The Qing Dynasty and Its Neighbors
Victor Lieberman
Peter C. Perdue's China Marches West argues that the Qing dynasty's ability to break through historical territorial barriers on China's northwestern frontier reflected greater Manchu familiarity with steppe culture than their Chinese predecessors had exhibited, reinforced by superior commercial, technical, and symbolic resources benefits of a Russian alliance. imperial expansion illustrated patterns consolidation apparent as well in Russia's forward movement Inner Asia and, ironically, heroic, if ultimately futile, projects western Mongols who fell victim Qing. After summarizing thesis, this essay extends his comparisons geographically chronologically argue between 1600 1800 states ranging from Europe Japan Southeast exhibited similar political cultural integration synchronized integrative cycles across Eurasia extended ninth nineteenth centuries. Yet its growing vulnerability Asian domination, proper—along other sectors “exposed zone” Eurasia—exemplified species state formation was reasonably distinct trajectories were protected against conquest.
Social Science History