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Department reshaped my understanding of classical Chinese during my first three years at Brown, which proved very helpful in my reading of historical sources. My Japanese teacher, Kikuko Yamashita, helped me many times in reading and translating Japanese scholarship. Dr. Li Wang, curator of the East Asian Collection at Rockefeller Library, tolerated my long occupation of the Chinese reference table for writing and kindly helped me locate useful sources many times.
I must offer special thanks to N. Harry Rothschild, my mentor-like “big brother” both while I was at Brown and after, who tirelessly modified my prose, clarified my thought, and encouraged me through the final revisions with reassuring words. His perspective and methodology in the fascinating research on Wu Zhao greatly inspired me in my own study. His unstinting support at the critical stage of my life is unforgettable. Deborah van Dam and Jennifer Lane, two old friends in Rhode Island, not only gave this manuscript line-by-line scrutiny but also greatly improved it with their perception.
In Savannah, Georgia, I am grateful to all my colleagues in the History Department of Armstrong Atlantic State University for their goodwill and encouragement in the past three years. I am especially indebted to Professor Mike Price, who volunteered to read my manuscript and offered valuable comments. One of my students, Matthew Moyer, whose assistance during my writing was very helpful, also deserves to be mentioned here.
During my trip in the summer of 2005 to Chengdu, the capital city of Sichuan Province in southwest China, where Wang Jian’s tomb was discovered, I received generous help from the Yongling Museum, Bashu Publishing House, and Sichuan University. The librarians and curators at all three of these institutions were very helpful guides to the historical sources of the Former Shu in their collections. I am especially grateful to Xie Hui, the curator of Yongling, for his kind assistance in taking pictures of Wang Jian’s tomb.
Finally, my deepest appreciation goes to my family members, who have stood by me for many years. My old parents, living in a small town in northeastern China, always believe their little son is the best, though