DOCSLIB.ORG

The Yongle Dadian: the Origin, Destruction, Dispersal and Reclamation of a Chinese Cultural Treasure 中國文化珍藏 ──永樂大典的起源、毀壞、分散與收復

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Yongle Dadian: the Origin, Destruction, Dispersal and Reclamation of a Chinese Cultural Treasure 中國文化珍藏 ──永樂大典的起源、毀壞、分散與收復 The Yongle Dadian: The Origin, Destruction, Dispersal and Reclamation of a Chinese Cultural Treasure 中國文化珍藏 ──永樂大典的起源、毀壞、分散與收復 Lauren Christos Biscayne Bay Library Florida International University, U.S.A. Email: [email protected] Keywords（關鍵詞）： Yongle Dadian（永樂大典）; Hanlin Academy（翰林書院）; Cultural Repository（文化貯藏）; Intellectual Repository（智識貯藏）; Library （圖書館）; Peking Siege（北京圍攻） 【Abstract】 relying on siege diaries and other primary source materials, the author will present what The history of the Yongle Dadian’s[1] crea- occurred on that fateful day of June 23, 1900 tion, near total destruction, its wanton dis- when the Hanlin Academy was reduced to persal, its promising reprinting and possible ashes and its contents looted. Lastly, the digitization, is but one example of a fasci- author will conclude with the recent reclama- nating cultural treasure worth studying. As tion efforts of the Yongle Dadian and touch this paper will show, even the partial recovery upon the role of libraries as repositories of of an artifact brings to light the significant intellectual heritage and cultural record. contribution of a culture, a time, and a people. 永樂大典的編作起源幾近毀壞，肆意分散的 The author will trace the course of the Yonele 歷史，以及翻印與數位化的可能性，使它成為 Dadian over 600 years. From the original 值得研究的文化寶藏。誠如本文之呈現，即使 compilation during the fifteenth century Ming 是部分古籍的修復，也能對文化、時代以及民 Dynasty to the burning and looting of the 族作出重要貢獻。作者將追溯永樂大典六百多 prestigious Hanlin Academy where it was 年的歷史，從十五世紀明朝時原典的編纂，到 held during the 1900 Siege of Peking. The 西元 1900 年間，北京被圍攻時，永樂大典的貯 function and rising importance of the Hanlin 藏地「翰林書院」被焚燒以及劫掠。本文也將 Academy as a cultural repository of Chinese 討論翰林書院作為貯藏中國學術成就的功用和 scholarship will be discussed. In addition, 重要性。此外，根據北京圍攻的紀錄和其他文 82 Journal of Library and Information Science 36（1）：82 – 91（April, 2010） 獻，作者也將陳述西元 1900 年 6 月 23 日當天 emperor, though considered a “warrior emperor,” was 翰林書院被焚燒與劫掠的過程。結論中，將討 also a man of education, writer, philosopher, calligra- 論近來為收復永樂大典所做的努力，以及探討 pher, and historian. As a patron of literature, he com- 圖書館在貯藏人文遺產和古蹟的角色。 missioned this mammoth undertaking with the thought “It is (as difficult) as sieving the sand for “...to boost the imperial library’s collection, making the gold, or scouting the sea for diamonds.” encyclopedia the only source for ancient books now long lost,” (Bray, 2002) however Goodrich and others Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (in state that the proposal “…for this undertaking was preface to Yongle Dadian, 1408) officially made by the Grand Secretariat[3] Xie Jin (1369 – 1415) of the Hanlin Academy on July 19, Part I: The Origin and History 1403” (Bray, 2002). Goodrich goes on to state that the of the Yonle Dadian Emperor approved Xie’s proposal, appointed him edi- The Yongle Dadian was a massive and unique colla- tor and gave him 147 assistants. Either way, the Grand tion of Chinese literature, culture, knowledge and ex- Secretariat was given the task of oversight and the perience; it remains a singular and remarkable project was underway. However after 17 months of achievement. The Yongle Dadian spans the equivalent conscientious devotion to the project, the emperor of 8,000 years worth of texts in one encyclopedia and rejected their first draft, titled “Wenxian Dacheng”[4] embraces four main topics: the Confucian canon, his- or Great Collection of Documents, citing it as incom- tory, philosophy, and the general literature of China. Dr. plete. W.T. Swingle[2] broadly describes the Yongle Dadian The Yongle Emperor added the imperial scholars as “a universal compendium of all existing Chinese Yao Guangxiao and many other scholars and imperial history, ethics, science, art, geography, religion, in