Guangling Tongdian

Author: Guangling
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-11-01
Features: Guangling Tongdian is a renowned work documenting the local history of Yangzhou. The author, Wang Zhong (1745—1794), was a native of Jiangdu County in the Yangzhou Prefecture of the Qing Dynasty. He was an outstanding scholar proficient in classical studies, textual criticism, history, and epigraphy, as well as a literary master skilled in parallel prose, prose, and poetry. Guangling Tongdian, comprising 10 volumes, covers events from the construction of the Han Canal by King Fuchai of Wu during the Spring and Autumn Period to the events of the first year of the Qianning era (894) of Emperor Zhaozong of Tang, when Yang Xingmi took control of Yangzhou. According to Wang Zhong's writing plan, the book was intended to extend to the period of the Ming-Qing transition when Shi Kefa defended Yangzhou. However, he only completed it up to the late Tang Dynasty before passing away due to illness. In the third year of the Daoguang era (1823), his son Xijun published this unfinished manuscript.
The Ten Days of Yangzhou is a work documenting the brutal massacre carried out by Qing forces after they captured Yangzhou. The author, Wang Xiuchu, whose life is unknown, was a survivor of this atrocity. In April 1645 of the Shunzhi era of the Qing Dynasty, Qing forces besieged Yangzhou, and the Southern Ming military commander and Minister of War Shi Kefa led the Yangzhou people in heroic resistance. On the 25th, after breaking into the city, the Qing forces conducted widespread killings and looting, staging a bloody siege. The author of this book was a witness to this massacre and recorded its events in a factual manner, making it deeply moving. Though the entire work is only a brief 7,000 characters long, it combines historical and literary value and once had a significant political impact, making it an extraordinary work.
The Draft History of Yangzhou During the Xian and Tong Eras holds high historical value. To date, the main diaries and notes by landlords and literati documenting the activities of the Taiping Army in Yangzhou include three works: Zang Gu's Notes from the Aftermath, Ni Zai Tian's Record of Yangzhou's Defense Against the Invaders, and The Draft History of Yangzhou During the Xian and Tong Eras. Notes from the Aftermath is a brief recollection by Zang Gu after the Taiping Movement's failure, while Record of Yangzhou's Defense Against the Invaders was written later by Ni Zai Tian, referencing official gazettes, Strategies to Suppress the Cantonese Bandits, and collected anecdotes. In contrast, The Draft History of Yangzhou During the Xian and Tong Eras is described by Luo Ergang as "the record of those who witnessed and heard it firsthand," making its historical value far greater than that of the other two works. From The Draft History of Yangzhou During the Xian and Tong Eras, we can see that the author, Fang Shi, as a scholar outside the feudal bureaucracy, was deeply dissatisfied with the incompetence of the Qing military commanders and local officials in blocking and suppressing the Taiping Army in Yangzhou. The book vividly exposes their opportunism, intrigue, greed, and incompetence, while also providing a detailed and objective description of the Taiping Army's activities in Yangzhou, allowing modern readers to uncover valuable historical truths.