Zhang Wenhu Diary

Author: Zhang Wenhu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-12-01
Features: The protagonist of Zhang Wenhu's Diary is Zhang Wenhu, also known as Xiaoshan, and by the pen name Tianmushanqiao. During the late Qing Dynasty, he was a renowned scholar in Shanghai. He was invited by Zeng Guofan, the Viceroy of Liangjiang, to participate in the business management of Jinling Bookstore, one of the most influential official publishing institutions in Jiangnan at the time, for a period of 10 years. This diary was written during that time. Due to his close connections with successive Viceroys of Liangjiang, such as Zeng Guofan, Zeng Guocheng, Li Hongzhang, and Ma Xinyi, as well as their staff, the diary preserves many "official secrets." It also contains extensive records of the economic recovery of Nanjing after the defeat of the Taiping Rebellion, local customs, and social news, making it an invaluable primary source for understanding and researching late Qing political, publishing, and social history. The manuscript of the diary has long been preserved in the Shanghai Library and is now being published for the first time, making it exceptionally precious. The diary entries included in this book document major military and political events, as well as "official secrets" and social news of the time. It is not only a primary source for grasping the social and historical dynamics of the late Qing era but also an uncommon historical document of Shanghai.