Huang-Qing jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編

Huang-Qing jingshi wenbian 清經世文編 "Collected essays about statecraft of the Qing", original title Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇朝經世文編, is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholars He Zhangling 賀長齡 (1785-1848) and Wei Yuan 魏源 (1794-1857). The collected writings of He Zhangling are published as Nai'an wencun 耐庵文存, those of Wei Yuan as Guweitang ji 古微堂集.

The Qing jingshi wenbian is a 120-juan long book assembling documents of statecraft from the beginning of the Qing period until the Daoguang reign 道光 (1821-1850). It includes private essays, discussions, memorials to the throne, letters, and so on. The more than 2,000 documents have been selected according to practical matters of all fields of government. General themes like astronomy, ritual music, or tombstone inscriptions, were excluded.

The book is divided into eight chapters with 56 subchapters. The chapters follow the responsibilities of the Six Ministries (liubu 六部). The general idea of the book can be traced back to the Ming period 明 (1368-1644) book Ming jingshi wenbian 明經世文編, which in turn has a precursor in the Yuan period 元 (1279-1368) compendium Jingshi dadian 經世大典.

The measures suggested in the texts included in these statecraft compendia were not necessarily realized. The collections nevertheless give an excellent impression of the themes that were discussed among the court officials and among scholars of that time.

Among the most influential and important and also literarily high-standing documents are Gu Yanwu's 顧炎武 (1613-1682) Tong jin 通今, Yu youren lun xueshu 與友人論學書, and Tianzhai 田宅; Tang Zhen's 唐甄 (1630-1704) Xing gong 性功, Fei wen 非文, Quan shi 權實, and Fu min 富民; Ruan Yuan's 阮元 (1764-1849) Guoshi rulin zhuan xu 國史儒林傳序 and Wenyan shuo 文言說; Gong Zizhen's 龔自珍 (1792-1841) Yibing zhi ji zhuyi 乙丙之際著議 and Pingjunpian 平均篇; and Wei Yuan's Zengzi zhangju xu 曾子章句序, Shu Song mingchen yanxing lu 書宋名臣言行錄 and Da ren wen xibei bian chengshi 答人問西北邊城市.

The Qing jingshi wenbian was rated as a groundbreaking compilation of important documents on statecraft. It initiated a third apogee of political theory and practical philosophy, after the Han 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) and the Song 宋 (960-1279) periods. It unites, according to late Qing period scholar Li Ciming 李慈銘 (1830-1895), moral, intellect, literature, statecraft and observation of facts, and therefore had not only great ambitions, but was in fact also of great importance for all kinds of scholars and politicians. The Qing jingshi wenbian indeed attracted the nation-wide attention and was very widespread.

It was printed in 1827, and there were numerous supplements or sequels published later including more recent writings.

Huangchao jingshi wen xubian 皇朝經世文續編

Huangchao jingshi wen xubian 皇朝經世文續編 is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholars Sheng Kang 盛康 (1814-1902) and Sheng Xuanhuai 盛宣懷 (1844-1916). The 120-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) anthology Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編. It includes 1,900 documents from the Daoguang 道光 (1821-1850), Xianfeng 咸豐 (1851-1861), Tongzhi 同治 (1862-1874) and Guangxu 光緒 (1875-1908) reigns, and covers many literay genres, from essays to drafts for memorials to the throne and official correspondence. The 8 chapters of the compendium follow the arrangement in the Huangchao jingshi wenbian.

There are, nevertheless, some minor changes in the structure, like the new subchapters on the installation of local administration units (Jianzhi 建置), the likin transit tax (Lijuan 釐捐) and mining (Kaikuang 開礦) in the chapter on the Ministry of Revenue. Other new fields of discussion are Confucian studies (Shengxue 聖學), recruitment of officials (gongju 貢舉), naval forces (shuishi 水師), military recruitment and drill (tuanlian 團練), and garrisons of defence (taifang 台防). There is a totally new, appended chapter on foreign diplomacy. Of special interest are the chapters on salt policy, the transport of tax grain, and monetary policy.

