資治通鑑後編

Zī zhì tōng jiàn hòu biān 資治通鑑後編

Posterior Annals to the Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance by 徐乾學 (Xú Qiánxué, 1631–1694, zhuàn 撰); with substantial collaboration from Wàn Sītóng 萬斯同, Yán Ruòqú 閻若璩, and Hú Wèi 胡渭

About the work

A 184-juan early-Qing continuation of the Tōng jiàn covering the Sòng (960–1279) and Yuán (1279–1368) — the principal pre-Bì-Yuán Qing-period continuation. Composed in Xú Qiánxué’s last years (post-1689 retirement to 1694 death) at the Chuánshì lóu with the collaboration of the leading early-Qing kǎojù scholars: Wàn Sītóng (Yìnxiàn), Yán Ruòqú (Tàiyuán), Hú Wèi (Déqīng).

Tiyao

Zī zhì tōng jiàn hòu biān, 184 juǎn. (Jiāngsū Provincial Governor’s submitted copy.) By Xú Qiánxué of the present dynasty. Qiánxué’s Dú lǐ tōng kǎo is already on record. The compilation: of those continuing the Tōng jiàn in Yuán and Míng — the Chén Jīng, Wáng Zōngmù copies — mostly with year-and-month divergences and event-traces dropped. What Xuē Yìngqí compiled, although somewhat more detailed and complete — like changing the Sòng shǐ’s “Zhōu Yìchéngjūn” to “Zhōu Yì,” taking Hú Yuàn as a Zhūzǐ disciple — incoherent enough; in no case can it be a successor to Sīmǎ Guāng.

So with the Yìnxiàn Wàn Sītóng, the Tàiyuán Yán Ruòqú, the Déqīng Hú Wèi, etc., he arranged the standard histories, consulted the various books, and made this compilation. The draft just completed; he wished to present to the throne; before he could, died. Now the original draft remains, only lacking juǎn 11. The book has many crossings-out, deletions, and emendations — said still to be in Yán Ruòqú’s hand.

The book begins at Sòng Tàizǔ Jiànlóng 1, ends at Yuán Shùndì Zhìzhèng 27. Wherever event-traces have detail-and-summary or earlier-and-later issues that should be cross-collated, all follow Sīmǎ Guāng’s example, making kǎo yì to adjudicate. Various scholars’ arguments adequate to elucidate are also gathered and arranged below each entry. Occasionally with his own intent attached — also following Guāng’s book’s example, marking Chén Qiánxué yuē to distinguish.

At the time the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn was still stored in the secret repository; therefore Xióng Kè and Lǐ Xīnchuán’s books were all not got to be glimpsed. What he gathered for Northern-Sòng affair-traces mostly took Lǐ Tāo’s remnant volumes as base — citation cannot be exhaustive. The Sòng from Jiādìng on, the Yuán from Zhìshùn on — particularly sketchy. As to the Sòng-end Bǐng and Yì two Wángs, both follow the old history in error, year-numbering and noting reign-titles — particularly out of step with cut-off limits.

Further, intent on broad presentation, somewhat lacking in pruning. Such as Western Xià marriage-relations’ luxuriance — fully narrating the genealogy. Qìngyuán wěi xué prohibition — fully loading the apology-memorial. Yuán-end affair-traces — much taken from the Chuògēng lù and the Tiěyá yuèfǔ. Narrating book-art — calling such-and-such “writing thirty-thousand characters a day”; recording recluses — describing such-and-such “embracing-bosom-when-opened” — without bearing on encouragement-and-warning, only injuring with prolixity. Further, recording Yuán Shùndì’s birth — over-trusting the Gēngshēn wài shǐ — particularly approaching empty fabrication.

Yet his collation and examination — depth of effort. Therefore correcting errors and supplementing remnants — often with what previous people did not reach. Such as: Sòng shǐ Fù Bì biography, with Shūmìshǐ exiting to administer Yángzhōu — now per the Zǎifǔ biānnián lù, changed to Héyáng. Yú Jiè biography, in Chúnyòu 13 (1253), with the Yuán people fighting at Jiādìng — now per the family-biography, changed to year 12. Yuán-end the Kòu Huáiān: běnjì head-and-tail not present; now per Wáng Féng’s Wú xī jí, settled as Zhào Guóyòng. Zhìzhèng 16 (1356) Zhāng Shìchéng falling Húzhōu: běnjì writes second month; now per Míng shí lù, written as fourth month — all checking text against fact, faith and witness.

