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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Many different people have helped me with this work. However, a special word of thanks must go to the following people. Without the genuine support of the faculty and staff of the Qinghai Education College (Qinghai Jiaoyu Xueyuan) in Xining, virtually none of this work would have been possible. I am in particular indebted to my language teacher, Mr. Shi Wenhua, as well as to Mr. Zhao Yanwu and Ms. Wang Minghui of the Foreign Affairs Office. The Jianhua Foundation also provided various forms of assistance, especially through its Qinghai Office.

For true friendship and for inviting me into his world, the pastoral community of Suojia in the source area of the Yangtze, I especially want to thank Zhaduo. Through him I have met many other people as well, from local pastoralists to academic researchers to government leaders. Here I extend my heartfelt thanks to all of them, as well as to Zhaduo, for helping me to better understand this special part of the world and for doing their utmost to make me feel at home.

For their wonderful companionship and real encouragement along the way, I also want to thank Laurens Wester, Chris Turner, and Raija Pyykkonen. I also thank my advisor, Dr. Andrew T. Smith, for his ongoing assistance and genuine friendship that dates back to our fieldwork together in Qinghai in 1991. All the other members of my research committee (Drs. Will Graf, Donald McTaggart, Dave Pearson, and Frederick Steiner) have been extremely supportive as well, and I thank them too.

Finally, I give heartfelt thanks to my parents, Peter and Beth Foggin, for their unwavering support throughout all these years, and to my wife, Marion Torrance, who I met in the course of my research in Qinghai, who has provided valuable assistance in this work, and with whom I now have the joy of continuing in life together.