Contesting the Yellow Dragon : Ethnicity, Religion, and the State in the Sino-Tibetan Borderland, 1379-2009

"This book is the first long-term study of the Sino-Tibetan borderland. It traces relationships and mutual influence among Tibetans, Chinese, Hui Muslims, Qiang and others over some 600 years, focusing on the old Chinese garrison city of Songpan and the nearby religious center of Huanglong, or Yellow Dragon. Combining historical research and fieldwork, Xiaofei Kang and Donald Sutton examine the cultural politics of northern Sichuan from early Ming through Communist revolution to the age of global tourism, bringing to light creative local adaptations in culture, ethnicity and religion as successive regimes in Beijing struggle to control and transform this distant frontier"--Provided by publisher. Contents 5 Acknowledgments 7 List of Figures and Photographs 10 Abbreviations 11 Note on Ming shilu and Qing shilu 12 Note on Tibetan Terms 13 Introduction 15 Garrison City in the Ming: Indigenes and the State in Greater Songpan 30 Chapter 2 Qing Songpan: Recovery, Over-extension and Disaster 83 Chapter 3 Guns, Gold, Gown, and Poppy: Ethnic Frontier in a Failing Republic 137 Chapter 4 Sharing a Sacred Center: Conch Mountain of the East, Yellow Dragon, and Chinese and Tibetan Culture 185 Chapter 5 Songpan, the State and Social Revolution, 1950–78 237 Chapter 6 Opening Up the Borderland I: The Politics of Tourist Development and Environmental Protection 291 Chapter 7 Opening Up the Borderland II: Ethnicity for Tourists 325 Chapter 8 Contesting the Yellow Dragon in the Age of Reform: Local Initiatives and Responses 348 Chapter 9 Ethnoreligion, Ethnic Identity and Regional Consciousness at Songpan 389 Conclusion 424 Bibliography 439 Appendix: Religious Activities in the Songpan Region 471 Tibetan Glossary 482 Index 485 Winner of the 2016 Choice Outstanding Academic Title Award This book is the first long-term study of the Sino-Tibetan borderland. It traces relationships and mutual influence among Tibetans, Chinese, Hui Muslims, Qiang and others over some 600 years, focusing on the old Chinese garrison city of Songpan and the nearby religious center of Huanglong, or Yellow Dragon. Combining historical research and fieldwork, Xiaofei Kang and Donald Sutton examine the cultural politics of northern Sichuan from early Ming through Communist revolution to the age of global tourism, bringing to light creative local adaptations in culture, ethnicity and religion as successive regimes in Beijing struggle to control and transform this distant frontier. "This book is the first long-term study of the Sino-Tibetan borderland. It traces relationships and mutual influence among Tibetans, Chinese, Hui Muslims, Qiang and others over some 600 years, focusing on the old Chinese garrison city of Songpan and the nearby religious center of Huanglong, or Yellow Dragon. Combining historical research and fieldwork, Xiaofei Kang and Donald Sutton examine the cultural politics of northern Sichuan from early Ming through Communist revolution to the age of global tourism, bringing to light creative local adaptations in culture, ethnicity and religion as successive regimes in Beijing struggle to control and transform this distant frontier"--Résumé de l'éditeur