2021 Fiscal Year Research-status Report
Legal Practices, Colonial Rivalry, and Identity in China's Borderlands, 1880-1940
| Project/Area Number |
19K23102
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2019-08-30 – 2023-03-31
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| Keywords | China's borderlands / border disputes / legal practices / ethnic identity / colonial rivalry |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
In order to achieve my project objectives, I engaged in three types of activities during the 2021-2022 fiscal year. First, I collected (through research assistants in Moscow and Almaty) files on state-building along China's northwest border with Russia from the Central State Archives (Almaty, Kazakhstan), the State Archives of the Russian Federation, and the Russian State Library. These files consisted mainly of government correspondence and reports of surveying expeditions in the Sino-Russian borderlands during the late nineteenth century. They were carefully analyzed and incorporated into my research. Second, I have taken steps toward the publication of my research by completing three chapters of my book manuscript and submitting two journal articles to high impact journals. The first journal article analyzes frontier courts along the Sino-Burmese borderlands during the 1920s-30s. The second article focuses on demarcation issues along the Sino-Burmese border region during the late nineteenth century. Third, I presented papers on my research at the British Association for Chinese Studies conference (September 2021) and the European Association for Chinese Studies conference (August 2021).
The project activities outlined above have made it possible to engage in a comparative approach to state-buildings processes along the Sino-Russian and Sino-Burmese borderlands. My research will likely result in the publication of two peer-reviewed articles. In addition, substantial progress has been made on the completion of a book manuscript.
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| Current Status of Research Progress |
Current Status of Research Progress
3: Progress in research has been slightly delayed.
Reason
As the restrictions to research activities as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and political instability (in Almaty, Kazakhstan) have been lifted over the past year, my project has once again been able to progress rather smoothly. In order to complete my book manuscript, I still need to conduct follow-up research in archives in Taiwan and Moscow. In July 2022, I will have the opportunity to present a paper on my JSPS research at the Asian Studies Conference Japan, which has been postponed twice due to the pandemic.
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| Strategy for Future Research Activity |
During the 2022-23 fiscal year, I plan to conduct follow-up research in two archives: the State Archives of the Russian Federation (Russia) and Academia Historica (Taiwan). These follow-up visits are necessary for the completion of the remaining chapters of my book manuscript. The files to be collected and analyzed during these follow-up visits will enable me to further develop new insights on the relationship between pluralistic legal practices, the formation of national identities, and border demarcation through a comparative approach of the Sino-Russian and Sino-Burmese border regions.
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| Causes of Carryover |
The pandemic caused a slight delay in the completion of my research activities. I plan to use the remaining funds during the next fiscal year to conduct follow-up research in archives in Russia and Taiwan, purchase books, and present my research at conferences. It should be noted that archival research in Russia will be conducted through a research assistant. Through these activities, I will be able to complete the remaining chapters of my book manuscript, which should be ready for submission by the end of the next fiscal year.
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Research Products
(3 results)
