Review of Research on Qing History in 1984

Abstract

Vol. 6, No. 2 Late Imperial ChinaDecember 1985 REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON QING HISTORY IN 1984 Xue Ruilu fjj. 1%, $A ¿L edited by Dai Yi |?(?& ; Volume One, Part One of A Draft of Qing Biographies ^f -K A '4% ^ -k%) edited by Wang Enzhi 3. ^. j§ ; A Concise Economic History of the Qing Dynasty ^ ft %.% $%- iL j$j i^jby Guo Yunjing if ¿| J$f ; Essays on the Socioeconomic History of the Ming and Qing Dynasties ^ *A ** *\ 1K* ièì ¿¿ and Selected Studies on Zheng Chenggong (Supplement) ijti yfc *$ *ff- % Ufa A iâ ( ¿"i $ ï edited by The Academic Committee of the Fujian Provincial Symposium on Zheng Chenggong; Collected Essays on the Study ofArchives and History #£ fj¡ ^ X X ^f by Wei Qingyuan ¦% iK~$k: ', Bibliography ofKnown Chronological Biographiesfor the Last Three Centuries lit =- % fy %* ¿* W %f %% *o H %. by Lai Xinxia %. %Jf J^ ; An Index ofArticles on Qing History ^ ^ -$% X % %\ jointly edited by The Qing History Office, Institute of History , Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and The Institute of Qing History , Zhongguo Renmin University. Historical materials collated and published include such works as Selected Material on the Lin Shuangwen Uprising }A ^ ?. M A % ¥^ & ^ bY Liu Ruzhong *] 81 82Xue Ruilu¦bvf, and Volume Five of Qing Historical Material 5^ Í. ^ ^ edited by The Qing History Office, Institute of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. The Zhonghua Shuju reprinted Record ofImperial Military Achievements J§£ ¦$. iti by Wei Yuan ^kx 5$. ; The Zhejiang Guji Chuban She reprinted The Annals of Lu ¦% X. 4f +? by Li Yuqiu f -jf- $L ; and the Fujian Renmin Chuban She reprinted An Unofficial Record of Taiwan & ^ *r ?£» by Jiang Risheng y? vj ¡? . According to incomplete statistics, through the middle of December 1984 newspapers and periodicals throughout China carried over four hundred articles on Qing history. Some of the more important ones are discussed under the following headings. Socio-economic History Urban economics In "A Preliminary Survey of the Structure of Jiangnan Towns During the Ming-Qing Period and Their Historical Value" v$ y^ *>*¦ f -^ 4& ? 5^ /K -& Ii) ^L -flf A^- to -if» (Huadong shifan daxue xuebao, No. 1), Wang Jiafan ? ifr ÍL examines the structure and historical importance of Jiangnan (the Suzhou, Songjiang, Changzhou, Hangzhou, Jiaxing, and Huzhou area) towns of the Ming-Qing period from two aspects: from the towns' rapid growth and spatial density, and from market structure and market networks. Disagreeing with those who believe that there was no great difference between the nature of market towns and consumer cities, Wang concludes: Jiangnan towns, which rose during the late feudal period (starting with the Northern Song), were manifestations of an advanced economic area for their time-they showed marked development and structurual changes in the Jiangnan rural economy. The greater division of labor in handicrafts and agriculture, the migration of people from the villages to the towns, and the development of the area's economy and market network, all were spectacular signs of these changes. Using information from local gazetteers, He Rongchang ?% $. % discusses the rise, development, characteristics and functions of market towns in the Jiangnan area in his "The Development of Jiangnan Market Towns During the Ming-Qing Period" tffl y% ^ jájj $* fy -^ 4$- è1) UC ^k (Suzhou daxue xuebao, no. 3). Zhu Zhongzhou's f % Review ofResearch on Qing History in 198483 ^ "The Market Economy of Yangzhou in the Early Qing" J^ ft j\ $i %> ^ 4K 1 ft ?? and Liang Miaotai's ^ fa J^ "Economic Characteristics of the Jingdezhen Economy During the Ming-Qing Period" ¿A ^ ^ jjjj ^ & ffc *& f ** *4 «} ^r A (both in Nankai xuebao, no. 5), Lu Zuoxie's g ^ ^ "Huiguan and Gongso in Suzhou During the Ming-Qing Period" ^ ^ -#· A ö*j ^" -£f 4« J£ fr\ (Zhongguo shehui jingji shi yanjiu, no. 2), and Wang Tingyuan's i. ^ tL "On the Huizhou Merchants and the Wuhu Region During the Ming-Qing Period" ^ $ î| ^ ^ é·) 4|i£. "vt) Jj -$t íí/J (Anhui shi xue, no. 4) also examine the economic development and characteristics of these cities. Population Problems In recent years this topic has received a great deal of attention by scholars both inside and outside of China. This year has seen a variety of articles on the subject, such as Guo Songyi's ^Sp =p¿ ü. "Population Growth and...