China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia
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.
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Contents
Introduction
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1 |
Part One The Formation of the Central Eurasian States
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13 |
Part Two Contending for Power
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131 |
Part Three The Economic Basis of Empire
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301 |
Part Four Fixing Frontiers
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407 |
Part Five Legacies and Implications
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495 |
Appendixes
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567 |
Abbreviations
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591 |
Notes
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593 |
671 | |
Illustration Credits
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707 |
711 | |
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Common terms and phrases
agrarian Amursana Asia Asian attack banner Barköl Beijing border Cambridge campaigns capital Central Eurasian Chinese Chubanshe colonies conquest cultural Dalai Lama dynasty Early Modern east economic eighteenth century empire envoys Eurasia European expansion Fanglue forces frontier Galdan Tseren Gansu garrisons grain granaries Hami harvest History horses Ibid interior Kangxi emperor Kazakhs Khalkhas Khan Khoshot Kokonor land Lobzang Manchu maps markets merchants military Millward Ming Mongolian Mongols Muscovy nomadic northwest Nurhaci Oirats Ottoman PDZGFL qian peace peasants Perdue political princes print version Qianlong Qianlong emperor Qing dynasty Qing officials Qing rulers Qing troops Qingdai QPSF QSLQL region River Russian seventeenth Shaanxi Siberia silver Stanford steppe supplies Suzhou taels territory thousand Tibet Tibetan tion Torghuts trade tribes tribute Tsar Tsewang Rabdan Tulisen Tuntian Turfan Turkestan Tüsiyetü University Press Ürümchi view this image Wang Wei Yuan western Xinjiang Yongzheng Yongzheng emperor ZPZZ Zungharia Zunghars