White Lotus rebels and South China pirates : crisis and reform in the Qing empire / Wensheng Wang.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wang, Wensheng, 1976-

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Piracy--South China Sea--History--19th century.

Piracy.

China--Politics and government--19th century.

China.

China--History--Jiaqing, 1796-1820.

China--History--White Lotus Rebellion, 1796-1804.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (352 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Massachusetts ; London, England : Harvard University Press, 2014.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

The reign of Emperor Jiaqing (1796-1820 CE) has occupied an awkward position in studies of China's last dynasty, the Qing. Conveniently marking a watershed between the prosperous eighteenth century and the tragic post-Opium War era, this quarter century has nevertheless been glossed over as an unremarkable interlude separating two well-studied epochs of transformation. White Lotus Rebels and South China Pirates presents a major reassessment of this period by examining how the emperors, bureaucrats, and foreigners responded to the two crises that shaped the transition from the Qianlong to the Jiaqing reign. Wensheng Wang argues that the dramatic combination of internal uprising and transnational piracy, rather than being a hallmark of inexorable dynastic decline, propelled the Manchu court to reorganize itself through modifications in policymaking and bureaucratic structure. The resulting Jiaqing reforms initiated a process of state retreat that pulled the Qing Empire out of a cycle of aggressive overextension and resistance, and back onto a more sustainable track of development. Although this pragmatic striving for political sustainability was unable to save the dynasty from ultimate collapse, it represented a durable and constructive approach to the compounding problems facing the late Qing regime and helped sustain it for another century.

Contents:

Front matter

Contents

Introduction

I Contextualizing Crises

II A View from the Bottom

III A View from the Top

Conclusion

Abbreviations and Primary Sources

Notes

Acknowledgments

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780674727991

0674727991

9780674726611

0674726618

OCLC:

867050080