The compilers of the documents included belong to the most important officials of the late Qing period, like Yao Ying 姚瑩 (1785-1853), Mei Cengliang 梅曾亮 (1786-1865), Qi Zao 祁藻 (1793-1866), Gong Gongzuo 龔鞏祚 (XXX), the Mongol Oron 倭仁 (1804-1871), Wu Minshu 吳敏樹 (1805-1873), Wei Yuan, Zhu Qi 朱琦 (XXX), Lu Yitong 魯一同 (1805-1863), Feng Guifen 馮桂芬 (1809-1874), Shao Yichen 邵懿辰 (1810-1861), Zeng Guofan 曾國藩 (1811-1872), or Yu Yue 俞樾 (1821-1907).

The Huangchao jingshi wen xubian was printed in 1898 by the Sibu Studio 思補樓.

Huangchao jingshi wenbian xuji 皇朝經世文編續集

Huangchao jingshi wenbian xuji 皇朝經世文編續集 is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Rao Yucheng 饒玉成 (XXX). The 120-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) compendium Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編. It was originally a kind of excerpt of Wei Yuan's book, but Rao Yucheng wanted to include some other documents not taken into consideration by Wei Yuan. Part of these addenda were included in Zhang Pengfei's 張鵬飛 (XXX) 100 juan-long supplement Huangchao jingshi wenbian bu 皇朝經世文編補.

The documents Rao Yucheng assembled in his compendium date from the early Qing period, and the latest were written during the Xianfeng reign 咸豐 (1851-1861).

Huangchao jingshi wen xinzeng xubian 皇朝經世文新增續編

Huangchao jingshi wen xinzeng xubian 皇朝經世文新增續編, sometimes also called Huangchao jingshi wen xubian 皇朝經世文續編, is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Ge Shijun 葛士濬 (1848-1895). The 120-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) compendium Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編.

It includes 1,400 documents from the Tongzhi 同治 (1862-1874) and Guangxu 光緒 (1875-1908) reigns, with texts of a genre ranging from essays to drafts for memorials to the throne and official correspondence. The 8 chapters follow the arrangement in Wei Yuan's Huangchao jingshi wenbian.

There is a new, appended chapter on foreign affairs (yangwu 洋務). This chapters covers the sixth part of the book and thus reflects the contemporary historical circumstances. The chapter on the affairs of the Ministry of Revenue (hubu 戶部) includes the new subchapter of the border regions (Jiangyu 疆域), the chapter on education (Xueshu 學術), and a new subchapter on mathematics (Suanxue 算學).

The book was printed in 1888 and reprinted ten yers later by the Wensheng Press 文盛書局 in Shanghai.

Huangchao jingshi wen sanbian 皇朝經世文三編

Huangchao jingshi wen sanbian 皇朝經世文三編 is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Chen Zhongyi 陳忠倚 (XXX). The 80-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) compendium Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編 and its sequel Huangchao jingshi wen xinzeng xubian 皇朝經世文新增續編, which was compiled by Ge Shijun 葛士濬 (1848-1895).

The Sanbian includes 600 documents from the Guangxu reign 光緒 (1875-1908) whose genre ranges from essays to drafts for memorials to the throne and official correspondence. The chapters follow the arrangement in Wei Yuan's Huangchao jingshi wenbian, but there is a ninth chapter on foreign affairs (Yangwu 洋務). Subchapters not directly related to economy or modern statecraft were eliminated, like Confucianism and state rituals, while others were added, like for instance, debates about a constitution, international treaties, receiving foreign diplomats, the postal system, recruitment of troops, and international relations.

There is a total a 54 subchapters. The chapter on commerce (Shangwu 商務), for example, includes all information until then headed as affairs of the Ministry of Revenue (hubu 戶部). The affairs of the Ministry of Works are enriched by the subchapters production, industry and crafts, river conservation, shipbuilding and mining.

The chapter on foreign affairs also includes documents written by foreigners like Gilbert Reid (Chinese name Li Jiabai 李佳白, 1857-1927), Young John Allen (Lin Yuezhi 林樂知, 1836-1907) and Timothy Richard (Li Timotai 李提摩太, 1845-1919).

The book was printed in 1897, with a reprint a year later.

Huangchao jingshi wen sibian 皇朝經世文四編

Huangchao jingshi wen sibian 皇朝經世文四編 is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar He Lianglian 何良楝 (or He Liangdong 何良棟, XXX). The 52-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) compendium Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編 and its sequels Huangchao jingshi wen xinzeng xubian 皇朝經世文新增續編 by Ge Shijun 葛士濬 (1848-1895) and Huangchao jingshi wen sanbian 皇朝經世文三編 by Chen Zhongyi 陳忠倚 (XXX).

