Letter from the Editor

-110LETTER FROM THE EDITOR Numbers 1 and 2 of Volume III are being printed and distributed simultaneously in order to reduce costs. These issues, however, would have been impossible to publish without a generous subsidy of $600 from the School of Business Administration of the University of Miami (Coral Gables, Florida). Hopefully, it might be possible to publish future issues without any increase in subscription dues. An arrangement between the editor's office and the National Palace Museum (Shih-lin, Taiwan) has been worked out for the distribution of the Palace Museum's recently published Secret Palace Memorials of the Kuang-Hsü Period. Readers should carefully study the bibliographical essay by Hao Yen-p'ing and Liu Kwang-ching in this issue to learn about the importance of these new documents for the study of Ch'ing history. There are twelve volumes in the set titled Secret Palace Memorials of the Kuang-Hsü Period. A set can be purchased at a 10 percent discount for the price of US $129.60 plus US $18.00 for shipment by sea. Each volume can also be purchased at US $12.00 plus US $1.50 for shipment by sea. Subscribers In Asia will pay US $1.00 per volume for mailing cost or US $12.00 per set for shipment by sea. Institutions and individuals desiring to order these materials should complete the form below. Subscribers should allow from four to six weeks for the arrival of their books. A check or draft should accompany each subscription order. The entire set is now available, individually or collectively, -Ulto the public. Another set of documents will become available in May, 1975, but individual volumes can be purchased as they come off the press. The Palace Museum eventually hopes to publish all secret palace memorials for the Ch'ing period if Initial sales of volumes for the Kuang-Hsü period produce sufficient revenue to cover their publication costs. The small commission allowed to this office by the Palace Museum for handling subscription orders is to be used solely for the future publication and distribution of Ch'inq-shih wen-t'i. If this arrangement proves to be satisfactory to readers of the journal and the Palace Museum, 1t might be possible in the very near future to expand the size, change the format, and alter the frequency of publication of Ch'ing-shih wen-t'1. As more scholars probe deeper into the problems of Ch'ing history, they will undoubtedly observe the necessity for considering historical parallels and contrasts with the Ming and even earlier periods. Such explorations might fruitfully lead to essays, research notes, bibliographical studies, and book review essays that will break out of the temporal boundary of the Ch'ing dynastic period. The editor will be very sensitive to those scholars who occasionally might find 1t desirable to make their studies more comparative and will endeavor to publish such findings in Ch'ing-shih wen-t'i . Further, as the field of Ch'ing studies continues to develop, many scholars might want to consider changing the title of this journal to a less exotic title. Younger scholars who submit their work for publication in Ch'ing-shih wen-t' i and report their efforts for promotion and tenure purposes might find their peers would accord greater distinction -112to our journal if it bore another title. I am not sure precisely what title change is desirable or when such a change would be appropriate to make. I would prefer to be counselled by the readership , so I encourage suggestions to the editor on this matter. Future scholarship published in Ch'ing-shih wen-t'i can be improved in quality and even surpass the standards maintained in other slnological journals which have enjoyed distinguished records for long periods. In order to initiate such quality control, this editor will begin assigning articles submitted to Ch'ing-shih wen-t'i to distinguished scholars for evaluation before their acceptance for publication . Finally, I urge all readers and institutions to fill out the subscription form below if they have not yet subscribed for the 1975 issues. Please continue my subscription (US $5.00) to...