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Imperial Maps of Xinjiang and Their Readers in Qing China, 1660–1860

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 December 2019

Xue Zhang Open the ORCID record for Xue Zhang [Opens in a new window]
Xue Zhang*
Affiliation:
Department of East Asian Studies, Princeton University
*
*Corresponding author. Email: xuez@princeton.edu
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Abstract

This article explores information management in the Qing government, and the challenges confronted by the Qing authorities, through the prism of imperial maps of Xinjiang. To ensure that newly gathered geographical knowledge of Xinjiang was usable for the emperor and senior officials, technocrats and artisans in the Imperial Household Department collaborated with the Jesuits and border officials to produce maps that materialized it. Because of their utility in military campaigns and everyday governance, these maps were carefully maintained by the Imperial Household Department, which discreetly distributed them to a small coterie of Manchu and Mongol statesmen. Nevertheless, information leakage from the lower echelons of the bureaucracy challenged the department's monopoly and popularized knowledge of Xinjiang among the Han literati.

Keywords

imperial mapsXinjiangThe Qing DynastyImperial Household Departmentknowledge
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Chinese History 中國歷史學刊 , Volume 4 , Issue 1 , January 2020 , pp. 111 - 133
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2019

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