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This collection of essays constitutes a collective achievement that enriches the field of late imperial Chinese history, adds a critical dimension to the study of Qing rulership, and allows a probing view into the lifestyle of the Manchu emperors, and in particular of Qianlong. The seventeen chapters, supplemented by an introduction and epilogue, have as their central subject the summer residence at Chengde. First established in the early 1700s by the Kangxi emperor as a villa "to escape the summer heat," the site was then transformed throughout the rest of the century into a highly symbolic miniature representation of the Inner Asian possessions of the Qing empire, featuring grassland landscapes with Mongolian tents, hunting preserves, Tibetan temples and pagodas, and even a wall surrounding the main residential area, whose undulating shape and crenellations reminded the viewer of the Great Wall.
The volume is structured as five parts, preceded by an introduction. Authored by Ruth Dunnell and James Millward, the introductory essay presents an overview of the significance of Chengde within the Qing imperium and outlines the organization of the book. Between two sections on Chengde (pp. 1-2 and 4-8), the reader finds a short explanation of the meaning of "new Qing imperial history" (pp. 3-4). This insertion sits somewhat incongruously with the rest of the introduction, and it is hard to escape the feeling that more space should have been devoted to this important analytical concept in order to justify the title of the book.
The first section, "Chengde as Inner Asian Capital," includes three general...