Chinese Imperialism, Ethnic Cleansing, and Military History, 1850-1877

Abstract

In the past two decades historical research and theoretical refinements have provided military historians with new insights into “Chinese imperialism,” late Qing warfare, and ethnic cleansing during the 1850-1877 campaigns in Northwest China, Central Asia, Yunnan, and Guizhou. In particular, Robert Jenks’Insurgency and Social Disorder in Guizhou: The Miao Rebellion, 1854-1873, David Atwill’sThe Chinese Sultanate: Islam, Ethnicity and the Panthay Rebellion in Southwest China, 1856-1873, and Hodong Kim’sHoly War in China: The Muslim Rebellion and State in Chinese Central Asia, 1864-1877have stressed the commonality of Chinese practices with other colonial and imperial states. These authors share a common conclusion that the Qing re-conquest resulted in widespread massacres, ethnic relocations, and subsequent immigration of Han settlers into each region. This historiography examines recent works on the military aspects of the 1850-1877 conflicts in these ethnic and territorial “frontiers” and highlights opportunities for historians to take advantage of new theoretical and archival resources.