a officials to the mission. During the following five word, of all human knowledge among the Chinese up years, these scholars persevered in collecting and to 1400 A.D.” (Wilcox, 1947, p.20). L. Carrington copying between 7,000 and 8,000 texts, documents, Goodrich specifies “thought, morals, poetry, frontier and other materials from the Pre-Qin Period (221 people (the Xiongnu and Hu for example), geography, B.C – 207 B.C), also known as the Spring and Autumn surnames, government, law, the spirits, biography, periods, up to the Ming Dynasty (1368 – 1644). Thou- divination, architecture (gates, bridges, halls, store- sands of scholars traversed China’s countryside houses, walls, offices), villages, capital cities, history, searching for texts that had not been previously re- burial customs, astronomy, botany, grain, military corded or seen since ancient times. Other Hanlin matters, Buddhism, Taoism, travels, bronzes, food and scholars worked on the compilation of the texts within drink, caves, dreams, scholars, drama, sacrifices, the Imperial Library at Nanjing. Finally, on December clothing, mathematics, carpentry, post stations, sha- 14, 1407, Yao re-submitted the Wenxian Dacheng to mans, literary collections (Goodrich, 1901, p.18). Two the Emperor. By now, the encyclopedia had grown to other prominent scholars in this field add “….as well 22,211 sections, or juan, bound as 11,095 handwritten as descriptions of unusual natural events” (Davis & folio volumes, “. 370 million characters on magnifi- Cheng, 2007, p. 436). The collection was commis- cent paper bordered with red silk, covered with perfect rd sioned by the 3 Emperor of the Ming Dynasty, the script in black lacquer with punctuation and notes in Yongle Emperor Zhu Di (reigned 1402 - 1424), who vermilion, all bound in imperial yellow damask silk”[5] was also known as Ming Chengzu, his Yongle era (Polastron, 2007, p.102). This work was painstakingly means "Perpetual Happiness” (Tsai, 2001, p. 436). The copied character for character. Exact copies produced 圖書館學與資訊科學 36（1）：82 – 91（民九十九年四月） 83 not only a key dictionary, but more importantly an burning the palace and taking away many precious extraordinary, grand “lei-shu”[6] or encyclopedia, the artifacts now displayed in British, French, and U.S. earliest and largest one to date. Many of these traditional museums, eyewitness Robert Swinhoe, recorded in his characters originally copied from ancient texts are no memoir “Narrative of the North China Campaign of longer in use today. With the addition of 60 juan form- 1860,” “What they could not carry away, they smashed ing the index and the emperor contributing a preface in to atoms” (Sanello, 2004, p.6). A bibliophile and which he used the phrase “completed in the winter of British interpreter among the troops realized the his- our sixth year,”[7] the final encyclopedia contained torical importance of the Imperial Archive and man- 22,937 juan. At last, bearing the name of his reign pe- aged to save several wagon loads of books which he riod, the Yung le Emperor was satisfied and bestowed sent to the British Museum. At this time, the last re- upon it the title of Yongle Dadian, Vast Documents of the maining copy was held in the Hanlin Academy Li- Yongle Era or Grand Canon of Yongle. brary, “…nearly complete…but not cared for,” (Coul- ing, 1917, p. 256), and like its original was bound cov- Upon its completion, the original was kept in the ered with yellow silk, each volume being 1 foot by 8 Ming Dynasty capital of Nanjing. In 1409, a copy of inches in length by one foot in breadth, and averaging this extraordinary work was to have been printed, but 1 – 2 inches in thickness. Sadly, this, the only Yongle the expense of woodblock cutting was too great and Dadian manuscript copy, long revered by scholars and the work so large that the Yongle Dadian was never emperors, over time fell prey to poor preservation printed; it existed only in a simple manuscript copy in whether through theft, rodents or