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Acknowledgments This project could not have been completed without the help of a large number of people. Most important of these was Lloyd Eastman, who introduced me to Chinese history with the expectation that I would eventually write something worth reading. I hope that this book fulfills that requirement, and one of my greatest regrets is that he will not be able to see it. Many others have commented on various parts of this project or been helpful in other ways. Among them are David Bello, Lucian Bianco,Tim Brook, Kaiwing Chow, Parks Coble, Patricia Ebrey, Chen Hongmin, John Fitzgerald, Paul Frank, Henrietta Harrison, Paul Howard, Elisabeth Koll, Tong Lam, Caroline Reeves,Wang Xi, R. Bin Wong, and Zhang Xianwen. Needles to say they are not responsible for the errors that remain. I must also note that earlier versions of parts of chapters 5 and 7 have appeared elsewhere as articles. The reviewers and editors for SUNY Press have also been invaluable. I am deeply indebted to the staffs of the Nanjing University Library, the Hoover Institution Libray, the National Archives in Washington D.C., Academic Sinica, and the Number Two Historical Archives in Nanjing. My most important support has come from those closest to me. My mother and father supported me throughout my life and without there inspiration and example this book, and many other things, would not have been possible. My wife Shari and my children Jason and Rachel have been helpful to me in ways that go far beyond this book and far beyond my ability to thank them. xi ...

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