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Features 305 Tohiscredit,ratherthanmanufactureathesisforthebookthatdidnotmatchhis evidence,hechoseinsteadsimplytopresenttheinformationhehad.Mostofthe interpretationhedoesofferisfromotherscholars.Hedoesnotofferhisown interpretationbeyondtemperingthepositionsofothers,orengaginginsome limitedspeculation.Itissimilartosomeofthebooksoftranslationhehaspreviouslypublishedinwhichheexpectsthetranslatedmaterialtospeakforitself.This materialisimportant,butitdoesnotspeakforitself.Moreover,Iwouldverymuch liketoknowtheopinionsandperspectivesofsomeonewhohasstudiedthis subjectformorethanthirtyyears.Iknowhehassomethingtosay,andIjustwish hewouldbemoreassertiveinsayingit. Thereisonlyoneareainwhichhehasmadeaseriouserror,andthatisin choosingtouseWade-Gilesromanizationinthetext.Whileitiscertainlytruethat pinyinisnobetterthanWade-GilesinrepresentingtheChineselanguage,itisvery muchbesidethepoint.Theissueisnolongerastrugglefordominancebetween twoequalsystems.Pinyinisnowthestandardforinstructionandpublicationin America.GeneraltextbooksonChinesecultureallusepinyin,and,withafew exceptions,mostscholarshipispublishedusingpinyin.ByinsistingonWadeGiles,Sawyerhasmadehisbookalmostunusableinclassrooms.Scholarswillhave nodifficultywiththisquirk,andpresumablysamelayreadersfindWade-Giles morecomfortable,butundergraduateswillfinditextremely othersome. b Notwithstandingmysmallquibblesandbemoaningsomeaspectsofthis book,Ancient Chinese WarfareisafundamentaltextforstudyingearlyChinese warfareinEnglish.IthassignificantlyadvancedthefieldofearlyChinesemilitary historyandmadeitmucheasierfornonspecialiststoaccessanenormousamount ofmaterials.Iexpecttorefertoitoften. PeterLorge Peter Lorge is an assistant professor of history at Vanderbilt University, specializing in the military history of Song dynasty China. BinYang.Between Winds and Clouds: The Making of Yunnan (Second © 2012 by University of Hawai`i Press Century bce to Twentieth Century ce).NewYork:ColumbiaUniversity Press,2009.x,338pp.Hardcover$60.00,isbn978-0-231-14254-0. Gutenberg-eonlinebook,isbn978-0-231-51230-5. 306 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.3,2010 ForthoseofuswhoseworkfocusesonYunnan,thereisoftenasenseoftheliminal thatseemstobeapartoftheterritory.ItisagiventhatYunnan'shistoric,geographic,andsociallandscapeisheavilytexturedandnoteasytonavigate.And whilecontemporarystatenarrativesmakeitclearthatYunnanispartofChina, thisislessclearonceoneattemptstofindone'swayoverandthroughthathistoric, geographic,andsocialterrain.BinYang'senergeticnewbookprovidesuswith mapsthatmakesenseofYunnanfromtheseperspectives,anditshouldbereadby anyoneinterestedinthisfascinatingprovince. AbigfactorinBinYang'ssuccessinmakingsenseofYunnanishisglobal perspective.RatherthanapproachingYunnanfromaChineseperspective,hesets itwithinalargerglobalcontext.ThisisnottoexcludeChina'sroleinthehistoryof Yunnan,butrathertouncoverthelargepictureinwhichYunnanwasembedded. Yangdoesnot,however,limithisinterrogationofYunnanovertimetoaglobal approach;hesuccessfullyinvokesfrontiertheorytoqueryYunnan'spositionin Chinaandviceversa.AlsoasYangmakesclearinhisintroduction,hisbookrelies heavilyonFangGuoyu'sthirteen-volumecompilationofChinesehistorical sourcesonYunnan,theincomparableYunnan Shiliao Congkan.IfYang'sscholarshipaccomplishednothingelse,hisreductionoftheinnumerablenuggetscontainedinFang'sworkforthegeneralreaderisinvaluableforanyoneinterestedin