insects, warfare or Nanjing. In 1421, Yongle moved the capital from fire. Calculations indicate that of the 11,095 volumes Nanjing, along with the Yongle Dadian, to Bei- existing in 1407, only about 800 remained in 1900. It jing, Here it was kept in the emperor’s Old Summer was left to the Siege of Peking in 1900 to halve what Palace, in the Forbidden City[8] library called little remained of the once magnificent Yongle Dadian. Wenyuan Ge. A 1557 fire nearly burned the em- peror’s palace. In the 1560’s a second copy was made and housed in the Huang Shi Chen or Imperial Ar- Part II: The Hanlin Academy chives in Nanjing. A third manuscript copy was later The prestigious Hanlin Academy (Hanlin Yuan) was moved to the Hanlin Academy Library during the pe- founded in the 8th century during the Tang Dynasty riod of the Emperor Yong Zheng (1723 – 1736), the (618 – 907 AD) by Emperor Xuanzong. The Hanlin fourth emperor of the Qing Dynasty. The original Yon- Academy originated as “. a society of gle Dadian in Nanjing possibly perished by fire in scholar-officials. when medieval emperors granted 1449. However, there is speculation that the Jiajing their personal favorites an honored place as special ad- th Emperor, the 11 emperor of the Ming Dynasty, had it visors within the palace.” (Elam, 1989, p. 383 ). The placed in his tomb and it may one day be found hidden Chinese term Hanlin has several interpretations, all in the tomb complex of Jiajing (Mote, 1986). equally appropriate descriptions explaining the institu- The first manuscript copy probably perished in the tion’s various functions. Professor of East Asian Lan- collapse of the Ming Dynasty (Zhang, 1986). Some guages at Harvard University, Stephen Owen, inter- volumes have long been scattered, but the largest preted Hanlin Yuan as “Forest of Writing Feathers,” number were destroyed when invading British and “Forest of Brushes” “Brush Wood Court,” "Forest of French troops sacked the Summer Palace and the Im- Scholars" or even “Forest of Quills.” Taizu, the first perial Archive in the autumn of 1860.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Administrative Law and the Making of the First <I>Da Qing Huidian</I>
    $GPLQLVWUDWLYH/DZDQGWKH0DNLQJRIWKH)LUVW'D4LQJ+XLGLDQ 0DFDEH.HOLKHU /DWH,PSHULDO&KLQD9ROXPH1XPEHU-XQHSS $UWLFOH 3XEOLVKHGE\-RKQV+RSNLQV8QLYHUVLW\3UHVV '2,ODWH )RUDGGLWLRQDOLQIRUPDWLRQDERXWWKLVDUWLFOH KWWSVPXVHMKXHGXDUWLFOH Access provided by Indiana University Libraries (4 Jul 2016 00:49 GMT) Administrative Law and the Making of the First Da Qing Huidian Macabe Keliher, West Virginia University* In the fall of 1690, after decades of development and deliberation, the Qing court issued the first edition of the collected statutes of the dynasty. This hundred-volume compilation pulled together all organizational stipulations for government personnel, as well as the institutional regulations and codes for administrative procedure and activity. It incorporated rules pertaining to political and administrative actors, including the emperor, and outlined the organization and operations of every office and political station of the Qing state. These compiled regulations were, for all intents and purposes, the administrative law of the Qing Dynasty.1 This was the Da Qing huidian, and it laid the ∗ The idea for this article developed in a conversation with my dissertation advisor, Mark Elliott, whose advice and comments on numerous drafts have been invaluable. Michael Chang read and commented on an early draft as a panel discussant at the 2014 Northeast AAS conference, and continued to provide valuable feedback on subsequent revisions in his role as an editor for this journal. I would also like to thank Michael Szonyi and Ian M. Milller for their detailed comments, as well as John Greggory, Nancy Park, David Porter, Teemu Ruskola, and the two anonymous reviewers. Additional research and final revisions were completed during my year as a Jerome Hall Postdoctoral Fellow at Indiana University Maurer School of Law.
