Jia Shen Historical Records—Three Variants

Author: (Ming) Zhang Yongqi et al. compiled, Lai Xing edited
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2002-10-01
Features: The author personally experienced the campaign and documented its entire process. His account was written only two months after the battle in April of the same year, making it highly accurate in terms of time and events, and can be considered trustworthy historical material. There are many extant Jiaoshen historical records, but most were written by literati from that time or later, living in Jiangnan, who observed the Central Plains military affairs as if watching from across the river. Their accounts were often based on reports, collected rumors, or lacked clear geographical descriptions of mountains, rivers, cities, and towns, or were vague about the details of events, making it difficult to organize the situation and leading to many unreliable statements. The Accidental Journey rarely suffers from such flaws, with detailed information about villages, towns, and distances that can be accurately verified. The book mentions that Li Bicheng's foothold in Henan was Xiangcheng, also known as the "two rows of tribute and three provisions" mentioned in Li Hongzhi's Record of the Past and other articles. This is something rarely discussed in other books, and some even confused Xiangcheng with Xiangyang. Undoubtedly, this provides an important aspect of Jiaoshen history that modern scholars still know very little about. The Postscript section of the book narrates the author's life as a refugee from Xiangcheng to Hongguang's first year (Yiwu) after the battle. Although the account focuses on the author's and his family's experiences, his journey from evading the army in Hebei to passing through Zhongyuan, taking the imperial examination in the capital, moving to Zezhou, returning to Henan, being summoned to Nanjing, and meeting with Shi Kefu, among other events, offers insights into the ebb and flow of military and political situations among the Ming Dynasty, peasant armies, and the Manchu Qing. Every move he made was closely tied to the larger struggle for dominance in the Central Plains. The chronological details and narrative threads in his account serve as important references for many military and political events during the transition period. As for the accounts of him being captured by the rebel army in Xiangcheng due to "the dream matching the words" and surviving, and being captured in Lujia Cave on the border of Xu and Xiang in June of the Jiaoshen year by a rebel commander named Yuan, who was saved by "heavy thunder and rain," these are undoubtedly fabrications (he himself changed his story when he submitted a petition to the Ministry of Personnel in Nanjing). These incidents should be interpreted differently. The manuscript of the book was kept in the family for a long time. During the Kangxi period, Liu Zongsi compiled Xiangcheng Literary Records and excerpted a small section to be placed under the entry for Wang Qiaoyuan's death. It wasn't until the late Qianlong period that Su Ruizhen, a teacher in Xiangcheng County from Xinzheng, published it based on the family's manuscript, prefixed with a poem at the beginning of the volume. This is the only copy we can see and the basis for our current collation. Su Ruizhen, styled Huibo, was a in 1782. Since the Xiangcheng County annals were not maintained after 1780, it is difficult to determine the exact year of this edition. Based on the features of the printed pages and the avoidance of taboo characters, it is certain that it was printed in the late Qianlong period. This edition is now extremely rare. As far as we know, only the Beijing Library, the Henan Provincial Library, and the author of the novel Li Bicheng (Yao Xueyin) possess copies. Both libraries have incomplete books at the end, with the narrative abruptly ending on the eleventh day of the fifth month of Yiwu. Thanks to Yao Xueyin's generosity, we were able to collate and complete the book. According to Xiangcheng County records, Zhang Yongqi did not take up his post in Yongkang County, Zhejiang, as the book states. Instead, he returned to Xiangcheng with his family in June of the same year after the Qing army captured Nanjing and the Southern Ming fell. He later retired from the world and lived in seclusion until his death in the first year of the Kangxi reign, remaining a Ming loyalist for life. Zhang Yongqi's nephew, Zhang Zhen, styled Shen'a, initially served as the magistrate of Chengxiang County in Guangdong. When the Guo Wang (Zhu Youlang) established his court in Zhaoqing, Zhang Zhen was promoted to the position of Imperial Censor. When the Qing army advanced south, Zhang Zhen led his fleet in a desperate battle but was defeated and drowned himself in loyalty. Zhang Zhen's young son, Zhang Ben Gan, wandered the streets and begged his way home. Zhang Yongqi, weeping, gave him his property and raised him to adulthood. Overall, Zhang Yongqi's life seems not to have been driven by "seeking small gains and official positions," as described in Xie Guozheng's Supplemented Examination Records of Late Ming Literature. As for his attitude toward the peasant armies, he completely stood on the side of the Ming Dynasty, which need not be elaborated upon. Liu Qingli of Xiangcheng wrote Biography of Zhang Gong. Li Shican's Biographies of Outstanding Figures of Central Plains also includes a biography of Zhang Yongqi. The former is without error, and is appended here to aid in understanding people and their times.