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.
University of California Press
2006