    [Show full text]
  • Climbing the Ladder of Success in the Imperial China: Chang Chien's
    Open Access Library Journal Climbing the Ladder of Success in the Imperial China: Chang Chien’s Examination Life Shun-Chih Sun Department of Translation and Interpretation Studies, Chang Jung Christian University, Tainan, Chinese Taipei Email: [email protected] Received 7 August 2015; accepted 22 August 2015; published 28 August 2015 Copyright © 2015 by author and OALib. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution International License (CC BY). http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ Abstract Chang Chien (1853-1926) was a native of Nant’ung, Kiangsu. In spite of the Various works on Chang Chien, which testify to the significance of his role in modern China, Chang Chien’s examina- tion life is still not well-researched. The purposes of this paper are firstly, to analyze Chang Chien’s examination life systematically and clearly in the hope that it may become a useful reference for researchers on modern China, and secondly, to stimulate scholars for further research. This paper depends more on basic source materials rather than second-hand data. Among various source materials, Chang Chien’s Diary, The Nine Records of Chang Chien and The Complete Work of Chang Chien are the most important. Chang Chien’s examination life has close connection with the Im- perial China’s Civil Service examination and the establishment of New Education system of China in the late Ch’ing Period. Chang Chien’s examination life can be divided into three periods: 1) The period to Siu-ts’ai diploma (licentiate). 2) The period to Chu-jen diploma (a successful candidate for provincial examination).
    [Show full text]
  • Ming China As a Gunpowder Empire: Military Technology, Politics, and Fiscal Administration, 1350-1620 Weicong Duan Washington University in St
    Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Open Scholarship Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations Arts & Sciences Winter 12-15-2018 Ming China As A Gunpowder Empire: Military Technology, Politics, And Fiscal Administration, 1350-1620 Weicong Duan Washington University in St. Louis Follow this and additional works at: https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds Part of the Asian History Commons, and the Asian Studies Commons Recommended Citation Duan, Weicong, "Ming China As A Gunpowder Empire: Military Technology, Politics, And Fiscal Administration, 1350-1620" (2018). Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1719. https://openscholarship.wustl.edu/art_sci_etds/1719 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Arts & Sciences at Washington University Open Scholarship. It has been accepted for inclusion in Arts & Sciences Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Washington University Open Scholarship. For more information, please contact [email protected]. WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY IN ST. LOUIS DEPARTMENT OF HISTORY Dissertation Examination Committee: Steven B. Miles, Chair Christine Johnson Peter Kastor Zhao Ma Hayrettin Yücesoy Ming China as a Gunpowder Empire: Military Technology, Politics, and Fiscal Administration, 1350-1620 by Weicong Duan A dissertation presented to The Graduate School of of Washington University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy December 2018 St. Louis, Missouri © 2018,
    [Show full text]
  • Chinas Examination Hell the Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China 1St Edition Free
    CHINAS EXAMINATION HELL THE CIVIL SERVICE EXAMINATIONS OF IMPERIAL CHINA 1ST EDITION FREE Author: Ichisada Miyazaki ISBN: 9780300026399 Download Link: CLICK HERE The Chinese Imperial Examination System Transcriptions Revised Romanization gwageo. During the reign of Emperor Xizong of Jin r. It was called the nine-rank system. After the collapse of the Han dynastythe Taixue was reduced to just 19 teaching positions and 1, students but climbed back to 7, students under the Jin dynasty — The Hanlin Academy played a central role in the careers of examination graduates during the Ming dynasty. During the Tang period, a set curricular schedule took shape where the three steps of reading, writing, and the composition of texts had to be learnt before students could enter state academies. Western perception of China in the 18th century admired the Chinese bureaucratic system as favourable over European governments for its seeming meritocracy. In the Song dynasty — the imperial examinations became the primary method of recruitment for official posts. Stanford: Stanford University Press. By the time of the Song dynasty, the two highest military posts of Minister of War and Chief of Staff were both reserved for civil servants. Liu, Haifeng The Chinas Examination Hell The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China 1st edition of the military examination were more elaborate during the Qing than ever before. China's Examination Hell: The Civil Service Examinations of Imperial China There was almost no other way to hit the really big time. Average rating 3. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. He and the assistant examiners were dispatched on imperial order from the Ministry of Rites.
