Sino-Indian-Tibetan Relations and the Transformation of Eurasian Geopolitics at the Turn of the Twentieth Century

At the turn of the twentieth century, as Western power pressed eastward, the Qing empire’s traditional system for administering its Inner Asian dependencies was being reorganized under the challenge of an international order dominated by the Western powers. The foreign-affairs apparatus in which Iuming Suez (史悠明, 1881–1940) served was not only a domain the Qing court was eager to rebuild, but also a crucial node in the making of modern China’s diplomatic strategy.

Suez was a political figure active in the late Qing and Republican periods, and an important expert on frontier affairs and industrial surveys in modern China. He took part in several major diplomatic episodes of the Republican era and was one of the few officials from China proper with a deep understanding of Tibetan politics and Sino-Indian relations. Centered on his life and career, this project uses an individual’s experience to examine Sino-Tibetan relations in the late Qing and early Republic, the reorientation of Republican foreign policy and its knowledge systems, and their significance for the shaping of geopolitical relations in modern Asia.