The People’s Republic of China claims to have 22,000 kilometres of land borders and 18,000 kilometres of coast line. How did this vast country come into being? The state credo describes an ancient process of cultural expansion: border peoples gratefully accept high culture in China and become inalienable parts of the country. And yet, the “centre” had to fight against manifestations of discontent in the border regions, not only to maintain control over the regions themselves, but also to prevent a loss of power at the edges from triggering a general process of regional devolution in the Han Chinese provinces. The essays in this volume look at these issues over a long span of time, questioning whether the process of expansion was a benevolent civilizing mission.

Diana Lary's profile page

• Unknown, Longlisted for the 2007 International Convention of Asia Scholars (ICAS) Book Prize

Diana Lary is a professor of history and director of the Centre of Chinese Research at the Institute of Asian Studies, University of British Columbia. Among her many publications, she is co-editor with Stephen MacKinnon of Scars of War: The Impact of Warfare on Modern China.

By presenting new work, much of it by younger and Canadian scholars, this volume, complete with a comprehensive bibliography, offers access to a burgeoning literature on China’s borders from the Ming to the present.

International History Review XXX, 3