CONTENTS I Local Militia and the Traditional State A The Boundaries of Modern History B The Historical Importance of State Militia Institutions II The Development of Ch'ing Militia Policy, 1796-1850 A Local Control Problems During the White Lotus Rebellion B Ch'ing Militia Policy on the Eve of the Taiping Rebellion III The Structure of Local Militarization in South and Central China A Scales of Local Organization B Principles of Local Organization C The Relation of the T'uan to Bureaucratic Divisions IV The Rise of Rebellion and the Militarization of the Orthodox Elite A From Local to Imperial Defense: Chiang Chung-yuan B Hu Lin-i Builds a "Personal Army" C Tseng Kuo-fan and the Hunan Army D Liu Yü-hsun and the Defense of Nanchang V Parallel Hierarchies of Militarization A Orthodox and Heterodox Hierarchies B Interaction and Integration VI Militia, the State, and Revolution A Socio-strategic Problems of the Taiping Rebellion B The Breakdown of the Traditional State Bibliography Glossary Index