A Chronicle of the Qing Dynasty (Illustrated Edition)

Author: Cai Dongfan
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: This book consists of one hundred chapters, covering the rise of the Qing Dynasty in the Northeast and its decline until the abdication of the Xuantong Emperor and his exit from the palace, nearly three centuries of history. Major historical facts in the book are well-documented, making it mostly readable, believable, and valuable, marking a new style in historical fiction. Long before the Zhao Song Dynasty, after the Jin State was destroyed, some surviving Jurchen tribes fled to the Northeast and took refuge by the coast, naming themselves "Aisin Gioro" (meaning "residents of the Changbai Mountains") and establishing the Manchu Empire; thus, they renamed themselves the "Manchu people." After several centuries and generations, a wise and brave figure emerged from the tribe, leading to the unfolding of 268 years of Qing Dynasty history. The Qing Dynasty unified the Central Plains, seemingly destined for eternal prosperity, as if it could be in harmony with the heavens. However, it turned out that the foreign invaders, with their advanced ships and cannons, repeatedly breached the country's borders. The great nation suffered territorial losses today and indemnities tomorrow, exhausting the Qing rulers and officials, who were overwhelmed and gradually saw the nation's decline. Unforeseenly, external threats were compounded by internal turmoil. The Wuchang Uprising sparked responses across provinces, ultimately overthrowing the great Qing Dynasty. Later generations often criticized the Qing Dynasty's poor governance, resorting to harsh insults, as if none of its emperors were not tyrannical and lustful, and none of its officials were not base and corrupt. In reality, a closer examination of Qing Dynasty history reveals both faults and merits, instances of cruelty and brutality alongside benevolence and virtue. However, by the late Qing era, the emperor was weak, officials were incompetent, the court was corrupt, and the world had already undergone significant changes. Thus, when the revolutionaries rose, the entire empire collapsed. This is not entirely surprising.