Qing Dynasty's Record of Gentle Diplomacy -- A Collection of Historical Books on Sino-foreign Transportation

Author: Wang Zhichun (Qing Dynasty), edited by Zhao Chunchen
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: This book systematically records the Sino-foreign relations before the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty, particularly the aggressive activities of European powers in China, reflecting the weak and ignorant mentality of Qing rulers. The book is divided into twelve volumes, with the first eighteen volumes as the main part, which is written in a chronological order, narrating the history of Sino-foreign relations from the first year of Shunzhi to the thirteenth year of Tongzhi over more than two hundred years, as well as certain historical events between the Qing Dynasty and ethnic minorities in the frontier regions. The last two volumes are appendices, including "General Survey of Coastal Countries," "Random Remarks on the Sea," "Brief Description of Coastal Situations," "Return to the Sea National," "Coastal National Development," and "Three Island Division National." This book is another comprehensive work on the history of Sino-foreign relations in the Qing Dynasty, appearing after the "Annals of Sino-Foreign Relations" following the Xia Incident in the second half of the 19th century. The book uses rich materials. According to Wang Zhichun himself, the historical facts in the book are not only accumulated from official documents mentioned above and issued, but also collected from memorials of officials at the time, writings of famous officials, maps of Westerners, and adoptable private works of various schools.