Title: The Board of Rites and the making of Qing China /
Authors: Keliher, Macabe
Year: 2019
Subjects: China.; China.; Rites and ceremonies China; Politics and government; Qing Dynasty (China); Rites and ceremonies; China History; China Politics and government; Manchuria (China) History; China; China Manchuria
Abstract: "In 1631, Manchu state-makers set up an administrative apparatus that included a ministry for implementing and legislating rites and rituals, the Board of Li, or the Board of Rites. Over the next sixty years the Board of Li helped develop the rules and regulations of the Manchu state, which were codified in an administrative code in 1690. This book looks at the role of li (ritual) and the Board of Li in early Manchu state-making efforts. More than simply rituals and ceremonies, as often assumed, li was intimately tied to the formation of politics and administration. Macabe Keliher argues that culture and society are mutually formed, each constructed simultaneously by actors in order to organize themselves politically and to orient themselves ontologically, resulting in the emergence of different administrative and institutional forms, not only in Chinese history but also across the Eurasian continent. This new major approach to the formation of the Qing empire moves beyond traditional understandings of war and bureaucracy and state-making to reshape our understanding of this period of Chinese history"--Provided by publisher.
Contents: Introduction : Li and the Qing state -- The Manchu ascendancy and struggles for power -- The New Year's Day ceremony -- The institution of the emperor -- The administrative order and its enactment -- Imperial relatives in service of the state -- Completing the system : the case of imperial dress -- Codification : the Da Qing Huidian -- Conclusion : Li, Qing China, and early modern Eurasia -- Appendix 1 : Sons and grandsons of Nurchaci and Šurhaci mentioned in the text -- Appendix 2 : Banner lords under Nurhaci and Hong Taiji -- Appendix 3 : A note on sources.