The Qing Response to the Miao Kings of China's 1795-7 Miao Revolt.

This study examines Qing imperial attention to the messianic "Miao kings" of China's 1795-7 Miao revolt -- how state agents defined and handled these native contenders, as well what the rendering implied for ideas of regional Miao people and Hunan "Miao Frontier" planning. As will be seen, the Miao King Shi Sanbao, and Wu kings Wu Tianban and Wu Bayue, were consistently disparaged by governmental observers as false, deceptive, and crazed. This crafted image - shaped from reports, confessions, sentencing, punishment, pictures, and proclamations - served to clarify an imperial vision of rebel organization, specific challenges, and larger Miao "lunacy." The framed Qing response was accordingly oriented not just toward the ritualized correction of leaders, but also the segregation of their Miao (Hmong) followers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]