    [Show full text]
  • The Interaction Between Ethnic Relations and State Power: a Structural Impediment to the Industrialization of China, 1850-1911
    View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Georgia State University Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Sociology Dissertations Department of Sociology 5-27-2008 The nI teraction between Ethnic Relations and State Power: A Structural Impediment to the Industrialization of China, 1850-1911 Wei Li Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss Part of the Sociology Commons Recommended Citation Li, Wei, "The nI teraction between Ethnic Relations and State Power: A Structural Impediment to the Industrialization of China, 1850-1911." Dissertation, Georgia State University, 2008. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/sociology_diss/33 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Sociology at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Sociology Dissertations by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THE INTERACTION BETWEEN ETHNIC RELATIONS AND STATE POWER: A STRUCTURAL IMPEDIMENT TO THE INDUSTRIALIZATION OF CHINA, 1850-1911 by WEI LI Under the Direction of Toshi Kii ABSTRACT The case of late Qing China is of great importance to theories of economic development. This study examines the question of why China’s industrialization was slow between 1865 and 1895 as compared to contemporary Japan’s. Industrialization is measured on four dimensions: sea transport, railway, communications, and the cotton textile industry. I trace the difference between China’s and Japan’s industrialization to government leadership, which includes three aspects: direct governmental investment, government policies at the macro-level, and specific measures and actions to assist selected companies and industries.
    [Show full text]
  • The Diary of a Manchu Soldier in Seventeenth-Century China: “My
    THE DIARY OF A MANCHU SOLDIER IN SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA The Manchu conquest of China inaugurated one of the most successful and long-living dynasties in Chinese history: the Qing (1644–1911). The wars fought by the Manchus to invade China and consolidate the power of the Qing imperial house spanned over many decades through most of the seventeenth century. This book provides the first Western translation of the diary of Dzengmeo, a young Manchu officer, and recounts the events of the War of the Three Feudatories (1673–1682), fought mostly in southwestern China and widely regarded as the most serious internal military challenge faced by the Manchus before the Taiping rebellion (1851–1864). The author’s participation in the campaign provides the close-up, emotional perspective on what it meant to be in combat, while also providing a rare window into the overall organization of the Qing army, and new data in key areas of military history such as combat, armament, logistics, rank relations, and military culture. The diary represents a fine and rare example of Manchu personal writing, and shows how critical the development of Manchu studies can be for our knowledge of China’s early modern history. Nicola Di Cosmo joined the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Historical Studies, in 2003 as the Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies. He is the author of Ancient China and Its Enemies (Cambridge University Press, 2002) and his research interests are in Mongol and Manchu studies and Sino-Inner Asian relations. ROUTLEDGE STUDIES
    [Show full text]
  • The Laosicheng Site in Yongshun County, Hunan
    Chinese Archaeology 12 (2012): 28-35 © 2012 by Walter de Gruyter, Inc.· Boston · Berlin. DOI 10.1515/char-2012-0004 The Laosicheng Site in Yongshun County, Hunan Hunan Provincial Institute of Cultural Relics and Archaeology Longshan Sangzhi Abstract Zhuohe Lishui Wujiang Zhangjiajie City Youshui Yongshun Since 1995, four terms of survey and excavation have River Mengdong River been conducted on the Laosicheng Site in Yongshun River County, Hunan Province. It resulted in the preliminary Youyang River clarification of the distribution of the functional areas River Meijiang within the city. The palace and government office areas Baojing Fengtan River Reservoir were in the center of the city, around which were a resi- Huayuan dential area, a tusi graveyard, a religious activity area, Xiushan a villa and garden area, and so on. The building materi- Jishou City River als revealed in these areas include bricks, tile-ends and Wushui eave tiles. The unearthed porcelain sherds are largely of 0 80km blue-and-white wares, and their inscriptions contain rich information on the tusi system of Yongshun County. The Figure 1 The location of Laosicheng Site. Laosicheng Site and the structures nearby it were mostly built in the Ming Dynasty. The excavation of the site is clarified the distribution of various functional areas in the very significant to researches on the internal structure of city. The palace and government office areas lay in the tusi tusi society in Yongshun County, the domination sys- center, around which were a residential area, a religious tem, and the relationship between the central government activity area, a tusi graveyard, a villa and garden area, etc.
