Frontier politics in the family empire and party empire: the position of Hainan in the Chinese State

This paper analyses the imperial effort to colonize Hainan; historicizes interactions between the local people, migrants, and the state in the development of Hainan; and examines the transformation of the Chinese empire from a landed power to a maritime power, from the late Qing empire to the Nationalist Party empire to the Communist Party empire. In particular, it explores the connection between family/party empire and territorial administration, and highlights the challenge that the contemporary Chinese state has adopted land-based territorial practices for maritime conditions.