ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book was made possible by the support and inspiration of many people. The chain of events that produced it was set in motion over twenty years ago, at Whitman College. It was because of Whitman that I first went to China, thanks to the late David Deal’s efforts in establishing the Whitman-in-China program. At Whitman I was inspired by several professors, particularly Tim Kaufman-Osborn, whose courses convinced me to major in politics and whom I blame for getting me into this racket. Friends I made during that first year in China have assisted me greatly with this project, especially Xiang Rong and Hu Junqiang.

The theoretical and sociological questions that underpin this book first germinated in a graduate seminar in Chinese politics I took during my first semester at Berkeley, taught by Elizabeth Perry. My final paper in that course was a research design on minority cultural revival in Yunnan, which shows that path dependence can sometimes be a good thing. Over the years Liz has given me extensive support (and much needed criticism); she insists on the highest standards from her students, and for that I am grateful. I am also indebted to Robert Price, Laura Stoker, and Tom Gold, who read drafts and provided helpful critiques of the first iteration of this project. Ernie Zirakzadeh also read sections of it and gave me insightful advice. I would never have survived fieldwork and the interminable writing process were it not for the amazing friends I made at Berkeley: Samantha Luks, Jon Marshall, Bronwyn Leebaw, John Cioffi, John Brady, Dean Mathiowetz, Nara Dillon, Robyn Eckhardt, and others. They kept me sane, sort of.

I am grateful to all the people in China who befriended and assisted me along the way. During my fieldwork I affiliated with Yunnan University, where I benefited from the guidance of Professors Lin Chaomin, Gao Fayuan, and the late Wang Zhusheng. Li Donghong of the Archeology Department was a font of knowledge on Dali and the Bai. In the field, many people guided me: Li Jiaquan, Ma Hao, Yü Bian, Ai Han’en, Ai Xiangzai, Zheng Peng, Xiao Wang, Ma Jinxiu, Ma Yuanfeng, Mi Jinye, Mi Jinhua, Ma Yuan, and Zhang Wenbo. I am fortunate to have met Zhao Cunxin and Dao Meiying, who welcomed me into their home for tea and conversation. I must give particular thanks to the many people who agreed to be interviewed or who struck up conversations with me, including the guys in the orchestra and students and teachers at the Yongjian women’s mosque, the Dali Muslim Culture College, and the Xizhong primary school. In the United States, my research was greatly aided by the fantastic collection of materials at the Yenching Library at Harvard. Access to those materials was facilitated by the Fairbank Center for East Asian Research.

Financial support came from the MacArthur Foundation, which funded a colloquium on the politics of cultural identity at Berkeley that provided me with a fellowship; the Department of Political Science at Berkeley; and the Providence College Committee on Aid to Faculty Research. Fellow members of the Providence College political science department have enthusiastically championed my research and writing. In Providence I have benefited also from the friendship and encouragement of a number of people, especially Wendy Schiller, Laurie Naranch, Mark Swislocki, and Janet Sturgeon. Janet and our fellow Yunnan researchers, Sandra Hyde and Sara Davis, have given me great theoretical and practical advice over the years. Our paths overlapped in the field, and their work has greatly enriched my own.

Some parts of this book have been published previously in journals. Sections of chapters 3 and 5 first appeared in Asian Ethnicity, parts of chapters 3 and 4 in China: An International Journal, and portions of chapter 5 and the conclusion in Religion, State and Society.* I thank these journals for allowing me to use material included in these articles, and I am grateful to the insights of the editors and reviewers. I would also like to thank the two anonymous reviewers of this manuscript for their trenchant insights, thoughtful suggestions, and attention to detail.

Finally, I must offer special thanks to my family: my mother, Lila; my father, Ed; and my two older brothers, Gene and Jim. My penchant for jetting across the globe and spending long periods of time in areas with minimal plumbing has no doubt led them to wonder at times when and if I would get a normal life. I could not have done this had I not had their support every step of the way.

*Susan K. McCarthy, “Ethno-religious Mobilisation and Citizenship Discourse in the People’s Republic of China,” Asian Ethnicity 1 (2) (2000); “Gods of Wealth, Temples of Prosperity: Party-state Participation in the Minority Cultural Revival,” China: An International Journal 2 (1) (2004); and “If Allah Wills It: Integration, Isolation, and Muslim Authenticity in Yunnan Province in China,” Religion, State & Society 33 (2) (2005).