Research on the Nationalist Government's Survey of Ethnic Minorities in Southwest China (1929--1948)

Author: Ma Yuhua
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-12-01
Features: Due to the severe crisis on the southwestern frontier, the outbreak of the War of Resistance against Japan, and the shift of the focus of Chinese ethnological research to the west, a surge in research and investigation of ethnic minorities in the southwestern frontier occurred during the Republican era. At that time, the investigations were divided into three categories: official surveys organized by the Nationalist government, surveys conducted by academic organizations, and individual investigations. While some scholars have studied the research and investigations of ethnic minorities in the southwestern frontier by academic organizations and scholars during the Republican era, no systematic research has been conducted on the official surveys organized by the Nationalist government. Based on archival materials, this book employs a combination of historical research and theoretical analysis to conduct the first systematic study of the surveys of ethnic minorities in the southwestern frontier conducted by the Nationalist government and local governments in several southwestern provinces. It not only examines the background of the Nationalist government's surveys of ethnic minorities in the southwestern frontier, classifies and summarizes various government surveys, but also further investigates the border governance ideology, ethnic policies, and measures to govern the southwestern region of the Nationalist government. It also provides a realistic evaluation of the surveys of ethnic minorities in the southwestern frontier by the Nationalist government. This is a specialized work that combines both data and theory.