Studies in Qing History

Official Historiography during the Late Qing

B. G. Doronin

2017, 0(2): 1-8.

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Official historiography was an most important asset of Chinese civilization． And，while there was a monarchy which was based on the principles of Confucianism，official historiography established itself as a separate state institution． That is why its fate was not only a historical issue，but it was also a key to understanding the political practice of Chinese rulers． Of particular interest is official historiography during the late Qing． It has been assumed that by official historiography had achieved its pinnacle in the Qing and afterwards a new doctrine of history appeared to replace it. Nevertheless，reality proves that even during that most complicated period it functioned even more effectively than it had ever before． But the character official historiography experienced significant changes and more attention was focused on the challenges of modernity．

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Further Study on the Concurrent Weaknesses of Central and Local Governments and Political Trends in the Late Qing Dynasty and the Early Republic of China

LI Xizhu

2017, 0(2): 9-23.

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At the time of the political transition in 1911 power relationships had evolved in favor of the local governments，which was the logical result of the Qing Dynasty’s decentralization of political authority to the provincial governors during the New Policy Ｒeform． The political trends，from the autocratic monarchy of the late Qing to the process of institutional change and reconstruction of the democratic republic system，led to the transfer of the sovereignty of the Qing government to the Nanjing Provisional Government and from the Nanjing Provisional Senate eventually to the Northern Warlords Government． In general，the patterns of declining central government power had an important influence on the political trends in the early Ｒepublic of China． This included the outbreak of the Ｒevolution of 1911 when the authority of the Qing Empire declined relative to the local governments，and the transformation of the Peiyang Clique headed by Yuan Shi-kai from “military intervention”to “military domination． ”But efforts to rebuild political authority did not work，finally leading to the stratocracy． However，the appearance of the stratocracy was not the natural outgrowth of the power of local governors in the late Qing Dynasty，but the rise of new forces of the New Army．

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A Study on the Meritorious Service Award System in the Qing Dynasty

YAO Min

2017, 0(2): 24-36.

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Meritorious service awards in the Qing dynasty were reward certificates that were issued to government personnel who rendered extraordinary service． The awards had five levels which were the first to the fifth level prior to the Jiaqing reign，and there were two types，the ordinary awards for military achievements and the special awards． The latter included the“charge”medal，the“forward”medal，the “carry flag forward “medal and the“naval war”medal． Beginning in the Jiaqing era，the medal ranks were in accord with the last five official ranks and the medals did not differ in kind． Medals changed in the material，size and other aspects in different periods of the Qing dynasty． Medals were issued to Eight Banners military officers and soldiers in the early Qing dynasty but they were issued to people from all circles in the later Qing dynasty． The Ministry of War conferred the medals before the Xianfeng reign．The power of awarding medals devolved from the central to the local authorities in the Qing dynasty． In addition，the Qing government gave medal winners preferences in pension for officers and soldiers and their families，promotion，corvee，and household registration．

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On the Evolution of the“Miao Areas Official Posts”in Qing Dynasty: The Case of Guizhou Civil Officials

ZHANG Zhenguo

2017, 0(2): 37-49.

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The“Miao Territory Official Posts”was the system of official positions established in the southwest ethnic minority areas by Qing rulers in order to strengthen the administration of the borderland． The system，which included selection methods，tenure of office，and promotion regulations witnessed a gradual development． For example，it was in mid years of the Kangxi reign that the system in Guizhou province was initially created at the suggestion of supervising officials，governors and governors-general; but，with the change to the idea of official selection，the system was suspended for a period of time． Then in the mid years of Yongzheng reign the system was revised and the tenure of office of the officials was classified into two types—three years and five years—marking the establishment of the Miao Territory Official Posts． In the mid years of the Qianlong emperor，the tenure of office of the Miao Territory Official Posts was extended again，changing the criteria for tenure and salary from excellence to seniority，which marked the final establishment of the Miao Territory Official Posts． The establishment of the Miao Territory Official Posts reflected the Qing rulers’attention to the borderland，and had a profound influence on borderland administration． However，with many problems appearing in the process of practice，the effectiveness of implementation was imperfect and did not achieve the desired results．

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The New Interpretation on the Administrative Operation of Zhou in the Ming and Qing Dynasties

LI Dahai

2017, 0(2): 50-58.

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This article focuses on the new interpretation of the administrative operation of Zhou in the Ming and Qing Dynasties． There were two kinds of Zhou: the“independent department”，and the“subordinate department”． By analyzing the process of the revision of the subordinate department during Yongzheng period，this research draws a new conclusion about the interpretation of an important literature． The subordinate department was regarded as a county and the independent department was regarded as prefecture，in Ｒecords of Officials in the Ming Dynastic History． This meant that the magistrate in a subordinate department was equivalent to a county magistrate and the responsibilities of a magistrate of an independent department was same of that of a magistrate of a prefecture．

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Hui Migration from the Shaanxi-Gansu Area to Xinjiang during the Qianlong Reign

HUA Li

2017, 0(2): 59-72.

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There was a large and continuous influx of population flowing west into the Xinjiang from inland China after the area of the Tianshan Mountains was reunified in the mid-Qianlong period． A large and important part of this migration were Hui people who lived in the Shaanxi-Gansu area． These migrants made a significant impact on the later composition of the Xinjiang population composition and local society． However，the existence of these Hui migrants has been ignored in academic studies． This paper discusses the opportunities and trends of Hui migration to the west; how the Hui made a living in Xinjiang and built migrant communities; and further shows the patterns and characteristics of the inland Muslim migrant groups． This research is based on a large number of examples in the Manchu and Han archives housed in Beijing and Taipei.