Yunnanhistory. Yang'sfirstchapter,"TheSouthwestSilkRoad,"setstheglobalcontextforthis workbysituatinghistoricalYunnanasthenaturalcrossroadsofChina,Southeast Asia,SouthAsia,andTibet,linkedtogetherbythesouthwestSilkRoad.Few historiansofYunnanhavereallybotheredtoadoptthisperspective,butitismost productivebecauseitreleasesYunnanstudiesfromthenarrativeimposedbythe Chinesegaze.Hearguesthatbeforetherewasevenaplacecalled"Yunnan,"this frontierregionplayedaverydynamicroleinseveralstatesandsystems,because of itsintrinsicqualityoflinkingtogetherthreeoverlandtraderoutes:theYunnanBurma-Indiaroute,theYunnan-Vietnamroute,andtheYunnan-Tibetroute.Until theMongolconquestinthe1250s,Chinawasonlyoneofseveralcultureareas linkedtoYunnan,inspiteofoccasionalattemptsbyChinesestatestogovernthat frontierzone. Ashissecondchapter,"MilitaryCampaignsagainstYunnan,"makesclear,the incidentalconquestofYunnanbytheMongolsontheirwayintosouthernSong ChinamadepossiblemoreconcertedmilitarycampaignsbysuccessiveChinese statestobringthisfrontierareafirmlyundercentralChinesestatecontrol.Here too,however,theauthorisnotcontentwiththetraditionalChina-centered approachtoYunnan'shistoryand,instead,framesthevariousmilitarycampaigns runbyChineseintheareaas"transnational,cross-boundary,orcross-regional interactions"(p.73).TheeffectofthisanalysisisthatYangpaintsalivelypictureof theregion(orthestatesorgroupsthatinhabitedthisregion)asadynamicactorin theformationofvariousChinesedynastiesbecauseofitsgeopoliticallocation. Features 307 Thiscanbeseen,forexample,inthefirstsubsectionofthischapter,"Yunnanand theMakingoftheQinEmpire"(p.73). TheeffectofYang'sYunnan-centered,transnationalapproachinthischapter, however,wasanoddelisionoftheMongolconquestofYunnan,exceptforavery briefmentionbetweenlongnarrativesectionsdevotedtotheindependentstates NanzhaoandDaliandtheMingmilitaryincorporationofYunnan.Itisalmostas ifanimplicitcounternarrativeoftheChina-centeredconstructionofYunnanisthe onlyalternativetohisglobalapproach.Inotherwords,onceconditionsfavored moredirectandsustainedChinesemilitaryinvolvementintheregion,therewas noalternativetoanautonomousplacethatindependentstateslikeNanzhaoand Dalicouldinhabit.Thereafter,YunnanwasconstructedbytheChinesestate.Thus, theerawhentheregionwasruledbytheMongolswasashortliminalandinstable periodbetweenthesetwoalternatives.Aclosereadingofhisnextchapter,"Rule BasedonNativeCustoms,"Ithinkreaffirmsthisview. Theexplicitgoalofthisnextchapterischartingthegrowingpenetrationof ChinaandChinesepeopleintothisregion,especiallystartingwiththeMongol Yuandynasty.Thespecificvehicleforthatpenetrationwastheage-oldfrontier principleofChinesestatesasfarbackastheQinandHantoinstituterulebased onnativecustoms,usingnativepersonnel.Yangprovidesaninvaluablereview hereoffrontieradministrativesystemsusedinYunnan,especiallytheinstitutionalizationoflocalchieftainsasadministratorsthatfeaturedespeciallyinYuan, Ming,andQingcontroloftheregion,andofthegradualaccomplishmentofthe missiontocivilizetheareaanditsinhabitantsaccordingtoChineselights.Yet here,too,theMongolYuandynastyisgivenrathercursorytreatment,evenwhile beingacknowledgedasvitallyimportantinbringingtheregionintoChinaproper andestablishingadministrativesystemsthatsuccessivedynastiescontinued.Yang doesprovideagoodoverviewofMingdevelopmentsinYunnan,especiallywelcomesince,asheacknowledges,mostscholarshiponYunnaninthelateimperial periodfocusesonQingadministration. Yang'smainargument,andthemostinnovativecontributionofthisworkto