Bibliographical and Research Note

-95BIBLIOGRAPHICAL and research note Charles A. Litzinger Institute of Modern History Academia Sinica Nankang , Taiwan Chiao-wu chiao-an tang ;%ii_ /\ /) 7$X^ i 'j\f> The Tsungli Yamen archives on Christian affairs and on cases and disputes involving missionaries and converts) Series I, 1860-1866, 3 vols. (1924 pp.) and Series II, 1867-1870, 3 vols. (1974 pp.) (Taipei, Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, 1974) The latest release in the Institute of Modern History's monumental collection published under the general title Materials on the History of Modern China, the present volumes have been in preparation for over a decade and are the first fruits of an ambitious project which envisages the publication of the entire Tsungli Yamen archives on late Ch'ing Christian affairs and cases in seven series. The chronological divisions of the series are as follows: SeriesI 1860-1866Series V 1887-1895 SeriesII1867-1870Series VI1896-1899 SeriesIU1871-1878Series VII1900-1911 SeriesIV1879-1886 Original plans called for the publication of all seven series by the end of 1976. Although the current price inflation which has been especially severe in paper and printing materials has now put this schedule in some jeopardy, early publication of all seven series is still anticipated. Series III will appear by the end of 1974 and the existence of a revolving publication fund makes it -96possible that the sales of the earlier series may help to meet cost deficits for the production of later series. (Orders from libraries and other institutions payable on receipt may be placed directly with the Institute of Modern History, Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan 115, Republic of China. Price: U.S. $15.00 per volume plus mailing costs.) Following the arrangement adopted in the original Tsungli Yamen archives, materials are arranged first by province, then by special problem, and finally by the chronological sequence of the documents. The first volume of each series begins with a table of contents with an entry for each document in the series and containing the following information: a)document number (assigned by the compilers at the Institute. b)date (according to both lunar and Western calendars). c)addresser and addressee. d)summary of document's contents. As a first step toward research on the problems and cases so fully documented by the archives, the editors have compiled a "Chornology of Major Events'. " The pertinent part of the Chronology is included in the final volume of each series. An English translation of this Chronology, prepared by the present writer, follows the Chinese version to facilitate the identification and loca- -97tion of mate'rials by reference librarians and others who may not be able to read Chinese easily. The documents are photographically reproduced from the originals. All papers in the archives are published omitting only those which careful examination showed to be exact duplicates. The original documents, now housed m a newly constructed and well administered archival building at the Institute, are the ch'ingtang i I V (clear files) made by the scribes of the Tsungli Yamen. According to regulation all incoming and outgoing correspondence of the Yamen had to be copied in a large, legible script for the Yamen's files. (Although a small amount of the original incoming correspondence in Western languages can be found in the Institute's archival holdings, the whereabouts of the remainder is not known with certainty by any scholar I have been able to consult. ) To the great benefit especially of non-Chinese scholars, the compilation team at the Institute has performed the painstaking task of adding punctuation marks to each document. The archives include almost every form of document used by the Ch'ing governmental system: edicts, memorials, letters, memoranda, reports, and correspondence between the various offices of government at every level. These latter which include local level communications sometimes with attached documents of non-official origin are no doubt the most unusual and perhaps -98also the most interesting of the papers. Detailed reports of investigations conducted by local as well as provincial officials in hundreds of cases including statements of plaintiffs, and defendants , lists of lost and stolen articles, particulars concerning suits over landed property and community conflicts can be found in abundance. Although...