Yangzhou Footprint Records

Author: Jiao Xun (Qing Dynasty), edited by Xu Weiping, annotated
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-09-01
Features: Record of Yangzhou, compiled by Jiao Xun of the Qing Dynasty. Jiao Xun, styled Litang, also known as Litang, later styled Litang Laoren, was a native of Ganquan County (now Yangzhou, Jiangsu) in the Qing Dynasty. Born in the 28th year of the Qianlong reign (1763) and died in the 25th year of the Jiaqing reign (1820). Jiao Xun was erudite and possessed exceptional insight. After passing the provincial examination during the Jiaqing era, he became disinterested in official career and devoted himself to scholarly pursuits in his later years, gaining fame for his extensive and profound scholarship. He excelled in the study of classics, history, mathematics, phonology, and etymology, and was well-versed in poetry, prose, medicine, opera, and the works of various schools. He was particularly skilled in the Hand Yi (a form of divination), representing the Yangzhou School of Scholarship and earning the reputation of a "learned scholar." Record of Yangzhou collects 300 pieces of writings related to Yangzhou from scholars, literati, and reclusive scholars during the late Ming Dynasty, early Qing Dynasty, and the Jiaqing era, including biographies, prefaces, postscripts, annotations, letters, chronicles, inscriptions, memorials, proclamations, tax records, surveys, dialogues, and eulogies in various genres. Jiao Xun gathered these works through three means: first, collecting existing published editions. Second, compiling some unpublished works, though some of these collections have since been lost. For example, the Complete Works of Lin Huitang included the postscript to Wang Fangqi's Wuyuan Ci Houtian, the Songquan Collection included the epitaph for Wang Youdun, Grand Secretary of the Imperial Academy and Minister of Personnel, posthumously titled Wen Su, the Zhang Family Genealogy included the biography of Zhou Yi's Zhang Deyuan Xingzhuang and Song He's Zhang Jin Zhuan and Zhang Deyuan Epitaph, among others. Works such as Art and Literature of the Qing Dynasty, Supplement to the Art and Literature of the Qing Dynasty, and Art and Literature of Jiangsu·Yangzhou Volume did not list them or marked them as lost. Third, single articles that had not yet been compiled or published. These included works by renowned scholars such as Zhu Yizun, Cheng Yaotian, Zhang Xuecheng, Wang Chang, Sun Xingxian, Ruan Yuan, and Shi Zhao, among others, some of which were not included in their published collections. For instance, Ruan Yuan's Biography of Chen Tai Shi, which recorded the actual events of Chen Huyao being summoned by the Kangxi Emperor for an algorithmic examination and appointed as a compiler of the Imperial Academy, was not found in Yuejing Study Collection. Thanks to Record of Yangzhou, later generations can still access many rare or lost historical documents.