Мақала Цин империясының Қазақ хандығымен арадағы шекараны бекемдеу саясаты (XVIII ғасырдың екінші жартысы)

Abstract

The article provides a comprehensive analysis of the Qing Empire’s policy aimed at consolidating its frontier with the Kazakh Khanate following the collapse of the Dzungar Khanate in the second half of the eighteenth century and the establishment of Qing rule over its former territories. Drawing on both domestic and international historiography, the study examines the military-political, demographic and migration-related, commercial, and diplomatic measures and mechanisms employed by the Qing emperors and their local military-administrative authorities in the conquered regions. The authors also consider the activities of the Ili General Governorship, established to ensure comprehensive control over and the development of the territories to the north and south of the Tian Shan. This institution is examined not merely as a militaryadministrative centre, but also as an important mechanism for regulating the political and diplomatic contacts of Kazakh khans and sultans, as well as for coordinating the Qing Empire’s policies toward the Kazakh Khanate and the khanates of Central Asia. The establishment of seasonal and permanent frontier guard posts, the deployment of regular military garrisons, and the introduction of prohibitions and restrictions on unauthorised unilateral migrations are interpreted not simply as measures designed to strengthen control and administration, but as elements of a broader and strategically conceived policy with significant geopolitical implications. Particular attention is devoted to the changing dynamics of Qing frontier policy during the reign
of the Qianlong Emperor. On the basis of historical sources, the article examines the reasons for the gradual relaxation of the initially strict prohibitions and restrictions imposed during the early stages of contact between the two sides. This transformation is analysed through court memorials, imperial edicts issued at different stages, and correspondence produced by local officials. Drawing on the findings of scholars, researchers, and source specialists who have worked with Manchu-, Chinese-, and Chagatai-language materials, the authors argue that the Qing Empire’s frontier policy constituted a systematic, comprehensive,
and carefully designed project that integrated military-administrative, economic-demographic, and diplomatic measures. The article also offers a comparative and analytical assessment of scholarly studies in various languages whose authors worked directly with historical sources, identifying their academic value and interpretative significance. This methodological approach makes it possible to reconstruct more accurately the nature of the geopolitical transformations that took place in Central Asia. The article concludes that the measures implemented by the Qing Empire contributed to the institutionalisation of relations with the Kazakh Khanate and played an important role in shaping a new configuration of the political landscape of the Kazakh Khanate and Central Asia in the second half of the eighteenth century.