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The Anti-Corvee Movement in the Altai Military Stations

LU Tingting

2017, 0(2): 73-83.

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The corvee servicemen of the Altai military stations along the post roads from Zhangjiakou to Uliastai could be classified as two types: the formal service members and auxiliary privates． The latter could be divided into Policemen and Auxiliary Policemen． The difference between the formal service members and auxiliary privates could be seen from their verified statuses，different treatment，and uneven duties． After the Tongzhi reign，it was common for the auxiliary privates to rebel against their heavy labor duties．There were some attempts by authorities to deal with them but with little success． During the Guangxu reign，the princes of Qalq-a Mongolia also had tried to cope with these problems through the reform of the military stations service system but the reform ultimately failed．

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The“Chongde Reformation”and“the Second Manchu Invasion of Korea”: The Legitimacy Problem in Association Between Qing Dynasty and Joseon Korea

GUI Tao

2017, 0(2): 84-98.

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Conceptually， there was a special significance to the connection between the “Chongde Ｒeformation”in 1636 and the subsequent battle between the Qing Dynasty and Joseon Korea，known as “the second Manchu invasion of Korea． ”From the view point of Joseon Korea， the “Chongde Ｒeformation”reflected the Qing’s desire to replace the Ming Dynasty and involved the transformation of the world order． The legitimacy of the Qing’s claim was based on the idea that only a ruler with the highest moral standing had the qualification to be the world’s ruler． To prove this claim it was necessary to conquer Mongolia and Joseon Korea． In contrast with Mongolia，Joseon Korea’s submission to the Qing had special significance，which reinforced Hong Taiji’s moral image and deconstructed the legitimacy of Ming as the world ruler． Therefore，after the“Chongde Ｒeformation”，the primary task of the Qing became putting Joseon Korea in subjugation． Through the second Manchu invasion of Korea，Joseon Korea was incorporated into the political framework of the Qing Dynasty，but still did not admit the Qing’s legitimacy，which suggested that the Qing’s conquest did not completely achieve the expected result．

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A Study of the French Factory in Guangzhou in the Eighteenth Century

XIE Jianghong

2017, 0(2): 99-112.

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Established in 1644 the French East India Company was not content to lag behind international trade in the eighteenth century． The company made active efforts to trade in China with the backing of the French government． The foundation，evolution and closing of the French Factory was closely related to the success or failure of keen overseas competition between France and the other European countries， especially England，and also to its domestic political situation． The French Factory had a common experience with the French East India Company． This paper analyzes the number of boats which came to Guangzhou and the supercargoes of the French Factory analyzing the original statistics in the case records in order to present the picture of prosperity in trade between the two countries in the eighteenth century．

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The Introduction of“Devilish Language”to China: An Examination of the English Vocabulary Books such as“Words in Use among the Red-Haired People”in the Qing Dynasty

QIU Zhihong

2017, 0(2): 113-121.

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In the process of the dissemination English in China in the late Qing period，“Words in Use among the Red-Haired People” ( Hongmao fan hua) was one of the earliest pamphlets with English words or phrases． Texts like this appeared in Guangdong in the 1830s at the latest and were the popular texts or reference books for Chinese people to teach or to learn English． Until the 1880s，these works were frequently reprinted． Based on the newly found“Words of the Devilish Language of the Red-bearded People Commonly Used in Buying and Selling”( Wugui Tang edition) ，and comparisons of six versions of “Vocabulary of Words in Use among the Red-Haired People”，this article explores the republication， circulation history，the readers，and other aspects of these publications to view the characteristics of Sino- Western cultural exchanges and the historical efforts of the Chinese people to learn English in the nineteenth century．

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The Social Changes during Late Qing Dynasty and Westerners’Chinese Study

YUE Lan

2017, 0(2): 122-129.

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At the beginning of the nineteenth century，Protestant missionaries came to China and initiated the second tide of Western Chinese studies． The history of Western Sinology evolved with modern Chinese social changes． Western studies of Chinese went from forbidden to legal status． Because China was forced to open in the late Qing，the scope of Western activities was broadened，and the requirements of learning Chinese raised，with the result of an increase of Chinese teaching materials，rich types of textbooks and improved levels of quality． At the same time，new features of learning Chinese appeared． Based on the primary materials，it is necessary to draw the outline of the history of Chinese learning in the Englishspeaking world in this period． This is essential to the discipline of teaching Chinese as a second language，and also a crucial portion of interchange between Western countries and China．

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Research on the Kaiping Engineering and Mining Company’s Response to the Crisis Caused by the Boxer Uprising

ZHANG Aidong

2017, 0(2): 130-143.

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The predicament caused by the Boxer Uprising was the most important and the most direct reason for the transference of the Kaiping mining rights． The problem of shortage of funds became more precarious and Kaiping Company faced the danger of being confiscated． Selling mining rights was undoubtedly a measure to protect itself． It was initiated to avoid being cheated． And the price was relatively reasonable． But the problem was that，in accordance with the law of Qing Dynasty，Zhang Yi had no right to sell the coal mine． The long dispute between Britain and China about mining rights，by its nature，was caused by the differences between the English and Chinese legal systems． Based on sales agreement and transfer agreement，English businessmen were entitled to possess and operate the Kaiping Mines completely． The supplementary agreement Zhang Yi stuck with was not carried out at all and English businessmen brought the Kaiping Mines under their sole control under the name of Chinese-foreign joint venture．

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The Significance of the Ryukyu King’s Dispatch of Ma Zongyi’s Diplomatic Mission to the Early Qing

WU Yuanfeng

2017, 0(2): 144-152.

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