Nanming History - (Complete 14 Volumes)

Author: Qian Haiyue
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2006-05-01
Features: The History of the Southern Ming is a 120-volume, biographical historical book divided into four parts: Annals, Chronicles, Tables, and Biographies. The chronicles span from May of the 17th year of the Chongzhen era to the 37th year of the Yongli era. Over these decades, though confined to a remote corner and struggling to survive, the complex and intricate events made it difficult for generations of scholars to study the Southern Ming period. Tracing its threads was no easy task. However, Qian Haiyue spent over forty years of his life, consulting over 3,400 books and documents, meticulously organizing and categorizing the vast and detailed information. Everything, from politics and economy to figures and wars, was included, making it a highly valuable historical source.
Qian Haiyue (1901–1968) was from Wuxi, Jiangsu. He began compiling Southern Ming historical materials in the 1920s and completed the first draft of the 100-volume Draft of the History of the Southern Ming in the 1940s. The History of the Southern Ming held by the Zhonghua Book Company Library was transcribed by Liu Yazi based on this draft. Later, Qian Haiyue revised and expanded the draft, increasing it to 120 volumes. In 1968, during the Cultural Revolution, Qian Haiyue suffered persecution and died, and the Draft of the History of the Southern Ming went missing. Whether Qian Haiyue completed the 120-volume Draft of the History of the Southern Ming before his death remains a mystery. In 1971, Gu Jiegang mentioned the book in The Plan for the Organization of National History, speculating that it might be hidden in Wuxi or Nanjing. Qian Haiyue’s descendants searched tirelessly for the manuscript and miraculously discovered the first 96 volumes of the final draft and the last 24 volumes of the rough draft, totaling 120 volumes. Unfortunately, compared to the neat calligraphy of the first 96 volumes, the last 24 volumes were illegible, with many passages written in a script only Qian Haiyue himself could decipher, and numerous small notes interspersed, making it unclear how to continue.
Despite this, since Qian Haiyue’s lifetime collection of Southern Ming historical materials, filled an entire truck, was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, many of the 3,400 sources cited in this 3.5 million-word manuscript were preserved only through The Draft of the History of the Southern Ming, giving it immense value. However, due to editorial reasons, the book has never been published.
The History of the Southern Ming is a 120-volume, biographical historical book divided into four parts: Annals, Chronicles, Tables, and Biographies. The chronicles span from May of the 17th year of the Chongzhen era to the 37th year of the Yongli era. Over these decades, though confined to a remote corner and struggling to survive, the complex and intricate events made it difficult for generations of scholars to study the Southern Ming period. Tracing its threads was no easy task. However, Qian Haiyue spent over forty years of his life, consulting over 3,400 books and documents, meticulously organizing and categorizing the vast and detailed information. Everything, from politics and economy to figures and wars, was included, making it a highly valuable historical source.
Qian Haiyue (1901–1968) was from Wuxi, Jiangsu. He began compiling Southern Ming historical materials in the 1920s and completed the first draft of the 100-volume Draft of the History of the Southern Ming in the 1940s. The History of the Southern Ming held by the Zhonghua Book Company Library was transcribed by Liu Yazi based on this draft. Later, Qian Haiyue revised and expanded the draft, increasing it to 120 volumes. In 1968, during the Cultural Revolution, Qian Haiyue suffered persecution and died, and the Draft of the History of the Southern Ming went missing. Whether Qian Haiyue completed the 120-volume Draft of the History of the Southern Ming before his death remains a mystery. In 1971, Gu Jiegang mentioned the book in The Plan for the Organization of National History, speculating that it might be hidden in Wuxi or Nanjing. Qian Haiyue’s descendants searched tirelessly for the manuscript and miraculously discovered the first 96 volumes of the final draft and the last 24 volumes of the rough draft, totaling 120 volumes. Unfortunately, compared to the neat calligraphy of the first 96 volumes, the last 24 volumes were illegible, with many passages written in a script only Qian Haiyue himself could decipher, and numerous small notes interspersed, making it unclear how to continue.
Despite this, since Qian Haiyue’s lifetime collection of Southern Ming historical materials, filled an entire truck, was destroyed in the Cultural Revolution, many of the 3,400 sources cited in this 3.5 million-word manuscript were preserved only through The Draft of the History of the Southern Ming, giving it immense value. However, due to editorial reasons, the book has never been published.