Quest for Power: European Imperialism and the Making of Chinese Statecraft by St

Description: Quest for Power by Stephen R. Halsey Chinas late-imperial history has been framed as a long coda of decline, played out during the Qing dynasty. Reappraising this narrative, Stephen Halsey traces the origins of Chinas current great-power status to this so-called decadent era, when threats of war with European and Japanese empirestriggered innovative state-building and statecraft. FORMAT Hardcover LANGUAGE English CONDITION Brand New Publisher Description Chinas history in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries has often been framed as a long coda of imperial decline, played out during its last dynasty, the Qing. Quest for Power presents a sweeping reappraisal of this narrative. Stephen Halsey traces the origins of Chinas great-power status in the twentieth century to this era of supposed decadence and decay. Threats from European and Japanese imperialism and the growing prospect of war triggered Chinas most innovative state-building efforts since the Qing dynastys founding in the mid-1600s.Through a combination of imitation and experimentation, a new form of political organization took root in China between 1850 and 1949 that shared features with modern European governments. Like them, China created a military-fiscal state to ensure security in a hostile international arena. The Qing Empire extended its administrative reach by expanding the bureaucracy and creating a modern police force. It poured funds into the military, commissioning ironclad warships, reorganizing the army, and promoting the development of an armaments industry. State-built telegraph and steamship networks transformed Chinas communication and transportation infrastructure. Increasingly, Qing officials described their reformist policies through a new vocabulary of sovereignty-a Western concept that has been a cornerstone of Chinese statecraft ever since. As Halsey shows, the success of the Chinese military-fiscal state after 1850 enabled China to avoid wholesale colonization at the hands of Europe and Japan and laid the foundation for its emergence as a global power in the twentieth century. Author Biography Stephen R. Halsey is Associate Professor of History at the University of Miami. Review This is an outstanding new study of Imperial Chinas relationship with the Western powers in the middle of the nineteenth century. Halsey offers surprisingly fresh data, many from the local archives, and shows that the conventional story of Chinas meek response to the West is extremely one-sided. The book convincingly demonstrates that the Chinese authorities, at the center as well as at the local level, had a rather sophisticated understanding of the international situation and took the initiative to undertake administrative and political reforms to cope with the situation. -- Akira Iriye, editor of Global InterdependenceA bold argument about modern Chinese statecraft that finds nineteenth-century China successful in forging a military–fiscal state worthy of comparison with familiar European examples of modern national state formation. In contrast to recent American scholarship seeking to put China into the broader African and Asian world of European colonialism, the author argues the political significance of China not becoming a formal colony, and offers a fresh account and challenging interpretation about the origins of the modern Chinese state. -- R. Bin Wong, co-author of Before and Beyond Divergence Review Quote This is an outstanding new study of Imperial Chinae(tm)s relationship with the Western powers in the middle of the nineteenth century. Halsey offers surprisingly fresh data, many from the local archives, and shows that the conventional story of Chinae(tm)s meek e~responsee(tm) to the West is extremely one-sided. The book convincingly demonstrates that the Chinese authorities, at the center as well as at the local level, had a rather sophisticated understanding of the international situation and took the initiative to undertake administrative and political reforms to cope with the situation. Details ISBN0674425650 Author Stephen R. Halsey Short Title QUEST FOR POWER Publisher Harvard University Press Language English ISBN-10 0674425650 ISBN-13 9780674425651 Media Book Format Hardcover Pages 360 Year 2015 DEWEY 951.03 Imprint Harvard University Press Subtitle European Imperialism and the Making of Chinese Statecraft Place of Publication Cambridge, Mass Country of Publication United States Publication Date 2015-10-12 UK Release Date 2015-10-12 AU Release Date 2015-10-12 NZ Release Date 2015-10-12 US Release Date 2015-10-12 Illustrations 1 map, 6 graphs, 10 tables Audience Professional & Vocational We've got this At The Nile, if you're looking for it, we've got it. With fast shipping, low prices, friendly service and well over a million items - you're bound to find what you want, at a price you'll love! TheNile_Item_ID:96062315;

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