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. (20050501)

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.

David A. Bello - China Historical Review

The book has been arranged as meticulously as the military logistics the author finds so critical to Chinese imperial consolidation in Central Eurasia. It is, as Perdue is well aware from his command of a vast range of material, the most comprehensive narrative account in English, as well as many other languages. Certainly no other work in any language engages so extensively with so many issues current in both Chinese and world history.

Contents......Page 8 Preface......Page 14 Acknowledgments......Page 18 Note on Names, Dates, Weights and Measures, and Chinese Characters......Page 20 Introduction......Page 24 Part One - The Formation of the Central Eurasian States......Page 36 1 Environments, State Building, and National Identity......Page 38 2 The Ming, Muscovy, and Siberia, 1400–1600......Page 74 3 Central Eurasian Interactions and the Rise of the Manchus, 1600–1670......Page 117 Part Two - Contending for Power......Page 154 4 Manchus, Mongols, and Russians in Conflict, 1670–1690......Page 156 5 Eating Snow: The End of Galdan, 1690–1697......Page 197 6 Imperial Overreach and Zunghar Survival, 1700–1731......Page 232 7 The Final Blows, 1734–1771......Page 279 Part Three - The Economic Basis of Empire......Page 324 8 Cannons on Camelback: Ecological Structures and Economic Conjunctures......Page 326 9 Land Settlement and Military Colonies......Page 347 10 Harvests and Relief......Page 381 11 Currency and Commerce......Page 401 Part Four - Fixing Frontiers......Page 430 12 Moving through the Land......Page 432 13 Marking Time: Writing Imperial History......Page 485 Part Five - Legacies and Implications......Page 518 14 Writing the National History of Conquest......Page 520 15 State Building in Europe and Asia......Page 541 16 Frontier Expansion in the Rise and Fall of the Qing......Page 570 Appendixes......Page 590 Abbreviations......Page 614 Notes......Page 616 Bibliography......Page 694 Illustration Credits......Page 730 Index......Page 734 "Peter Perdue chronicles for the first time in English this little-known story of the Qing conquest, discussing the military strategies, diplomatic maneuvers, logistical preparations, and ideological proclamations of all the contending parties. Han Chinese, Manchus, Mongols, Uighurs, Russians, and Tibetans all played their part in this early version of the Central Asian Great Game. Perdue explains why the Qing, unlike all previous Chinese dynasties, were able to achieve enduring domination in the region, and examines how the Qing rulers ensured that their control would last. They did not shrink from forcible repression, but they also aimed to win over subject populations by peaceful means "In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries the Qing empire of China expanded to unprecedented size. With a series of ambitious military campaigns into the heart of Central Eurasia, astute diplomacy, and economic investment, the Manchu rulers of the Qing defeated their major rivals, the Zunghar Mongols, and brought all of modern Xinjiang and Mongolia under their control, while gaining dominant influence in Tibet. The Chinas we know today is a product of these vast frontier conquests." They invested heavily in economic and administrative development, promoted peasant migration and merchant trade networks, and conducted ceremonies adapted to the distinct peoples they rules. Their cultural vision stressed the valuable role of the frontier regions in the all-powerful imperial state. They rewrote the history of the conquest to make the victories look like inevitable results of Heavenly grace."--Jacket