Conceptual Construction of the National Unity from the Perspective of Cultural Identity: A Study of Yunnan in the Early and Middle Period of the Qing Dynasty

Compared with other central dynasties,the Qing Dynasty had the most strict rule over the ethnic region of Yunnan due to its strong military force and the implementation of its cultural and educational policies in Yunnan.In the early Qing dynasty,when the Qing imperial court just took its control over the ethnic region of Yunnan,it followed the previous dynasties by continuing to promote Confucianism and Imperial Civil Exam to stabilize its rule in Yunnan.After the power shift from the local Tusi chieftains to Han official in the Yongzheng Period,the Qing imperial court promoted education in order to help the minority groups in Yunnan to construct and maintain their cultural identity with the central imperial court.The implementation of such policies helped integrate Yunnan culture with that of the interior and consolidated its rule.As a result,the emergence of Yunnan people with their typical cross-ethnic and local features contributed much to the establishment of a unified and multi-ethnic nation.