    [Show full text]
  • Late-Ming Factionalism in the Making, 1583-1593
    University of Southern Maine USM Digital Commons History College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences 2002 A Decade of Considerable Significance - Late-Ming actionalismF in the Making, 1583-1593 Jie Zhao University of Southern Maine, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usm.maine.edu/history Part of the History Commons Recommended Citation Jie, Zhao. "A Decade of Considerable Significance." T'oung Pao 88, no. 1-3 (2002): 112. This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences at USM Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in History by an authorized administrator of USM Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ShenI-kuan t R (1531- 1615), the senior grandsecretary of the A DECADE OF CONSIDERABLESIGNIFICANCE Late-Ming Factional;sm in the Making, 1583-1593 BY JIE ZHAO* Universityof SouthernMaine It has been long held that,although the Mingdynasty collapsed in 1644,the dynasticfate had been sealedmuch earlier. The compilers of Mingshih pronounced that "theMing dynastyactually foundered under [theWan-li gX emperor(r.1573-1620)].''l They considered lateWan-li period, to be one of the principalcontributors to the Ming decline.Some of themmaintained that the dynastyfell apart primarily due to factionalism,and factionalismbegan with Shen. Wan Yen g > (1637-1705), himself a compilerof Mingshih, dis- agreedwith this assessment.He acknowledgedShen I-kuan's impact on the lastfew decadesof factionalism,but he arguedthat Shen Shih- hsingEp t(1535-1614) andWang Hsi-chuch ES(1534-1611) had startedit.2 Wan's observation pointed to a decade (1583-1593) * I wouldlike to thankthe Departmentof EastAsian Studies at PrincetonUni- versityfor supportfrom its researchfund and accessto the Gest Libraryin the summerof 2000, and the Harvard-YenchingInstitute for providingaccess to its libraryfacilities.
    [Show full text]
  • Communication, Empire, and Authority in the Qing Gazette
    COMMUNICATION, EMPIRE, AND AUTHORITY IN THE QING GAZETTE by Emily Carr Mokros A dissertation submitted to Johns Hopkins University in conformity with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Baltimore, Maryland June, 2016 © 2016 Emily Carr Mokros All rights Reserved Abstract This dissertation studies the political and cultural roles of official information and political news in late imperial China. Using a wide-ranging selection of archival, library, and digitized sources from libraries and archives in East Asia, Europe, and the United States, this project investigates the production, regulation, and reading of the Peking Gazette (dibao, jingbao), a distinctive communications channel and news publication of the Qing Empire (1644-1912). Although court gazettes were composed of official documents and communications, the Qing state frequently contracted with commercial copyists and printers in publishing and distributing them. As this dissertation shows, even as the Qing state viewed information control and dissemination as a strategic concern, it also permitted the free circulation of a huge variety of timely political news. Readers including both officials and non-officials used the gazette in order to compare judicial rulings, assess military campaigns, and follow court politics and scandals. As the first full-length study of the Qing gazette, this project shows concretely that the gazette was a powerful factor in late imperial Chinese politics and culture, and analyzes the close relationship between information and imperial practice in the Qing Empire. By arguing that the ubiquitous gazette was the most important link between the Qing state and the densely connected information society of late imperial China, this project overturns assumptions that underestimate the importance of court gazettes and the extent of popular interest in political news in Chinese history.
