Introduction

Most of the recent research on the Sino‐Tibetan borderlands, in history, anthropology, and related f ields has focused on the dynamics of state incorporation and on the marginalization of the local population. Following the Manchu intervention in Tibet in the 1720s, there was a sustained effort to incorporate Kham into Sichuan province both administratively and economically. These moves were countered by attempts from the government of Central Tibet, the Ganden Phodrang, to expand its own religious and politico‐economic presence.