Xinjiang, named in 1759 by Emperor Qianlong (乾隆 1711-1799) of the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China, was ruled by the Qing from the final phase of the Dzungar-Qing Wars when the Dzungar Khanate was conquered, and lasted until the fall of the imperial dynasty in 1912. Based on rare ancient maps and historical archives, the book tells stories of Xinjiang during the Qing. It involves Emperor Qianlong, Fragrant concubine (xiangfei 香妃, Uyghur concubine married with Emperor Qianlong), Lady Catherine (the wife of the British consul-general in Kashgar at the end of the 19th century, and lived in Xinjiang for nearly two decades), Swedish missionaries (persisted in spreading Christianity for 38 years among Uyghurs who believed in Islam), Guan Gong temples (the belief in Lord Guan, a religious tradition of the Han and Manchus) and so on.
Preface
Part One Old Maps and the Imperial Rule
1.Emperor Qianlong, the Jesuit missionaries, and land surveying
2.The legend of the Emperor's "fragrant concubine" from the western territories
3.The tumultuous journey of the Map of Hami
Part Two Old Maps and Scholars
1.Zhang Mu, Maps of the Western Territories, and a forum of frontier scholars
2.The Manchurian Pilgrimage to the West: Qi Shiyi and his Sights and Sounds of the West
3.Not just a tale of the Han Dynasty: Li Guangting and the Visual Appraisal of the Western Territories
4.The Insouciant Disciple, the "Gengxu year", unscrupulous merchants and the Complete Atlas of Xinjiang
Part Three Early Cartography and the West
1.An ever-changing exotic realm: Kashgar through the eyes of Lady Catherine
2.The story of Chini-Bagh and its proprietor
3. The story behind a simple book tag: Arthur W. Hummel and the Library of Congress' Complete Atlas of Xinjiang
Part Four Old Maps and Folk Beliefs
1.The martyr Huang Guifang and the "Fang deity" temples of Xinjiang
2."Guardian of Xinjiang": the "Guan Gong temples" of Xinjiang
3.Reaping what one not sows: the Swedish missionaries of Kashgar
Part Five Old Maps and Ethnicities
1.The warriors of Xinjiang: garrison soldiers of the Eight Banner Army on the western frontier
2.The western migration of the Xibe people: protecting the western frontier for the sake of the emperor
3.The Torghut tribe's return to the east: a Mongolian cavalry's migration from the Volga River to the Kaidu River
Part Six Old Maps and Geography
1.A visual representation of Xinjiang's major cities
2.A tale of twin cities: the new and old settlements of Aksu
3.A desolate ancient path winding through the western Tianshan ranges: the Illustrated Account of the Expedition along Nalin River from Ili to Kashgar
4. Immortalizing the Qing Empire's achievements: the stone tablet on the Complete Atlas of Xinjiang
