Dissertation (MBus) -- AUT University, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references. Also held in print (x, 141 leaves : ill. ; 30 cm.) in the Archive at the City Campus (T 796.33406095 WAU)

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4461. Adviser: Kai-wing Chow. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 394-401) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2008. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 69-11, Section: A, page: 4461. Adviser: Ronald P. Toby. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 258-271) Available on microfilm from Pro Quest Information and Learning.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Auckland (New Zealand), 1990. / Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 656-692).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Drew University, 1969. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 337-353).

Thesis (M.A.)--Fuller Theological Seminary, 1968. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 230-237).

Thesis (M.A.)--University of Hawaii, 1962. / Typescript. Bibliography: leaves 186-188.

In 1631, Manchu state-makers set up an administrative apparatus that included a ministry for implementing and legislating li (often translated as rites or ritual), the Board of Li. Over the next sixty years the Board of Li helped develop the rules and regulations of the Manchu state, which were codified in an administrative code in 1690. This dissertation looks at the role of li and the Board of Li in early Manchu state-making efforts, and finds that li was more than simply rituals and ceremonies, it was intimately tied to the formation of politics and administration. The dissertation argues that from 1631 to 1690, state-makers developed the practices of li as sociopolitical and cultural systems that made possible a unified political order that embraced disparate ethnic groups and facilitated the conquest and rule of a multiethnic empire, the Qing, which ruled China and parts of Eurasia from 1636 to 1911. It finds that contrary to conventional understanding, the Manchu practices of li were not copied from the Ming, nor were they inherently Chinese; rather, in response to the immediate political and social circumstances of the time, the Manchus remade and reimagined li through ritual, politics, and law. This argument is made in three parts. Part one demonstrates the indeterminate nature of li and how it could be employed for different state building projects in different periods of Chinese history; part two looks at the Manchu transformation of li through political struggles for power, and the process of the formation of laws and practices to regulate the political settlements; part three takes up the codification of li, and examines the emergent system of political order and administrative law. These three parts further build upon recent insights into the nature of the Qing as a multiethnic, expansionist empire, and show that the Manchus developed li in their construction of an inclusive political culture and administrative apparatus that enabled the Qing to succeed where previous conquest dynasties had failed in the building and running of a multiethnic empire. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

The blind deviate from bodily ideals and how we make sense of this difference matters. My dissertation examines the blind in Tokugawa Japan (1603–1868) to offer a contrasting perspective on disability from a non-Western society. The blind were impaired but not disabled. They were, in fact, enabled and engaged in careers that were mostly unthinkable to their peers in other contemporary societies. By far the most important enabling factor was the growth of a core institution called the tôdôza. I focus on the main professions through which the blind made their living—musical performance, moneylending, and medicine—and their relationships with the tôdôza. In my discussion, I investigate surprising aspects of the careers of the blind. These characteristics not only reflect the complex social history of the blind, but also reveal the intersections with critical developments in Tokugawa society. Founded as a society of blind musicians, the tôdôza was transformed into a political institution and later, a profit-driven organization of diverse professions. The narrative analyzes the social, political, and economic contexts of this transformation. Chapter one discusses the hierarchy of the tôdôza and the financial motives of moneylending. Chapter two looks at how rituals and myths were appropriated to strengthen the internal authority of the tôdôza. In chapter three, I discuss the representative lyrical genre of blind musicians called heikyoku and the increasing participation of sighted performers in writing texts. In chapter four, I explore how popular discourses about health compelled the tôdôza to innovate and concentrate on medical practice. My dissertation takes a fresh approach to Japanese history with insights from disability studies. The tôdôza supported the formation of blind communities and gave them political and economic leverage. This reverse perspective places the blind not on the margins, but instead refocuses the attention on their leading roles in transforming Tokugawa society. The history of disability in early modern Japan is also about the history of the tôdôza. By focusing on the tôdôza, my proposed approach highlights that the discourse of disability embraces the underemphasized but nonetheless important theme of enablement, which is crucial for retelling Japanese history. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations

In this dissertation I trace the evolution of the institutions governing woodland in South China over the longue durée. I claim that after a high point of state forestry the imperial government lost both the interest and the ability to manage woodland effectively. Forestry was largely taken over by lineages - kin groups organized around the worship of shared ancestors. I tie this transition in woodland governance to two interrelated trends: growth in the power and independence of lineage organizations, and of long-distance trade in wood products. First, I show changes in local state capacities for tax collection and dispute resolution, the growing organizational capacity of lineages. Second, I argue that the growth of trade in woodland products affected state and lineage differently. On the one hand, government bureaus had increasing difficulty governing wood land while finding it increasingly convenient to obtain wood products on the market. On the other hand, lineages were well-equipped for the business of managing local landscapes, and saw substantial profits to be made from the export of timber and other forest commodities. Finally, I argue that the rise of lineage influence shaped the terms in which woodland was claimed for private use. Over hundreds of years, claims to woodland shifted from the formal legal discourse specified by the imperial state to focus on the specialized language of fengshui. By the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, claims no longer trumpeted the productive capacity of forests or their role in paying the taxes important to the state; they now focused on the physical and metaphysical powers of the wooded landscape and its role in protecting the graves important to lineages. Contrary to existing scholarship, I claim that the decline of state forestry did not necessarily lead to the decline of the woods themselves; lineage oversight was highly effective at managing forests for both production and protection, and areas of strong lineage control remained well-forested into the modern era. / East Asian Languages and Civilizations