Zeng Jize Diary (Complete 3 Volumes)

Author: Zeng Jize (Qing Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 1998-08-01
Features: Returning a complete set, purely in terms of version, this will be the ninth edition of Zeng Jize's diary. Here, it is necessary to briefly discuss the catalogs and their advantages and disadvantages of all previous versions.
1. Zeng Hou Diary: Found in Shenbao Press Series Residues, printed by Shenbao Press in the autumn of Guangxu 7th year, compiled by the owner of Zunwen Pavilion. From the first day of the ninth month of Guangxu 4th year to the 16th day of the third month of Guangxu 5th year, approximately 45,000 words.
2. Diary of Dispatch to Britain and France: Found in Xiao Fanghu Zhai Geographic Series, compiled and published by Wang Xiqi from Guangxu 17th to 23rd year. The same start and end dates and word count as above.
3. Diary of Zeng Huimin Gong: Found in Zeng Huimin Gong's Collected Works, published by the Jiangnan Arsenal in Guangxu 19th year. From the 27th day of the seventh month of Guangxu 4th year to the 19th day of the eleventh month of Guangxu 12th year, approximately 50,000 words, in two volumes.
4. Diary of Dispatch to the West: Found in Xiao Fanghu Zhai Geographic Series Continuation, compiled and published by Wang Xiqi in Guangxu 23rd year. From the autumn of Guangxu 3rd year to the 16th day of the eleventh month of Guangxu 12th year, approximately 50,000 words.
5. Zeng Huimin Gong's Handwritten Diary: Found in China Historical Studies Series, edited by Wu Xiangxiang, published by Taiwan Student Bookstore in 1965 based on manuscript facsimiles. From the first day of the first month of Tongzhi 9th year to the 26th day of the second lunar month of Guangxu 16th year, approximately 1.3 million words, in eight volumes.
6. Diary of Dispatch to the West: Found in Towards the World Series, edited by Zhong Shuhe, published by Hunan People's Publishing House in January 1981, compiled and proofread by Zhang Xuanhao. The same start and end dates as the continuation of Xiao Fanghu Zhai, with over 70,000 words.
7. Collected Works of Zeng Jize · Diary: Published by Yuelu Book Society in July 1983, proofread by Yu Yancheng based on the Jiangnan Arsenal edition.
8. Diary of Dispatch to Britain, France, and Russia: Found in Towards the World Series, edited by Zhong Shuhe, published by Yuelu Book Society in November 1985, punctuated by Wang Jiecheng. From the first day of the first month of Guangxu 4th year to the 30th day of the twelfth month of Guangxu 12th year, approximately 560,000 words.
Among the above editions, none are complete in both beginning and end, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. Compared to them, the Taiwan facsimile edition is the most complete and authoritative fine copy currently available. However, it was printed only 32 years ago with 1,000 copies, and few copies exist in mainland China, making it difficult for readers to obtain. Moreover, it is in traditional handwritten characters without punctuation, making it inconvenient to read. Most importantly, it lacks a significant portion of the content related to diplomatic affairs.
A selection from the Taiwan facsimile edition, proofread by Wang Jiecheng, uses modern punctuation, annotations for key points, and an appended index and name. Leveraging the Towards the World Series, it has gained widespread popularity. In terms of quantity and length, it is ten times longer than Zhang Xuanhao's edition, with rich and detailed content, leading most readers to abandon the facsimile edition in favor of this one. However, the nearly 20,000 words of diplomatic records added by Zhang Xuanhao's edition are also largely overlooked by most people.
Furthermore, as the most recent large-scale of Zeng Jize's diary, it remains a selected edition (discarding 11 years and 3 months of diary entries, approximately 750,000 words), which is inevitably regrettable.
Zhang Xuanhao's edition is preceded by prefaces written by Zhong Shuhe, the series editor, who reportedly had three versions (the initial, continuation, and Jiangnan Arsenal editions) available in the early 1980s and entrusted Zhang Xuanhao with proofreading. At the time, this indeed became a "relatively complete edition." The reason lies in the fact that the initial Xiao Fanghu Zhai edition contains additional content approved by Zeng Jize himself, the Jiangnan Arsenal edition adds diary entries from Guangxu 5th to 12th year, and the continuation edition corrects some errors in the Jiangnan Arsenal edition. The Zhang family selected the strengths of each and compiled them into a book, presenting the earliest punctuation edition to a broad readership.
However, only four years later, Wang Jiecheng's edition was published, and Zhang Xuanhao's edition was largely replaced. The Jiangnan Arsenal edition is believed to have been compiled by Zeng Jize's relatives and old friends. Upon investigation, its source text combines handwritten originals with the Shenbao Press edition. The initial and continuation Xiao Fanghu Zhai editions do not specify their source texts. Upon further examination, the continuation edition draws from the Jiangnan Arsenal edition, while the initial edition is a re-engraving of the Shenbao Press edition.