Book launch and a conversation with the author: Slaves of the Emperor: Service, Privilege, and Status in the Qing Eight Banners

I am a historian of empire, state-making, and identity in Qing and early Republican China. My current book project, tentatively titled Slaves of the Emperor: The Qing Eight Banners as Service Elite (currently under review), explores the history of one of the key institutions of the Manchu conquest of China – the Eight Banner System.