Lay at the interaction of multiple political administrations and groups, Guihai City in the Qing period hosted diverse power networks that closely interacted with one and another. Belonged to different groups, each of these networks had its structures, regulations, and resources. Adopting social network analysis as the research method, this dissertation focuses on how individuals connected with others, forming channels to share and circulate resources and power, and developing large-scale networks. On the one hand, it explores the choices and resources available to individuals and their agency by studying the diverse possibilities brought by different interpersonal and inter-organizational connections. Furthermore, it examines how these possibilities enabled people to reshape a network’s structure. On the other hand, by reconstructing the interwoven networks in the local, this dissertation investigates how the Qing Empire managed diverse populations under its rule with minimal resources as a multi-ethnical empire. Each network followed its own regulations to build an internal power hierarchy. For the Qing bureaucracy’s power network composed of Qing officials, law, institutions, and loyalty to the emperor were the fundamental regulations. These regulations allowed Qing officials to form a centralized, hierarchal power network. Centered around the decision-making bureaucracy including the emperor and Grand Council, this network extends outward through different governmental departments, delivering power from the center to the periphery. To reign its extensive territory with the limited personnel of this bureaucratic network, the Qing government achieved indirect control over local networks by absorbing local leaders and requiring them to follow the Qing’s bureaucratic regulations. Based on their distinct characteristics, networks in Guihua City interacted with the Qing government differently. The Mongols in the city were incorporated into the Qing’s stationing system, while the guild network of merchants linked trade associations of different industries through worships. The Twelve Hang and the Fifteen She occupied the center of the latter network. They invested huge resources into the worship activities and created currency circulated only in the city to maintain visibility and public trust. By doing so, they enhanced the cohesiveness of the network and became leaders of local civil society. As the Qing government chose them to control merchants in the city, they became the bridge across two networks, serving as the agency for both the Qing government and merchants. They spent more resources to meet the regulations of both networks, however, they earned considerable profits by monopolizing
