Clear Mirror

Author: Dai Yi, edited by Li Wenhai
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1999-10-01
Features: The Qing Tongjian follows the tradition of Zizhi Tongjian, Continued Zizhi Tongjian, and Ming Tongjian, providing a detailed account of 300 years of Qing history! The academic significance of The Qing Tongjian may still be too early to assess at this point. In the years to come, historians and scholars who specialize in Qing history will certainly offer fair and accurate evaluations after reading this extensive work. However, discussing initial impressions and introducing it to the historical community is also necessary. My impression is that this is a rich fruit of academic collaboration, with the potential to become a timeless masterpiece.
The Qing Tongjian introduces innovations in its compilation style. While the Zizhi Tongjian in the Song Dynasty by Sima Guang had already successfully adopted the Zizhi annalistic style, contemporary Chinese historians in the 20th century used this style to compile Qing history, preserving its advantages (e.g., clear historical threads, explicit sense of time, and the ability to discuss multiple historical events and figures within the same period) while also making creative breakthroughs in historical perspective, source selection, reflection of the era's spirit, research achievements, and reader engagement. These required significant and profound effort. The Qing Tongjian exemplifies the creativity and contemporary relevance of Zizhi annalistic history, demonstrating how historical heritage and modern creativity can be organically integrated.
Second, The Qing Tongjian is academically rich. Just flipping through a few volumes gives the impression that the authors' collection, organization, identification, verification, selection, and editing of sources were not hasty but the result of long-term accumulation and research. The comprehensiveness of the historical materials collected in this work is truly admirable. When I first read it, I was struck by its detailed discussions on politics, society, finance, economy, transportation, and warfare. As for whether its coverage of intellectual culture and academia is equally thorough, further review is needed. I posed a few questions and checked The Qing Tongjian.
Example 1: I recall that Huang Zongxi's Mingyi Daifanglu was first published in the second year of the Kangxi reign (1663), the only theoretical critique of the autocratic monarchy in Chinese feudal society. I wondered if The Qing Tongjian mentioned it. I quickly found a concise introduction to Mingyi Daifanglu in Volume 4, page 1350, along with excerpts of its most famous propositions.
Example 2: I remembered that Qian Qianyi died in the third year of the Kangxi reign (1664). When reading Chen Yinke's Liu Shi Bi Zhuan, I had a clear understanding of the relationship between Qian and Liu. I checked The Qing Tongjian and found an accurate introduction to them in Volume 4, page 1359.
Example 3: I recalled that Fang Yizhi died in the tenth year of the Kangxi reign (1671). I checked if The Qing Tongjian mentioned him. Even if it didn’t, that wouldn’t be a flaw. I found an accurate explanation in Volume 4, the seventh month, seventh day, of the Kangxi reign, along with a note on the cause of Fang’s death, showing the breadth of the collected materials.
What makes The Qing Tongjian particularly distinctive is its Kao Yi (investigation of discrepancies). As the authors state, Kao Yi is an essential and indispensable part of Zizhi annalistic history, and its meticulousness is one of the book’s key goals. They also say, The quality of Kao Yi reflects a historian’s expertise and highlights the Zizhi style, making it academically significant. The authors are entirely correct. The book contains numerous Kao Yi sections, and the sources cited are not limited to Qing imperial records or commonly available documents but extensively reference Manzhou Shilu (Manchu Annals) and Manwen Laodang (Old Manchu Archives). To use Manwen Laodang effectively requires diverse expertise, yet The Qing Tongjian employs it skillfully and convincingly.
Regarding the book’s writing style, it uses colloquial classical Chinese to save space. For historians like us, it is highly engaging to read. However, for a broader audience, whether it poses difficulties is unknown without further investigation. I haven’t had the chance to compare its text with primary Qing historical sources, so I cannot offer a judgment here—this is merely a point for reference.
The Qing Tongjian combines the strengths of specialized history, textbooks, and source studies. The editors and authors have the courage to blend the merits of various historical works, and this spirit of academic innovation is commendable. The Qing Tongjian is an annalistic Qing history written in the style of Zizhi Tongjian, and it is the first of its kind in Chinese history, completing the annalistic Zizhi tradition of ancient Chinese history.
Following China’s historical tradition, subsequent regimes often compiled histories of preceding dynasties. Due to well-known reasons, the Republic of China, during its brief 38-year existence, could not complete the compilation of Qing history. Shortly after the founding of the People’s Republic of China, leaders such as Mao Zedong and Dong Biwu proposed that the new nation should fulfill the task of ge dai xi shi (compiling history for a dynasty two generations removed).
The Qing Tongjian, written in accessible classical Chinese, strives for conciseness and clarity. Conciseness means the language is concise, clean, unobstructed, and vivid, with clear structure and as much dynamism as possible. Clarity means distinguishing between primary and secondary points, capturing the essence without rambling, leaving readers confused. While the overall style is set as accessible classical Chinese, slight variations in tone are inevitable due to differences in era, sources, and the authors’ subjective conditions, especially for the periods after the Opium War.
The publication of The Qing Tongjian lays a solid foundation for fulfilling the task of ge dai xi shi. It is a valuable resource for readers seeking to understand 300 years of Qing history, as well as an essential book for libraries, research centers, and lovers of history.