚床单?宫外孕是老公没瞄准吗?保大人还是保孩子?剖宫产什么时候该做?老婆在产房