Making of the Modern Chinese State

<p><em>The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950</em> offers an historical analysis of the formation of the modern Chinese state from the seventeenth century to the mid-twentieth centuries, providing refreshing and provocative interpretations on almost every major issue regarding the rise of modern China. </p><p>This book explores the question of why today’s China is unlike any other nation-state in size and structure. It inquires into the reasons behind the striking continuity in China's territorial and ethnic compositions over the past centuries, and explicates the genesis and tenacity of the Chinese state as a highly centralized and unified regime that has been able to survive into the twenty-first century. Its analysis centres on three key variables, namely geopolitical strategy, fiscal constitution, and identity building, and it demonstrates how they worked together to shape the outcome of state transformation in modern China. </p><p>Enhanced by a selection of informative tables and illustrations, <i>The Making of the Modern Chinese State: 1600–1950</i> is ideal for undergraduates and graduates studying East Asian history, Chinese history, empires in Asia, and state formation.</p> <p>1 Introduction </p><p>PART I</p><p>The formation of the Qing state</p><p>2 The rise of an early modern territorial state: China in the</p><p>early to mid-Qing period</p><p>3 Limits to territorial expansion: fiscal constitution and</p><p>war-making under the Qing</p><p>PART II</p><p>The transition to a sovereign state</p><p>4 Regionalized centralism: the resilience and fragility of the</p><p>late Qing state</p><p>5 Between the frontier and the coast: geopolitical strategy</p><p>reoriented</p><p>6 A nation-state in the making: Manchu–Han relations under</p><p>the New Policies</p><p>PART III</p><p>The making of a unified and centralized state</p><p>7 Centralized regionalism: the rise of regional fiscal-military</p><p>states</p><p>8 In search of national unity: frontier rebuilding under the</p><p>Republic</p><p>9 The fate of semi-centralism: the nationalist state succeeded</p><p>and failed</p><p>10 Total centralism at work: the confluence of breakthroughs</p><p>in state-making</p><p>11 Conclusion</p><p>List of characters</p><p>References</p><p>Index</p>