Synopsis of Research in Shanghai (February 13 - May 13):
Wei’s dissertation focuses on the history of Islam and Muslims in late imperial China. It is a study of the changing social networks among Muslim officials, merchants, and local communities to re-envision the question of the Muslim identity, and to achieve a renewed understanding of the relationship between the state and the Muslims. Wei’s main sources include published and unpublished mosque and tomb stele inscriptions, archival sources, local gazetteers, official histories and biographies, and genealogies.