Title: Slaves of the Emperor: Service, Privilege, and Status in the Qing Eight Banners
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication Date: 2023
Language: English
ISBN 10: 0231212771
ISBN 13: 9780231212779
Binding: Paperback / softback
Condition: New
Weight: 526 grams

About this title

Synopsis

Honorable Mention, 2026 Joseph Levenson Prize (China, pre-1900), Association for Asian Studies

Shortlisted, 2024 Wallace K. Ferguson Prize, Canadian Historical Association

China’s last imperial dynasty governed a vast and culturally diverse territory, encompassing a wide range of local political systems and regional elites. But the Qing empire was built and held together by a single imperial elite: the more than two million members of the hereditary Eight Banner system who were at the core of both the military and the bureaucracy. The banner population was multiethnic, linked by shared membership in a clearly demarcated status group defined in law and administrative practice. Banner people were bound to the court by an exchange of loyal service for institutionalized privilege, a relationship symbolically conceptualized as one of slave to master.

Slaves of the Emperor explores the Qing approach to one of the fundamental challenges of early modern state-building: how to develop an effective bureaucracy with increasing administrative capacity to govern a growing polity while retaining the loyalty of the ruling family’s most important supporters. David C. Porter traces how the banner system created a service elite through its processes of incorporating new members, its employment of bannermen as technical specialists, its imposition of service obligations on women as well as men, and its response to fiscal and ideological challenges. Placing Qing practices in comparative perspective, he uncovers crucial parallels to similar institutions in Tokugawa Japan, imperial Russia, and the Ottoman Empire. Slaves of the Emperor provides a new framework for understanding the structure and function of elites both in China and across Eurasia in the early modern period.

About the Author

David C. Porter is faculty lecturer in history and East Asian studies at McGill University.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

Store Description

The Saint Bookstore has a range of over 1 million titles available.

Visit Seller's Storefront

Seller's business information

SB ONLINE LTD
50 Devonshire Road, Southport, PR9 7BZ, United Kingdom

Sale & Shipping Terms

Terms of Sale

Please order through the Abebooks checkout. We only take orders through Abebooks - We don't take direct orders by email or phone.

Refunds or Returns: A full refund of the purchase price will be given if returned within 30 days in undamaged condition.

As a seller on abebooks we adhere to the terms explained at http://www.abebooks.co.uk/docs/HelpCentral/buyerIndex.shtml - if you require further assistance please email us at orders@thesaintbookstore.co.uk

Shipping Terms

Most orders usually ship within 1-3 business days, but some can take up to 7 days.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.

Shipping rates from United Kingdom to U.S.A.
Order quantity	7 to 28 business days	7 to 28 business days
First item	US$ 21.61	US$ 24.31

Delivery times are set by sellers and vary by carrier and location. Orders passing through Customs may face delays and buyers are responsible for any associated duties or fees. Sellers may contact you regarding additional charges to cover any increased costs to ship your items.