The Sibian includes documents from the whole Qing period, from essays to drafts for memorials to the throne and official correspondence. The arrangement of the book follows the eight chapters of the former supplements, but there is a ninth chapter on foreign affairs with a different title than in the older supplements to the (Waibu 外部 instead of Yangwu 洋務). In this chapter, the subchapters are also arranged in a new way, with the titles of self-strengthening (fuqiang 富强), government debt (guozhai 國債), taxation (shuize 税則), banknotes (chaofa 鈔法), bank system (yinhang 銀), trade fairs (saihui 賽會), enterprises (gongsi 公司), public law (gongfa 公法), parliament (yiyuan 議院), appointment of officials (shanju 善舉), harbour arrangement (buzheng 埠政), government (zhidao 治道), historiography (shizhuan 史傳), and administrative geography (dizhi 地志).

The most important difference to the former supplements is that a relatively large amount of documents is included which were written by Western persons dealing with the Chinese government. Unfortunately the compiler did not indicate the names of all authors, which makes research quite difficult.

The book was printed in 1902 by the Hongbao Studio 鴻寳書局.

Huangchao jingshi wen xinbian 皇朝經世文新編

Huangchao jingshi wen xinbian 皇朝經世文新編 is a collection of political essays and memorials compiled by the late Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Mai Zhonghua 麥仲華 (1876-1956). The 21-juan long book is a supplement to Wei Yuan's 魏源 (1794-1857) compendium Huangchao jingshi wenbian 皇清經世文編 and its sequels.

It includes documents from the late Qing period, from essays to drafts for memorials to the throne and official correspondence. Its main focus is on the reform period of 1898. The arrangement of the book is totally new in comparison to the former jingshi wenbian anthologies. Mai divided his book into 21 chapters which reflect a new type of statecraft that frees itself of the traditional division of administrative fields according to the old Six Ministries (liubu 六部).

The new chapters are: comprehensive discussion (Tonglun 通論), the virtue of the ruler (Junde 君德), the system of state offices (Guanzhi 官制), law (Falü 法律), education (Xuexiao 學校), government revenue and expenditure (Guoyong 國用), agriculture (Nongzheng 農政), mining (Kuangzheng 礦政), industry and crafts (Gongyi 工藝), commerce (Shangzheng 商政), currency (Bizhi 幣制), tax system (Shuizhi 税制), post and transport (Youyun 郵運), military (Bingzheng 兵政), international relations (Jiaoshe 交涉), foreign history (Waishi 外史), parties (Huidang 會黨), government style (Minzheng 民政), religion (Jiaozong 教宗), scholarship (Xueshu 學術), and miscellanea (Zazuan 雜纂).

The book was completed in 1898 and was printed in the same year by the Datong Yishu Press 大同譯書局 in Shanghai, with a reprint by the Rixin Press 日新社 in 1901.

Gan Han 甘韓 (XXX) wrote a supplement to Mai Zhonghua's book, the 21-juan long Huangchao jingshi wen xinbian xuji 皇朝經世文新編續集.

Other supplements

Huang-Qing jingshi wen wubian 皇朝經世文五編, compiled by Qiushizhai zhuren 求是齋主人 "Master of the Studio Searching for Facts"

Jingshi wen tongbian 經世文統編 in 107 juan by Shao Zhitang 邵之棠 (XXX), printed 1901 in two versions, namely a 120-juan version by the Shenji Shuzhuang Press 愼記書莊 (also called Zengji jingshi wen tongbian 增輯經世文統編), and a 107-juan long version published by the Baoshan Studio 寶善齋.

Jingji wenbian 經濟文編 in 128 juan, includes many more chapters about economic policy, printed 1901 by Qiuziqiangzhai zhuren 求自強齋主人 "Master of the Self-Strengthening Studio".

Jingshi wen xinbian 經世文新編 in 62 juan with new sub-chapters like reforms, silk-production, railway, telegraph, Western medicice, published in 1901 by Yijintang zhuren 宜今堂主人 "Master of the Studio Adapting to Modernity".