Acknowledgements
In writing this book, I am grateful for the support and advice I have received from various people. This book was developed from my dissertation, and my most heartfelt gratitude is to my supervisors, Dr. Stephen McDowall and Professor Francesca Bray. Our meetings always left me enlightened and inspired, by both the stimulating and enjoyable discussions we shared and their ever-helpful advice. Academically, their judicious comments – whether on an individual chapter draft, or the first and second draft of the whole thesis – have guided me to new and higher stages. On a personal level, moreover, their compassion and kindness has helped me get through difficult times. In many respects, my supervisors are my role models. I am blessed to have had their support and their influence will last a lifetime.
During the revisions of this manuscript, I am very grateful for the valuable advice provided by Professors Anne Gerritsen, Julian Ward, and Paolo Santangelo. I have also, at different stages of my research, benefited greatly from consulting and asking for advice from a number of scholars and museum curators. To them, I express my gratitude for their valuable time and generous help. To Geoffrey Humble, Alastair Learmont and Joe Curran, I extend my heartfelt thanks for their help with my English language and proofreading.
The works discussed in this book are held across the world. With the invaluable support of curators and librarians in various institutions, I have been able to trace the provenances of albums and to use these wonderful images at little or no cost. My particular thanks go to the Wellcome Trust Library, Harvard-Yenching library, Princeton University library, Pitt Rivers Museum, Bodleian library, Academia Sinica, Shanghai library, the library of the Minzu University of China, National Diet Library of Japan, Victoria and Albert Museum, Ethnological Museum in Berlin, Guimet Museum and American Museum of Natural History. I am also grateful for the financial support extended by Forum Transregional Studies in Berlin for image copyrights. My special thanks go to Professor Mareile Flitsch for offering me information on the collections of Miao albums in several European institutions, and Mr. Liu Yong, an artist in Guizhou and the owner of three Miao albums, who generously shared his wise knowledge of the cultures of ethnic minorities in the southwest of China.
The book is one of the research outputs from my postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Warwick funded by Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Exchange. I appreciate the support extended to my research project by CCKF. Meanwhile, the visiting fellowship at Forum Transregional Studies offered me great opportunities for research in Berlin and the time spent with friendly colleagues and fellows at Humboldt University has left me with wonderful memories – I edited several sections of this book in the relaxing and supportive fellows’ room.
I enjoyed the whole process of producing the book with my excellent editor Patricia Radder at Brill. I appreciate the insightful and valuable advice from the anonymous readers.
Finally, my deepest gratitude is due to my family – my grandmother, parents, brother, and other close relatives. I am extremely grateful for their love and encouragement, which has enabled me to overcome difficulties and homesickness during my study and life in the UK. All of the progress I have made these years and this book is a nice reward for them. I am grateful and delighted for the pride they have shown in me.