scholarshiponYunnan,comesinthenextchapterwherehechartsthecreationof ahybridYunnanforthefirsttimeinhistory.Whileheacknowledgesinearlier chaptersreferencestothisregionas"Yunnan"inearlyChinesetexts,itwasonlyin theMingandQingerasthatthetwinforcesofsinicizationandindigenization cametogethertocreateanewidentityamongresidentsofthisregionaspeopleof Yunnan(Yunnan ren).HisargumentthatConfuciancivilizingidealsofthecore andperiphery,employedbytheChinesestate,werebalancedbytheirrepressible forceoflocalornativeculturethatimmigrantsadopted(invokingthehistorianLu Ren'sconceptofindigenization["tuzhuhua"]inconstructingthisnewplaceand identityYunnan)isquitepersuasiveandrefreshing. Yang'sglobalperspectivealsoenableshimtodevelopthecounterpoint argumentinthischapterthatfrontierzoneslikeYunnanalsowerecriticalin 308 ChinaReviewInternational:Vol.17,No.3,2010 developingaChinesenationalandethnicidentity.HerehetakesacuefromFrederickJacksonTurner,RichardWhite,andPatGierschtolayouttheideathat Yunnan,aspartofthelargerYunnan-Guizhoufrontiermacroregion,hasoccupied amiddlegroundforages.ImportantdemographicchangesthatbeganintheMing onlyservedsimultaneouslytobringthisplaceintoChinaproperandtocrystallize aspecificregionalidentityamongthenativeandnewlyarrivedinhabitants.Those identities,inturn,haveinformedthematurationofaChineseidentitydowntothe present. Oneofthemostimportantphysicalattributesofthisfrontierzonewasits largemetaldeposits,especiallyofsilverandcopper.Thenextchapter,"Silver, C owries,andCopper,"uncoverstheunexpectedroleofYunnanmetalsinlateimperialChinesehistory,alloutsideofYunnanitself.Here,Yang'sregionalfocus playsoutinhisrevelationthatcowries,notmetalorpaper,wereusedascurrency inYunnanthroughtheseventeenthcenturybecauseYunnan'sdominanteconomic orientationwasdeterminedbythesouthernSilkRoadleadingintoSoutheastAsia. Forthesamereason,cowryusedeclinedinYunnannotbecauseofChinesestate policy,butbecauseofEuropeandisruptionoftheseoldtradesystemsintheIndian Ocean.Atthesametime,Yunnan'ssilverandcopperresourceswerebeing exportedtoChinatofuelitsmonetizationinthelateimperialperiod.Asthe Chinesemonetaryeconomygrew,YunnanwasdrawninexorablyintotheChinese network.BytheendoftheMing,itwaspossibleforYunnantobeconsidereda regularprovincewhosecontributionswereassumedbythecentralgovernment. Thiseconomicreorientationwasnaturallyaccompanied,ifnotdriven,bythe wavesofHanin-migrationintheQing.Theeffectofthischapteristosubstantiate Yang'scentraltwo-prongedargumentthatChinesestatepenetrationofthisfrontierzonewenthandinhandwiththecriticalroleofthissamefrontierzoneinthe formationofChina. Inhisfinalchapter,"ClassificationintotheChineseNationalFamily,"Yang switcheshisfocusfromthefrontier,ortheperiphery,tothecenter.Hisrealfocus hereisalsothewaythemodernChinesestatehasdealtwithnon-Chinesepeoples. Hearguesthatthestate'sprojecttoidentifyminoritynationalitygroups(minzu shibie)isreallyacontinuationofthewaysthatimperialChinesestatestreatedand incorporatednon-Chinesefrontierpeoplesintothestate;bothimperialand modernstatessharethesamegoal,statepenetrationandcontrolofthefrontier zone.Thisisaverycompellingargument,inspiteofthefactthatYangnever mentionsnationalismasanideologyofthemodernChinesestate.Thischapter presentsaveryhelpful,briefoverviewofthehistoryofthemodernprojectof identifyingethnicminoritiesandsomeoftheproblemsinherentinthatproject,all
China Review International – University of Hawai'I Press
Published: Jun 15, 2010
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