Lecturer in History, Pennsylvania State University, U.S.A.
Paddy Booz contribution to the project during his fellowship has concentrated on the theme of Trade and Commodities, with a particular emphasis on trade routes and communication corridors that linked the Chinese border counties with Tibetan areas of Kham, Gyarong and Ngawa (Aba), and the human encounters that occurred among various ethnic groups in the multi-cultural zones that make up the Sino-Tibetan frontier regions and overlapping landscapes.
His research looks at reasons why the locus of trade steadily narrowed to the more efficient zone of the Sichuan frontier, as exemplified by the shift in trade marts directly westward into Tibetan and territory during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and ultimately direct Manchu (1644-1911) projection of power into eastern Kham after the war of 1699-1701. Geopolitical and other concerns went hand-in-hand with trade, highlighting the town of Dartsedo (Kangding) as a nexus of Sino-Tibetan conflict and cooperation. Trade grew dramatically after the stabilization of trade routes, and we witness the flow of goods, tea especially, as it moved westward over a barrier range, across the all-important Chakzamka (Luding) bridge (built 1706) to Dartsedo and the monastic world beyond – the gompa archipelago. Kham and Amdo equally provided umpteen unique goods and products, travelling eastward, to balance its expenditures.
Publication:
"In and Out of Borders: The Beifu Tea Porters Encounter TIbet", Cahiers d’Extrême-Asie 23: 253-269.