Research on the Ming Shi Lü

Author: Xie Gui'an
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-05-01
Features: This book has four major characteristics: , it is an academic masterpiece that was meticulously crafted over a long period of time. People often use the phrase "polishing a sword for ten years" to describe the length of time and depth of research involved in writing a book, yet the exploration and authorship of Studies on the Ming Shilu spanned 15 years. In 1986, the author began collecting materials on the Ming Shilu, and in 1990, he wrote his doctoral dissertation titled Studies on the Ming Shilu. The dissertation was completed and defended in 1993, followed by continuous revisions until the book's publication, lasting a total of 15 years. During these more than ten years, the author continuously delved into new historical materials on the Ming Shilu and published over a dozen high-quality papers in academic journals such as Journal of Historiography Research, Academic Monthly, Documents, and Historical Documents Research, including topics such as "Studies on the Genre and Style of the Ming Shilu," "Versions and Collections of the Ming Shilu," "Compilation and Political Struggles of the Ming Shilu," "A Study on the Compilation of the Shilu of the Reigns of the Zhuyong, Chongzhen, and Southern Ming Dynasties," "A Study on the Compilation of the Ming Shilu," "An Outline of the Process of Compiling the Ming Shilu," "The Ecological Relationship Between Official Histories and Unofficial Histories of the Ming Dynasty—Tracing the Forbidden Collection and Circulation," "On the Influence of Direct and Oblique Recording on the Value of the Ming Shilu," "Personnel Verification of the Ming Shilu," and "Geographical Verification of the Ming Shilu." These efforts ultimately condensed into this Studies on the Ming Shilu, making it a comprehensive work in the field. The idiom "slow work yields fine results" aptly describes the outcome of this book.
Second, this book is the most systematic and in-depth monograph in the field of Ming Shilu research. The work is divided into nine chapters, providing thorough and in-depth studies on the national historical status, academic origins, compilation institutions, compilation process, personnel, procedures, thematic style, versions, and value/deficiencies of the Ming Shilu. Not only is the structure complete, but the academic level is also high. Previous research on this topic has been most concentrated in Wu Han, whose lengthy essay Notes on the Ming Shilu evaluates the work in five aspects—critique, historians, rituals, customs, and dissemination—but this essay primarily gathers historical materials, with its writing method characterized by listing them. In contrast, Studies on the Ming Shilu spans 390,000 words, covering nearly all aspects of the Ming Shilu and reaching the highest level of research in the field. For example, the author, through extensive records in Shen Defu's Wanli Yehuo Bian stating that "our dynasty has no official history, as the imperial records are considered history," discovered the high national historical status of the Ming Shilu in the Ming Dynasty. Following this line of inquiry, he explored the relationship between the strengthening of imperial power and the establishment of the Ming Shilu's national historical status, as well as the political struggles surrounding the official history of the Ming Shilu, creating a systematic and in-depth impression. The author is the first to conduct a comprehensive and systematic investigation into the compilation institutions of the Ming Shilu—the Historiography Bureau—and ultimately outlined its specific location, operational methods, and management systems, resolving this historical puzzle. The author's meticulous verification and comprehensive search for the personnel involved in the compilation of the Ming Shilu during various Ming dynasties also surpasses previous researchers. This book also pioneers the exploration of the themes and style of the Ming Shilu, pointing out its consistent theme of political admonition, as well as the derivative themes of innovative historical material processing and a mix of oblique and direct recording. It also analyzes the narrative style of the Ming Shilu, including straightforward narration, vivid storytelling, omissions, cross-references, subtle meanings, and embedding commentary in narration. The book provides a detailed account of the various versions of the complex Ming Shilu, enabling readers to gain a systematic understanding of the issue. Regarding the evaluation of the Ming Shilu, previous scholars either completely denied its value, such as Zhang Dai and Li Jiantai in the late Ming Dynasty, or strongly affirmed it, such as Wan Sitong in the early Qing Dynasty. The author, however, analyzes this Ming Dynasty historical masterpiece objectively, pointing out both its flaws and its irreplaceable historical value and significance in historical compilation. The author's study of the defects of the Ming Shilu is layered, distinguishing between intentional errors and unintentional errors. The former refers to the deliberate obfuscation and distortion by historians, while the latter refers to the unconscious mistakes of historians in content and style. This analysis challenges the arbitrary criticisms of the Ming Shilu by Ming and Qing scholars, who claimed that its errors were due to "the love or hatred of the three or four major ministers" and that it "recorded only praise without criticism, benefits without flaws, official histories without unofficial ones, and prominent figures without the obscure," providing a convincing analysis based on specific causes. The renowned Ming Dynasty historiography expert Qian Maowei remarked, "Few, if any, will surpass this research in the future. This will be an unprecedented specialized study on the Ming Shilu."
