Boundaries and Beyond: China’s Maritime Southeast in Late Imperial Times

Using the concept of boundaries, both physical and cultural, to explain the development of China’s maritime southeast and its interactions across maritime East Asia and the broader Asian Seas, this book offers a new way of understanding Chinese history in the late Imperial period. Ng Chin-keong examines social boundaries between “us” and “them;” challenges to rigid demarcations posed by the state; movements of people, goods, and ideas across borders and among cultures; and the line between tradition and innovation. The result is a novel way of understanding China’s relations with neighboring territories and people as well as the nature of tradition in China and its persistence in the face of changing circumstances.