Textual Research on Yu Daoxing and His Clan Revolving Around The Draft of County Annals of Jinghai

Abstract

Jinghai of Tianjin has a long history and an honest and sincere style. of literature, where it is of a prolonged literature context, all-pervading imperial examination and a large number of outstanding people. According to historical records, there had been 62 metropolitan graduates (literary and martial arts), 300 provincial graduates (literary and martial arts), and, especially, numerous large literary clans in Ming and Qing, including Li Duna’s of 3 metropolitan graduates and 4 members of the imperial academy and Gao Eryan’s of 7 metropolitan graduates and 13 provincial graduates. In the bright star river of Jinghai literary clans, Yu’s clan has been studied less. According to the records in Jinghai County Annals, Kangxi Ver. , Yu Daoxing of Yu’s clan had compiled the county annals in Ming. In consulting the annals of the places where he had taken office and that of Jinghai County and together with Yu’s Pedigree and other ancient books, Yu Daoxing’s resume and the history of his clan are sorted out step by step. Yu Daoxing, aliased Wenhuan and titled Xiaoya, was born in the earlier years of Jiajing of the Ming Dynasty. In the 39th year of Jiajing (1560), he graduated from the imperial college and first took office as a truant officer in Tengxian, Shandong; in the 5th year of Longqing (1571), he was transferred to Laiwu County as an instructor; in the earlier years of Wanli, he was promoted as a tutor in Yingzhou, Shanxi. He went back home after his retirement and started his hard work on material collection for his compiling of the Jinghai County Annals. Unfortunately, he died before completion of the annal and was buried in Yu’s cemetery in the rear of Dongyao Village, leaving the draft only. The descendants of Yu Daoxing continued the family learning and kept the glory of the clan, from whom there had come out many graduates of provincial, metropolitan and imperial colleges. There had been 1 martial provincial graduate, 2 literary provincial graduates, and 3 metropolitan graduates coming out from Yu Daoxing’s lineal progeny alone.