Tobie S. Meyer-Fong

This study concerns the strategies through which the state, local society, and individuals made sense of the Taiping Rebellion (1850-1864), one of the most devastating civil wars in history. Published and manuscript sources in a wide range of genres, including local gazetteers, diaries, lists of martyrs, administrative documents, legal texts, and official histories allow me to explore issues of memory and commemoration in response to this disaster. Recent writings on the relationship between memory and history in Europe and the United States influence also influence my analysis. This theoretical angle makes the present project one of broader comparative interest to humanists concerned with questions of violence, warfare, and remembrance.