Tso, Keung Ming Gilbert
Description
Previous scholars have tended to argue that the compilation of Mingshi
was a means by which the Manchu emperors intented to mollify the Ming
loyalists. However, although the compilation of Mingshi was preliminarily
politically orientated, its nature later changed and the project did not serve
this purpose. During the compilation of Mingshi, progress continued to suffer
from the lack of official historians, source materials and the disorganization
of the Ming Historiographical Institute....[Show more] Such phenomena were largely due
to the attitude of the emperor, which was affected by the political
development at that time.
When the political situation of the Qing empire became more stable
in 1681, the compilation project evolved into a historiographical
undertaking. The reasons for the long period of compilation and the
rejection of earlier drafts by the emperor were due to the contradictory
views held by official historians and by the emperor in their evaluations of
Ming history and figures.
The final completion and approval of Mingshi was an outcome of
the efforts of various groups of people. The long compilation period enabled
these different groups to contribute their expertise to the most appropriate
parts of the project. Although the emperor possessed no well-defined
principle of evaluation, he allowed the project to continue for further
revision. As a result, historians were better able to evaluate historical
figures and events of the Ming dynasty. Wang Hongxu had deleted the
lunzan of earlier drafts. Such a move enabled later historians of the
Yongzheng reign to distance themselves from the influence of earlier
historians, and to develop their own lunzan. Comparative studies between the lunzan of Mingshi and the
commentaries by Emperor Qianlong clearly illustrate that the evaluation
principles shown by each were different. Therefore, it is very possible that
the finalized version of Mingshi might not have been approved and the
revision period would have continued for a longer period if it had not been
submitted in the first year of the Qianlong reign. The perfect timing of the
submission of Mingshi was a vital factor in the final approval of the
completed version.
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