    [Show full text]
  • Li Tung-Yang All Requested to Resign. the Emperor Retained Only Li
    Li Tung-yang all requested to resign. The emperor retained only Li; he ordered Chiao to enter the Grand Secretariat. He had Wang Yueh and Fan Heng pursued on their way to Nanking and murdered; Hsu's arms were broken in his beatings. This was in the tenth month of the first year of the Cheng-te reign [mid-October to mid- November 1506]. Now that Liu Chin had got his way, he proceeded to cashier Han Wen on some pretext, and had beatings administered to or charges placed against those who had petitioned to retain Liu Chien and Hsieh Ch'ien: supervising secretaries Lii Ch'ung, Liu Chu,(31) Nanking supervising secretary Tai Hsien and others, totaling six, and censors Po Yen-hui and others, totaling fifteen. The Nanking (30) Court rituals were quite formal in regard to the physical positioning of the participants in relation to the Son of Heaven. Probably Liu Chin, newly appointfed to the influential post of chief eunuch in the Directorate of Ceremonial, now assumed a prominent place in the emperor's immediate proximity. See Map 6. (31) KEYED READING: MS 188, pp. 4972-73 In what ways does this reading help to fill out the account, specifically the last steps in the rise of Liu Chin? RESEARCH TOPIC: 1) The Chinese character £g_ in this man's name is not found in any of the large dictionaries. The MJCC index, however, gives the pronunciation used here, perhaps without good reason other than an assumption about its phonetic element. Could this word have been a personal creation? Or was it merely an alternate writing or a mistake? How would one go about solving this problem? 2) These biographies are linked together.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ming Dynasty Its Origins and Evolving Institutions
    THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN CENTER FOR CHINESE STUDIES MICHIGAN PAPERS IN CHINESE STUDIES NO. 34 THE MING DYNASTY ITS ORIGINS AND EVOLVING INSTITUTIONS by Charles O. Hucker Ann Arbor Center for Chinese Studies The University of Michigan 1978 Open access edition funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities/ Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Humanities Open Book Program. Copyright © 1978 by Charles O. Hucker Published by Center for Chinese Studies The University of Michigan Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Hucker, Charles O. The Ming dynasty, its origins and evolving institutions. (Michigan papers in Chinese studies; no. 34) Includes bibliographical references. 1. China—History—Ming dynasty, 1368-1644. I. Title. II. Series. DS753.H829 951f.O26 78-17354 ISBN 0-89264-034-0 Printed in the United States of America ISBN 978-0-89264-034-8 (hardcover) ISBN 978-0-472-03812-1 (paper) ISBN 978-0-472-12758-0 (ebook) ISBN 978-0-472-90153-1 (open access) The text of this book is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ CONTENTS Preface vii I. Introduction 1 n. The Transition from Yuan to Ming 3 Deterioration of Mongol Control 3 Rebellions of the 1350s and 1360s 8 The Rise of Chu Yuan-chang 15 Expulsion of the Mongols 23 III. Organizing the New Dynasty 26 Continuing Military Operations 28 Creation of the Ming Government 33 T!ai-tsufs Administrative Policies 44 Personnel 45 Domestic Administration 54 Foreign Relations and Defense 62 The Quality of Tfai-tsufs Reign 66 IV.
    [Show full text]
  • Chinese Hereditary Mathematician Families of the Astronomical Bureau, 1620-1850
    City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 2-2015 Chinese Hereditary Mathematician Families of the Astronomical Bureau, 1620-1850 Ping-Ying Chang Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/538 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] CHINESE HEREDITARY MATHEMATICIAN FAMILIES OF THE ASTRONOMICAL BUREAU, 1620–1850 by PING-YING CHANG A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in History in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 ii © 2015 PING-YING CHANG All Rights Reserved iii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in History in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Professor Joseph W. Dauben ________________________ _______________________________________________ Date Chair of Examining Committee Professor Helena Rosenblatt ________________________ _______________________________________________ Date Executive Officer Professor Richard Lufrano Professor David Gordon Professor Wann-Sheng Horng Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iv Abstract CHINESE HEREDITARY MATHEMATICIAN FAMILIES OF THE ASTRONOMICAL BUREAU, 1620–1850 by Ping-Ying Chang Adviser: Professor Joseph W. Dauben This dissertation presents a research that relied on the online Archive of the Grand Secretariat at the Institute of History of Philology of the Academia Sinica in Taiwan and many digitized archival materials to reconstruct the hereditary mathematician families of the Astronomical Bureau in Qing China.
    [Show full text]