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Making the Palace Machine Work: Mobilizing People, Objects, and
Nature in the Qing Empire brings the studies of institutions,
labour, and material cultures to bear on the history of science and
technology by tracing the workings of the Imperial Household
Department (Neiwufu) in the Qing court and empire. An enormous
apparatus that employed 22,000 men and women at its heyday, the
Department operated a "machine" with myriad moving parts. The first
part of the book portrays the people who kept it running, from
technical experts to menial servants, and scrutinises the paper
trails they left behind. Part II uncovers the working principles of
the machine by following the production chains of some of its most
splendid products: gilded statues, jade, porcelain, and textiles.
Part III examines the complex task of managing living organisms and
natural environments, including lotus plants grown in imperial
ponds in Beijing, fresh medicines sourced from disparate regions,
and tribute elephants from Southeast Asia.
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