Old Classics for Verification, A Comfortable and Healthy Life, Notes from the Room

Author: Zhu Pengshou (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1997-12-01
Features: Old Classics Fully Documented and Notes from Anle Kangping Studio, two valuable Qing Dynasty historical notes by modern author Zhu Pengshou, are works with reference book characteristics that will provide significant assistance to lovers of literature and history, especially to researchers of Qing history. Old Classics Fully Documented was highly praised by contemporaries as "meticulously investigating and comprehensively examining the customs and figures of the former dynasty, presenting facts in their original form, demonstrating extensive knowledge, and ensuring that all records are both comprehensive and accurate. Its format is similar to Yanzhou Bieji, but it is more precise and rigorous" (as seen in Liu Chenggan's preface), and this is well-founded. For example, the entry "Number of Zhuangyuan in Each Province" records the names, origins, and examination ranks of 112 Zhuangyuan from the Shunzhi era (1646) to the Guangxu era (1904) over more than two centuries, which can be cross-referenced with records such as the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination Inscription Stele and the Imperial Selection Records. The entry "Zhejiang Dingjia Examination" specializes in recording the names and origins of Zhejiang-native Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua over approximately 250 years from the Shunzhi era (1649) to the Guangxu era (1898). The entry "Military Dingjia Examination" records the names and origins of military examination candidates from the Shunzhi era to the Guangxu era, filling the gap left by the lack of military records in the Imperial Examination Inscription Stele. For instance, the author imitates the example of Retirement Notes to record Zhejiang natives who received posthumous titles, listing their names, counties, official positions, titles, and the years they received them in eight regions of Hangzhou, Huzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Taizhou, Quzhou, Yanzhou, and Chuzhou. This can be cross-referenced with the entry "Family Members Who Received Posthumous Titles" to serve a genealogical function. Other entries such as "Noble Families" fall into this category. Notes from Anle Kangping Studio, in six volumes, was completed in the Republic of China in the year Jimo (1939) and was published in print in 1940 before Old Classics Fully Documented. This book lists entries by topic without titles. According to the author, in addition to writing Shouxinqi Congji, he recorded events "whenever inspired, writing freely without a set format. Although it includes both refined and popular content, there is no strict structure, yet there are scattered annotations and some insights. He also records his personal experiences and traces of his life, and the compiled notes are somewhat similar in spirit to the notes of Yuanyang Mountain. Therefore, he had his descendants arrange them into volumes and named the book Notes from Anle Kangping." The four characters "Anle Kangping" were the words of a spring couplet granted to Zhu Pengshou by the Qing court in the year Dingwei (1913), and he named his studio and book accordingly. Notes from Anle Kangping is broader in content than Old Classics Fully Documented, covering not only canonical and personal matters but also poetry, textual phonology, bibliographic cataloging, ancient coins, and calligraphy. It has certain reference value. For example, in Volume 4, there is a detailed record of the posthumous titles of imperial princes and vassals from the Guangxu era to the Xuantong era, which can supplement the shortcomings of tools such as Imperial Dynasty Posthumous Title Table and Qing Dynasty Official Year Table. Volume 5 raises questions or corrects errors regarding the posthumous titles of some high-ranking officials that differ from those in Imperial Dynasty General Gazette, Qing Dynasty Historical Records, and Eight Banners General Gazette. Volume 2 also provides references on certain aspects of the Qing Dynasty examination system, such as introducing how supplementary candidates for the palace examination had their papers stamped with the red seal "supplementary," which were not included in the top ten presented papers. The author himself served as an examiner for the examination in various provinces and recorded the rules and procedures for the palace examination in Volume 3 (the so-called "turning tables"), which is also quite valuable.