Further at this time Qiánxué was directing the Yī tǒng zhì bureau, much seeing the Sòng and Yuán earlier jùnxiàn old gazetteers. And Ruòqú et al. were further long in geographical learning. So what is loaded for yúdì (geography) is particularly precise. Such as Sòng Wáng Jiān’s defending Hézhōu — drawing on Sìchuān zǒng zhì. Móu Zǐcái’s remonstrance against the lantern — drawing on Xīhú yóu lǎn zhì. While Míng-period jìshì books — like Liú Chén’s Guó chū shì jì, Wú Kuān’s Píng Wú lù — are also together attached, for kǎo zhèng. Year-set month-flowed, lí rán (clearly)-viewable. Although cannot be promptly called the settled text, by-comparison-to Chén, Wáng, Xuē’s three books — surpassing them by far.

Abstract

The Zī zhì tōng jiàn hòu biān is the principal pre-Bì-Yuán Qing-period continuation of the Tōng jiàn for the SòngYuán period (960–1368). Xú Qiánxué — the great early-Qing official-scholar and patron of the Chuánshì lóu private library — composed the work in his last years, after his 1689 dismissal from court, with substantial collaboration from the leading early-Qing kǎojù scholars: Wàn Sītóng 萬斯同 (the Sòng shǐ expert), Yán Ruòqú 閻若璩 (the gǔ wén Shàng shū critic), and Hú Wèi 胡渭 (the Yǔ gòng geographer). The dating bracket is set to 1690–1694, the post-retirement / pre-death window.

The form: 184 juǎn, biānnián, with embedded kǎo yì notes after the Sīmǎ Guāng / Lǐ Tāo / Lǐ Xīnchuán method, and with Xú’s own occasional editorial Chén Qiánxué yuē judgments. The work is the only major SòngYuán continuation that takes the Tōng jiàn form proper (rather than the Gāngmù form preferred by the Chén Jīng / Wáng Zōngmù / Xuē Yìngqí YuánMíng line) — this is its principal methodological distinction.

The work was completed in draft but not yet polished at Xú’s death; the surviving original autograph manuscript (lacking juǎn 11) carries the editorial corrections of Yán Ruòqú in his own hand. The Sìkù editors’ verdict — that the work surpasses the entire YuánMíng Gāngmù continuation tradition (Chén Jīng, Wáng Zōngmù, Xuē Yìngqí) but does not yet achieve a fully polished and final form — is the standard scholarly assessment. The work was substantially superseded by Bì Yuán’s 畢沅 Xù Zī zhì tōng jiàn (1801, separately catalogued), which had access to the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn recoveries (including Lǐ Tāo’s Cháng biān in fuller form, Lǐ Xīnchuán’s Yào lù, Xióng Kè’s Xiǎo jì, etc.) that Xú Qiánxué did not — but the Hòu biān remains essential for its early-Qing kǎojù apparatus and for several specific corrections to the Sòng shǐ (the Fù Bì governorship correction, the Yú Jiè dating correction, etc.) that the Sìkù tíyào singles out.

The work’s particular geographical strength reflects Xú’s concurrent direction of the Yī tǒng zhì bureau, with access to Sòng and Yuán prefectural-county gazetteers, and to Hú Wèi’s geographical expertise.

Translations and research

No translation. No standalone Western-language monograph. Discussion in:

• Charles Hartman, The Making of Song Dynasty History (CUP, 2021), index s.v. Xú Qián-xué.
• Benjamin A. Elman, From Philosophy to Philology: Intellectual and Social Aspects of Change in Late Imperial China (Harvard EAC, 1984; rev. UCLA, 2001) — on the early-Qing kǎojù circle including Xú Qián-xué’s Chuán-shì lóu group.
• Wèi Bīng-bīng 魏冰冰, Xú Qián-xué Zī zhì tōng jiàn hòu biān yán jiū 徐乾學資治通鑑後編研究 (Beijing daxue thesis, 2005).

Other points of interest

The work’s surviving manuscript with Yán Ruòqú’s hand-corrections is one of the principal documentary witnesses for early-Qing scholarly collaboration practice — showing in physical form the working procedure of an early-Qing kǎojù circle. The collaboration of Xú, Wàn, Yán, and Hú on a single project is one of the great intellectual concentrations of the early Qing.

Links

• Wikidata Q11084143
• Kyoto Zinbun Sìkù tíyào 0105302.
• Wilkinson, Chinese History: A New Manual §49.5.