ENGLISH

Empire at the Margins: Culture, Ethnicity, and Frontier in Early Modern China (Studies on China)

By Helen F. Siu , Pamela Kyle Crossley , Donald S. Sutton

Book information

Publisher
University of California Press
Year
2006
ISBN
0520230159, 9780520230156
LCC
DS730 .E67 2005
Open Library ID
OL3403247M
Language
english
Format
PDF
Filesize
5 MB (4800803 bytes)
Edition
1
Pages
391\391
Orientation
yes
Scanned
yes
Time added
2011-08-31 04:54:40

Description

Focusing on the Ming (1368-1644) and (especially) the Qing (1364-1912) eras, this book analyzes crucial moments in the formation of cultural, regional, and religious identities. The contributors examine the role of the state in a variety of environments on China's "peripheries," paying attention to shifts in law, trade, social stratification, and cultural dialogue. They find that local communities were critical participants in the shaping of their own identities and consciousness as well as the character and behavior of the state. At certain times the state was institutionally definitive, but it could also be symbolic and contingent. They demonstrate how the imperial discourse is many-faceted, rather than a monolithic agent of cultural assimilation.

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