| This study, based on archival and published government documents, biographies, and contemporary accounts, examines social, legal, economic, political, geographic and literary aspects of the Qing system of Xinjiang banishment from its inception in 1758 through 1820. The study traces the actual practice of a major institution of the traditional legal system, exploring the role of exile in society and the way in which this reflected the impressive Qing capacity for flexibility at the height of the dynasty's strength. The author demonstrates that a major purpose of the system was the colonization of China's newly conquered Central Asian frontiers.; Major topics discussed in this study include the varied crimes and social origins of Xinjiang exiles; legal and illegal methods of avoiding exile or reducing the term; the logistics of the several months' journey into exile; and the exile experiences of both banished officials and ordinary convicts--their work, their recreation, and their prospects. Qing scholars' perceptions of exile in the context of the long Chinese exile tradition, and their influence on later political thought, also are examined. The author concludes that the Chinese government in the eighteenth century readily adapted traditional institutions to achieve social and political goals. |
