本书荣膺2018年美国亚洲历史学会列文森奖。
乾隆帝曾经盛赞过东北丰饶的物产和独特的自然环境，认为满洲大地是资源富集之地，也是自然生命力的源泉。这里的土地山川生生不息，养育了满洲人以及清朝皇室的祖先，也使其分享了素朴纯真和不竭的生命力。
清朝皇帝通过进贡制度，向满洲和蒙古地区征收毛皮、珍珠、蘑菇、人参等珍稀物产，这些物产不仅仅是物产，而且代表其产地所具有的纯真、丰饶、充满生机等象征意义，作为一种永恒的家园，与皇室有着密切的依存关系。
但这种进贡制度渐渐对满洲和蒙古地区产生了深远的影响，不仅仅造成了环境退化的后果，还形成了复杂的开发与控制的制度和组织。
作者是新清史的新锐，利用了大量满蒙文献，在对东北和蒙古环境史的考察中发现了皇帝对于北部边疆的想象、进贡体系与自然环境的恶化、清朝的奢侈品贸易和消费等诸多因素复杂的互动关系，为我们理解清朝边疆历史提供了新颖的视角。

In this landmark exploration of the origins of nationalism and cultural identity in China, Pamela Kyle Crossley traces the ways in which a large, early modern empire of Eurasia, the Qing (1636-1912), incorporated neighboring, but disparate, political traditions into a new style of emperorship. Drawing on a wide variety of primary sources, including Manchu, Korean, and Chinese archival materials, Crossley argues that distortions introduced in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century historical records have blinded scholars to the actual course of events in the early years of the dynasty. This groundbreaking study examines the relationship between the increasingly abstract ideology of the centralizing emperorship of the Qing and the establishment of concepts of identity in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, before the advent of nationalism in China. Concluding with a broad-ranging postscript on the implications of her research for studies of nationalism and nation-building throughout modern Chinese history, A Translucent Mirror combines a readable narrative with a sophisticated, revisionary look at China's history. Crossley's book will alter current understandings of the Qing emperorship, the evolution of concepts of ethnicity, and the legacy of Qing rule for modern Chinese nationalism.