Old Classics Collected Anton Kangping Room Notes--Qing Dynasty

Author: Zhu Pengshou (Qing Dynasty), annotated by He Shuangsheng
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Old Classics Fully Documented and Notes from Anle Kangping Studio, two valuable Qing Dynasty historical records with reference book characteristics written by the modern scholar Zhu Pengshou, will provide significant assistance to history and literature enthusiasts, especially to researchers of Qing history. Old Classics Fully Documented was highly praised by contemporaries as "extensively investigating and thoroughly researching the customs and figures of the former dynasty, providing a detailed and comprehensive account, with profound knowledge and extensive learning. All records are both complete and accurate, and its format is similar to Yanzhou Bieji, though even more precise" (as cited in Liu Chenggan's postscript). This is well-founded. For example, the entry "Number of Provinces' Zhuangyuan" records the names, origins, and examination ranks of 112 Zhuangyuan from the Shunzhi era (1646) to the Guangxu era (1904) over more than two centuries, which can be cross-referenced with records such as the Qing Dynasty Imperial Examination Inscription Stele and the Imperial Selection Records. The entry "Zhejiang Dingjia Exam" specializes in the names and origins of Zhejiang-native Zhuangyuan, Bangyan, and Tanhua from the Shunzhi era (1649) to the Guangxu era (1898) over approximately two and a half centuries. The entry "Military Dingjia Exam" records the names and origins of military candidates from the Shunzhi era to the Guangxu era, filling the gap in the Imperial Examination Inscription Stele that omits military records. Similarly, the author imitates the style of Retirement Notes to record Zhejiang natives who received posthumous titles, categorizing them by Hangzhou, Huzhou, Ningbo, Shaoxing, Taizhou, Quzhou, Yanzhou, and Chuzhou in the entry "Zhejiang Natives with Posthumous Titles," listing their names, county origins, official positions, titles, and the years they received them. This can be cross-referenced with the entry "Family with Posthumous Titles" to serve as a genealogical record. Other entries such as "Noble Families" fall into this category. Notes from Anle Kangping Studio, in six volumes, was completed in the Republic of China in the year Ji mou (1939) and was published in print in 1940, predating Old Classics Fully Documented. This book lists entries by topic without titles. According to the author, in addition to writing Shouxin Qi Congji, he "recorded events as they occurred, discussing recent matters, tracing old tales, describing family traditions, or expressing personal views, writing freely when inspired, though the content ranges from scholarly to popular and lacks a formal structure. However, there are scattered annotations and minor revelations, and he also recorded his own life experiences, leaving traces like snow on the wing. The collected notes resemble the style of Yuanyang Mountain's Notes, so he had his descendants compile them into volumes and named the book Notes." The four characters "Anle Kangping" were part of a spring couplet bestowed upon Zhu Pengshou by the Qing court in the year Dingwei (1913), and thus he named his studio and the book. Notes covers a broader range of topics than Old Classics Fully Documented, including not only rites and customs but also poetry, phonetics, bibliographies, ancient coins, and calligraphy, making it a valuable reference. For example, the entry on the posthumous titles of imperial princes and vassals from the Guangxu era to the Xuantong era in Volume 4 provides detailed records that supplement the shortcomings of tools such as Imperial Dynasty Posthumous Title Table and Qing Dynasty Official Year Table. Volume 5 raises questions or corrects discrepancies in the posthumous titles of some high-ranking officials as recorded in Imperial Dynasty General Gazette, Qing Dynasty Documentary General Examination, and Eight Banners General Gazette. Volume 2 also contains references to certain aspects of the Qing Dynasty examination system, such as the practice of marking exam papers with a red seal of "supplement" for candidates who took the supplementary examination, which were not included in the top ten submitted papers. The author himself served as an examiner for the supplementary examination of candidates from various provinces, and in Volume 3, he records the rules and procedures for the examination of the palace examination officials (i.e., the term "turning tables"), which are also quite valuable.