Description
Book SynopsisTrade Review"[Keliher] has produced an extremely valuable and well-balanced work that will stand the test of time." * China Review International *
"The book exists in an intersecting zone of institutional, political, and legal histories of Imperial China while dealing with various primary sources in Manchu and classical Chinese. As he concludes his book while locating the specific Qing institutional history in world history, it will also provide a useful backdrop not only for historians of Imperial China but also for researchers conducting comparative studies of the political system of East Asia." * Journal of East Asian Studies *
“For historians of the Qing dynasty . . . this is one of those wonderful books that says something that the moment you read it you know is completely obvious but somehow no one has seen before.”
* English Historical Review *
"By taking seriously his protagonists’ preoccupation with li/doro/ritual as recorded in the historical sources, Macabe Keliher has produced an enriching and important work of scholarship that may be appreciated on a number of levels. . . . Specialists in Qing and Chinese history as well as those interested in ritual and the comparative history of dynastic states and imperial formations should find it especially appealing and worthy of a place on their reading lists and bookshelves." * Journal of Chinese History *
Table of ContentsList of Illustrations
Preface
PART ONE. CONTEXT
1. Introduction: Li and the Qing State
2. The Manchu Ascendancy and Struggles for Power
PART TWO. FORMATION, 1631–1651
3. The New Year’s Day Ceremony
4. The Institution of the Emperor
5. The Administrative Order and Its Enactment
PART THREE. INSTITUTIONALIZATION, 1651–1690
6. Imperial Relatives in Service of the State
7. Completing the System: The Case of Imperial Dress
8. Codification: The Da Qing Huidian
Conclusion: Li, Qing China, and Early Modern Eurasia
Appendix One: Sons and Grandsons of Nurhaci and Šurhaci
Mentioned in the Text
Appendix Two: Banner Lords under Nurhaci and Hong Taiji
Appendix Three: A Note on Sources
Abbreviations
Notes
Bibliography
Index
