Index to Qing documentary compendium; Index to Qingchao xu wenxian tongkao

Beijing: Commercial Press, 1955. Hardcover. Tall 8vo, original wraps bound into black cloth, very good, light wear and dustiness to binding, pages tanned. About 75 pp total, text in Chinese. Index volume to the multi-volume Qing documentary series, arranged by four-corner classification system for subjects, institutions, and cited works covering Qing administrative, economic, and social materials (c. 1786–1911). Ghe Qing Chao Xu Wenxian Tongkao (Continuation of the Comprehensive Examination of Documents of the Qing Dynasty), was compiled by Liu Jintao in 400 juan. The Wenxian Tongkao tradition is one of the most important in Chinese institutional historiography, descending from Ma Duanlin's great Song-Yuan encyclopedic compilation and continued through the dynasties. The Qing continuation covers the period from 1786 (Qianlong 51st year) through 1911 (Xuantong 3rd year), organized into 30 topical categories (kao) covering land tax, currency, household registration, official posts, taxation, markets, local products, state expenditure, civil examinations, schools, official appointments, suburban sacrifices, grave rites, ancestral temples, imperial rites, music, military affairs, punishments, the classics, the imperial lineage, enfeoffment, symbols, unusual phenomena, geography, the four barbarians, foreign relations, postal services, industry, constitutional governance, and more.
The publisher's note frankly acknowledges that the work's "standpoint and viewpoint are not correct" — meaning it reflects the Qing imperial perspective — but defends its value as a detailed record of political, economic, and social institutions for researchers of modern Chinese history, while urging readers to apply critical analysis. This index uses the four-corner character retrieval system, which was the standard pre-pinyin indexing method for Chinese reference works. The index covers all institutional names, chapter headings, place names, book titles, and personal names of authors listed in the classics section. A specialized but highly useful research tool for anyone working with the parent compilation. Very good. Item #h45348

Price: $18.00