Qing Governors and Their ProvincesDuring the Qing dynasty (16441911), the province emerged as an important element in the management of the expanding Chinese empire, with governors those in charge of these increasingly influential administrative units playing key roles. R. Kent Guys comprehensive study of this shift concentrates on the governorship system during the reigns of the Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong emperors, who ruled China from 1644 to 1796. In the preceding