Qing governors and their provinces
Subtitle: the evolution of territorial administration in China, 1644-1796
By: R. Kent Guy.
Series: A China Program book
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2010
Place of publication: Seattle
Language: eng; chi
Number of pages: 445
ISBN-13: 9780295990187; 9780295990194
Subjects: Governors -- China -- History -- 17th century; Governors -- China -- History -- 18th century; Chinese provinces -- History -- 17th century; Chinese provinces -- History -- 17th century; China -- History -- Qing dynasty, 1644-1912; China -- Politics and government -- 1644-1912; China -- Territories and possessions -- Politics and government -- 17th century; China -- Territories and possessions -- Politics and government -- 18th century
Description: "During the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), the province emerged as an important element in the management of the expanding Chinese empire, with governors--those in charge of these increasingly influential administrative units--playing key roles. R. Kent Guy's comprehensive study of this shift concentrates on the governorship system during the reigns of the Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong emperors, who ruled China from 1644 to 1796. In the preceding Ming dynasty (1368-1644), the responsibilities of provincial officials were ill-defined and often shifting; Qing governors, in contrast, were influential members of a formal administrative hierarchy and enjoyed the support of the central government. Both masters of the routine processes of administration and troubleshooters for the central government, Qing governors played crucial roles in the economic and political management of a larger and more complex empire than the Chinese had ever known. These increasingly powerful officials extended the court's influence into even the most distant territories of the Qing empire. Qing Governors and Their Provinces uses the records of governors' appointments and the laws and practices that shaped them to reconstruct the development of the office of provincial governor and to examine the histories of governors' appointments in each province. Interwoven throughout are colorful details drawn from the governors' biographies."--Page 4 of cover.
Table of contents: title: pt. 1. The burdens of history : pre-Qing territorial government; title: The Qing creation of the province : 1644-1661; title: The conundrum of confidence : 1661-1723; title: The power of the unexpected : 1723-1736; title: The imperatives of continuity : 1736-1796; title: pt. 2. The legacy of military occupation : the north and the northwest; title: Negotiated orders : the Lower Yangzi Valley and the southeastern coast; title: Regions into provinces : the Middle Yangzi and Lingnan; title: Communications and provincial government in southwest China; title: Conclusion; title: Appendix; title: Chinese glossary.