West Hunan entered the central government’s consideration only during Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). The first formal government set up here was the Guardianship (shoubei ) established in 1513. Afterwards, as the geographic and strategic importance of this place increased, accompanied by the more frequent riots and conflicts between different ethnic groups, the level of administrative institution became ever higher accordingly. The Tusi institution was abolished in 1707, and the government of Fenghuang Ting, which belonged to the hierarchy of centralised administration, was established two years later. In the early 18th century Qing rulers used two different policies and strategies to construct imperial rule in West Hunan, applying to different communities recognized with separate identities. To the communities which were under the control of Tusi (Cooked Hmong), the state political and juridical institutions of Qing were applied and replaced the native chieftainship. To the communities living outside the control of Tusi, who were mainly Hmong communities beyond the South Great Wall (Raw Hmong), certain specific census registers, conventional regulations, land policies and tax policies were applied alongside the state institutions [130] . These specific policies implied that the Qing Empire recognized the region as the frontier rather than part of the nation.

At this stage, the Hmong representatives and lower officials played an important role in forming the perception of the culture of these communities as accepted by central government, and in mediating the relationship between Qing central government and local communities. The Qing administration of Southern Xiangxi in this period, especially the land policies, led to the tragic confrontation between Hmong people and Qing State. In forming the truce agreements and other similar official negotiations, local communities gradually formed a self-recognition of a collected identity. Thisprocess also included very complicated interactions among difference local forces, and among different communities who were collectively referred to as the Hmong. As a result, the Hmong identity was officially constructed from the nation's perspective and selfconsciously constructed by local communities in West Hunan.

These archives suggest that from the 14th to the 19th century the Hmong identity was specified and officially recorded mainly due to the military and political confrontations between the central government and the local forces in West Hunan.

УДК 94(512.22) «13/19»

ЛИЦЗИН ПЭН. PhD, Национальный университет Ирландии в Мейнуте, Мейнут, Ирландия. LIJING PENG. PhD, National University of Ireland, Maynooth.

E-mail: sunnyleafl984(a>gmail.com

НАЦИОНАЛЬНОЕ ЕДИНСТВО И ЭТНИЧНОСТЬ НА ГРАНИЦЕ: ИЗУЧЕНИЕ ЗАПАДНОГО ХУНАНЯ В КОНТЕКСТЕ ДОМОДЕРНОЙ И НОВОЙ ИСТОРИИ КИТАЯ

Каспар Хирши определяет «нацию», противопоставляя многополярность национального биполярности империи. Подобно ему, Лен Скейлз также выдвигает тезис о сложности до-модерных идентичностей. Таким образом, в этом исследовании предпринимается попытка рассмотреть изменения в обществе в Западном Хунане – регионе, остававшемся в течение веков многонациональной границей Китайской империи. В статье анализируются характеристики многополярного национального единства и до-модерной этничности в истории Западного Хунаня в поздней империи Китая (XIV – начало XX). Также здесь исследуется вопрос о том, как они повлияли на развитие национализма в Западном Китае в период Республики (1912–1949), и то, как они формировали республиканское гражданское самосознание и идентичность меньшинств.

На основании описаний военных действий, образовательных институтов и трансрегиональных торговых сетей природа национального китайского единства и изменения, которые они претерпевали, анализируются через отношения между местными сообществами (в основном, на примере этнического сообщества Хмонг) и центральным правительством империи. Местные интеллектуальные и военные элиты оказывались в центральных правительственных структурах после сдачи гражданских и военных экзаменов или через службу в национальной армии.

Сменяющие друг друга императорские режимы способствовали интеграции местных сообществ путем включения местных божеств в национальный пантеон и спонсирования издания местных газет. С помощью государственных ритуалов и официальных документов на самом широком имперском уровне постепенно формировалась национальная идентичность. Многополярные этнические идентичности возникали в результате урегулирования с центральным правительством вопросов, касающихся использования земель, налогов и квот на получение дипломе о сдаче гражданского экзамена. Эти до-модерные формы национального единства и этничности служили важным основанием и источником непрекращающегося влияния на построение национализма в Западном Хунане в последние годы существования Китайской империи и последующего за этим периода республики.

Ключевые слова: до-модерное национальное единство; этничность; Западный Хунань; национальные нарративы; признание идентичности.

NATIONHOOD AND ETHNICITY AT THE FRONTIER: A STUDY OF WESTERN HUNAN FROM PRE-MODERN TO EARLY MODERN CHINA

Caspar Hirschi defines “nation” in terms of the multipolarity of nationality in contrast to the bi-polarity of empire. Similarly, Len Scales also suggests the complexity of pre-modern identities. In response, my research aims at probing into the societal changes of Western Hunan – a region which has been a multi-ethnic frontier of the Chinese Empire for centuries. In this paper I investigate the characteristics of multi-polared nationhood and premodern ethnicity in the local history of Western Hunan in late imperial (14th to early 20th century) China. I also look into their impact on the development of nationalism in Western Hunan in the Republican period (1912–1949), which took the form of shaping Republican citizenship and minority ethnic identity.

Drawing from accounts about a series of military activities, educational institutions and transregional commercial networks, the nature and changes of Chinese nationhood is examined through analyzing the relationship between indigenous communities (mainly the Hmong ethnic group) and the central imperial government. Local intellectual and military elites entered central governmental institutions through civil and military service examinations, or through serving in the national army. The successive imperial regimes advanced the integration of local communities by incorporating local deities into the national pantheon and sponsoring local gazetteer publication projects. Through state rituals and official documentation at an empire-wide level, a national identity was gradually formed and shaped. Multi-polared ethnic identities have emerged as a result of negotiating with the central government over issues concerning land use, taxation and the quotas of civil service examination degrees. These premodern forms of nationhood and ethnicity served as an important foundation and a source of continuous influence in the construction of nationalism in Western Hunan in the final years of the Chinese empire and the following Republican period.