Chapter 12 Section 5 "History of Ming Dynasty" with complete style and abundant historical materials

"History of Ming Dynasty", written by Zhang Tingyu and others in Qing Dynasty.The book includes 24 volumes of Benji, 75 volumes of Annals, 13 volumes of Tables, and 220 volumes of Biographies, totaling 332 volumes.From the first year of Ming Taizu Hongwu (AD 1368) to the 17th year of Ming Sizong Chongzhen (AD 1644), it records the history of the Ming Dynasty for nearly 300 years. The compilation of "Ming History" officially began in the eighteenth year of Kangxi (AD 1679), and was completed in the fourth year of Qianlong (AD 1739), which lasted for 60 years.Under the strict supervision of the rulers in the early Qing Dynasty, this work was compiled by the adherents of the Ming Dynasty who were full of patriotism and national integrity.Famous scholars Huang Zongxi and Gu Yanwu both attached great importance to the compilation of "History of Ming Dynasty". Huang Zongxi's "Ming Wenhai" 482 volumes, "Ming History Case" 244 volumes, Gu Yanwu's "Huangming Xiuwen Beishi" 40 volumes, etc., are all prepared based on history compilation s material.None of them are willing to cooperate directly with the Qing court and should not be recruited.Xu Yuanwen, the first supervisor of the Museum of Ming History, was Gu Yanwu's nephew, and he had consulted Gu Yanwu many times on the issue of history revision.Huang Zongxi later ordered his son Huang Baijia and his disciple Wan Sitong to participate in the compilation of history.Wan Sitong, courtesy name Ji Ye, was born in Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province. He is a famous historian in eastern Zhejiang.He did not want to be a historian of the Qing government, neither accepted an official title nor received a salary, but participated in compiling Ming history as a commoner.He first worked in Xu Yuan's literary family, and then was employed by Wang Hongxu.Several supervisors and presidents have relied heavily on him.All the manuscripts compiled by the History Museum were sent to him for review and revision. Although he was not named as the president, he actually exercised the power of the president. There were no less than 500 volumes of hand-written history manuscripts, and he contributed the most to the compilation of "History of Ming Dynasty". "History of Ming Dynasty" has been revised and reviewed several times, and the first draft in the 30th year of Kangxi (1691 AD) was 416 volumes.In the 53rd year of Kangxi (AD 1714), Wang Hongxu deleted 205 volumes of biographical manuscripts, and in the first year of Yongzheng, together with the deleted Ji, Zhi, Biao, etc., he synthesized 310 volumes of "Ming History Draft" and submitted it to the court. Published in the name of "People".It was revised and adapted, and the final version was published in the fourth year of Qianlong (AD 1739).At that time, the president was Zhang Tingyu, and "History of Ming Dynasty" titled his name.

"History of the Ming Dynasty" draws materials from "Ming Shilu", "Daming Huidian", archives, palace newspapers, as well as collections of essays, memorials, barnyard history, local chronicles, biographies, etc., and the original materials are very rich.Thanks to the careful compilation and review of the famous historian Wan Sitong, "History of the Ming Dynasty" has a rigorous style, clear narration, proper arrangement, concise text, and many original texts are quoted, which has high historical value.It is more objective and prudent in the collation, examination and selection of materials.For those who disagree with each other and cannot determine right from wrong, they will adopt the method of doubting and mutual understanding, and leave it to future generations to decide for themselves.For example, regarding the death of Han Lin'er, there are both legends and different theories, and there is no conclusion.

"History of Ming Dynasty" is relatively complete in content and relatively rigorous in arrangement.There are concise and concise descriptions of the major historical events in the Ming Dynasty for nearly 300 years.In view of the social reality of the Ming Dynasty, its style is also somewhat different from the official history or related historical records of the previous dynasties.For the two dynasties of Emperor Jianwen and Emperor Jingtai, "Ming Shilu" is listed as an appendix, and "Ming History" is included in this book. The complicated parts of "History" are accompanied by simple and easy-to-understand diagrams, which are unprecedented in history. "Yiwenzhi" only records the writings written in the Ming Dynasty. Although it cannot understand the circulation and loss of old books, the writings in the Ming Dynasty have a clearer and more complete reflection. "Qiqing Biao" was newly created in "History of Ming Dynasty".In order to strengthen the imperial power, the Ming Dynasty abolished the left and right prime ministers and divided power among the six ministries, so the six ministries have weight.The Metropolitan Procuratorate is in charge of the picket officials and has greater power.Qiqing refers to the six ministers and the capital censor. The establishment of "Qiqing Biao" reflected the political reality of the Ming Dynasty.Among the biographies, "Eunuch Biography", "Liu Zei Biography" and "Tusi Biography" were specially set up, highlighting the main social problems in the Ming Dynasty. "Eunuch Biography" reflects the political corruption of eunuch autocracy.The so-called "Liu Zei" is a false accusation of Li Zicheng and Zhang Xianzhong's peasant uprising army who overthrew the Ming Dynasty. Although the position is wrong, the narrative is concise and important historical materials are preserved. "Biography of Tusi" is divided into five parts: Huguang, Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou, and Guangxi. It records the social living conditions of ethnic minorities and preserves precious historical materials reflecting the relationship between ancient ethnic groups.There are also detailed descriptions in the "Criminal Law" of the prison factory guards that the Ming Dynasty relied on to maintain its rule.These are all commendable.

"History of the Ming Dynasty" also has shortcomings that are more detailed on politics and military affairs than on social economy. In particular, there are very few records on production struggles and science and technology.There are also omissions in the content. For example, Zheng He's seven voyages to the West are well-known events both at home and abroad and have important historical influences, but the records in "History of Ming Dynasty" are very brief.The history of the rise of the ancestors of the Qing Dynasty and its relationship with the Ming Dynasty, such as the Jianzhou Department of the Jurchen Tribe and the Nuer Gandu Division, etc., were deleted and deleted by the historians due to the dense network of the Qing Dynasty, so the remaining records were scattered and vague Difficult to specify is an important flaw.In addition, the reactionary views of "History of the Ming Dynasty" promoting feudalism and hating peasant uprisings are also very explicit.