English Abstract This M.A. thesis analyses the politics of indirect rule within the peripheral area of Liangshan in southern Sichuan, which the imperial court tried to implement thru appointment of hereditary offices of indigenous chieftains (ch. tusi or tuguan). It uses primary sources in classical Chinese from official histories, local gazetteers, ethnographic studies and other documents, as well as secondary literature in Czech, English, French, German and Chinese. This thesis is divided into three interrelated chapters. The first chapter outlines the origin, changes and development of systems of indirect rule in Southwest China. The final stage of the development this political mechanism was a so-called "native chieftain system" (ch. tusi zhidu), through which the central court managed peripheral regions of its empire during Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. This chapter focuses on the development of these systems of indirect rule from the Warring States era (5th century BC) to the beginning of 20th century. The second chapter explores ethnographic, historico-political and ethnohistorical descriptions of Liangshan region. This chapter will then define the Liangshan region through geographical, political (the imperial court), and indigenous (ethnic) perspectives and therefore finalizes a theoretical...

The present paper deals with the event known as the Bathang incident, in the Sichuan- Tibetan border area in 1905, during which there was an uprising against the Chinese imperial administration, leading to the murder of Feng Quan, the Assistant High Commissioner to Tibet, and his retinue. In addition to the secondary literature, the paper utilizes mainly Chinese primary sources, along with travelogues and diaries written by Western missionaries and travellers. The initial portion of the first chapter describes the geographical characteristics of the broader area of Kham. Next follows a summary of the historical and political development of the territory, with an emphasis on the development of relations between Kham, Tibet, the Mongols and China, including the internal development and formation of its specific environment and culture. The second chapter turns to Bathang itself. The first subchapter is dedicated to the exceptional natural conditions in Bathang. The second section provides an overview of the historical development of the Bathang area and its gradual integration, first into the Mongol empire and then into the realm of the Qing dynasty. The introduction of the native chieftains system is also described. The third chapter contains an analysis of Bathang's inner power relations, with...