Third, this work is a monograph that combines traditional methods with a fresh perspective. The author extensively employs the basic research method of historical (investigation and verification). Using the collected historical materials, he verifies the exact number of personnel involved in the compilation of each dynasty's Shilu and diligently investigates discrepancies in names, ultimately arriving at correct conclusions. For example, when verifying the personnel involved in the compilation of the Xuanzong Shilu, the author discovered that the "Compilers" section appended to the Xuanzong Shilu listed Chen Xun as a "Scholar in the Hanlin Academy of the Capital," while other records uniformly referred to him as Chen Xun, leading him to conclude that "Xun was a mistake for Xun, due to their similar appearance." For compilers whose names were omitted, he made every effort to trace them, such as Zhang Yuanzhen, who served as a deputy compiler for the Xiaozong Shilu but whose name was missing in the completed work. The author, through the biography of Zhang Yuanzhen in volume 20 of the Wuzong Shilu stating that "Zhang Yuanzhen continued to serve as a deputy compiler for the Xiaozong Shilu," proved that Zhang was also one of its authors. However, he died while "serving despite illness," so his name was omitted upon completion. Such insightful verifications are abundant. However, the author does not limit himself to using the verification method; he also employs new research methods. For instance, in the third section of , "The Historiographical Ecology of the Ming Shilu and the Ming Dynasty," he examines the Ming Shilu using the theory of cultural ecology. He states, "Historiographical ecology refers to the symbiotic state of different levels of historiographical categories within a historiographical community. The historiographical community achieves a clear ecological balance based on the different functions of historiographical categories." In the Ming Dynasty, the balance of historiographical ecology was primarily between official history and unofficial history. Because the Ming Shilu, as official history, was kept in the imperial palace, it became impossible to compile credible historical works based on its records, leading to the rampant growth of unofficial histories and severe imbalance in the historiographical ecology. It was not until later that the Ming Shilu was copied and circulated outside the palace, which somewhat restrained the spread of unofficial histories. However, due to the limited availability or incomplete compilation of later Shilu, unofficial histories of the late Ming and Southern Ming dynasties began to emerge again. The author concludes, "It is clear that the prohibition of the Ming dynasty's Shilu had a direct impact on the formation of the 'flourishing unofficial histories' phenomenon in the Ming Dynasty." This analytical approach is refreshing. Additionally, when studying the themes of the Ming Shilu, the author combines qualitative and quantitative methods, placing the Ming Shilu within the broader context of historical texts in the feudal society, classifying it as political admonition historiography, and further gathering numerous relevant records within the book to prove its "political admonition" theme. In the ninth chapter, when discussing the historical value of the Ming Shilu, the author applies the theory of "historiographical sources" proposed by the master of Chinese studies Chen Yuan, treating the Ming Shilu as the source of historiography and observing the works derived from it, such as Guque, Zuwei Lü, Ming Shi, and Ming Tongjian, tracing them from source to branch, thereby concluding that the Ming Shilu is a vast sea of Ming Dynasty historical materials.
Fourth, this book is a work with extremely rich historical material collection. In terms of historical material collection, the author has exhausted all efforts, including: the Shilu of all Ming dynasty reigns, historical works closely related to the Shilu such as Chongzhen Changbian and Daming Baoyun, Ming and Qing scholars' works on Ming history such as Zuwei Lü and Guque, Ming unofficial histories such as Yeji and Jianzhai Suozhuilü, Ming people's notes such as Lizhai Xianlu, Peng Wenxian Gong Ji, and Yongchuang Xiaopin, Ming and Qing collections such as Taiye Ji, Gutinglin Wenji, and Sifu Tang Wenji, as well as recent research works such as Xie Guozheng's Additions to the Examination of Late Ming Historical Works, Wu Han's Notes on Reading History, and Liu Jie's Draft of the History of Chinese Historiography. Additionally, he collected research papers such as Li Bangzheng's On the Compilation and Evaluation of the Historical Value of the Ming Shilu and Chen Xueling's Studies on the Ming Shilu and Early Ming Historical Events. This reflects the author's solid historical material skills and broad historiographical vision. The book particularly exhaustively searches and discusses the achievements of previous scholars in the field of Ming Shilu research and provides a detailed introduction and evaluation in the preface, adhering to academic norms. Of course, since there are thirteen Shilu in the Ming Dynasty, spanning nearly 300 years of Ming history and involving complex issues, Studies on the Ming Shilu cannot exhaustively cover everything, and thus inevitably has some shortcomings. For example, the verification of the personnel involved in the compilation of the Shilu of each Ming dynasty still requires further in-depth research. The author could also utilize local gazetteers and genealogical materials to verify the compilers.