The Late Qing Dynasty Northwest History Study

The dissertation is a monograph about the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty,and it includes an introduction,a main text with three chapters,a conclusion and some appendices.The introduction gives a clearly explanation what "Late Ch'ing" and "Northwest" mean in the dissertation,and interprets the significance of the topic,current research and the main contributions of the dissertation.The first chapter focuses on the rise of the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty,and it consists of three parts:first,the background of its rise;second,it makes some key scholars such as Song Jun,Qi Yun-shi and Xu Song as the main clue and discuss the rise;third,the study's character of the stage. In the opinion of the author,the rise of the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty is an inexorable trend of historical and scientific development.The second chapter mainly discusses the development of the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China during the period of Dao Guang and Xian Feng's domination. The chapter includes four parts:namely the influences that the situation's changes of Northwest China and the rise of New Text in the study of Confucian classics have made to the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China;the appearance of the academic group whose study interests focused on Northwest China;the typical representatives and achievements;the main study characters of this period.The third chapter's main topic is about the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China during the period of Tong Zhi,Guang Xu and Xuan Tong. It consists of two parts:one is the decline of the study during 1860s and 1870s,and the other is the prosperity of the study from 1880s to 1900s. The author puts forward that this stage is the true prosperous period in the development of the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty instead of the stage of Dao Guang and Xian Feng which is the popular opinion in the past studies.The conclusion mainly discusses the influences that the spirit of statecraft made to the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty,and points its defects. The author makes a conclusion that the Study of History and Geography of Northwest China in Late Ch'ing Dynasty is an important component of Ch'ing's Academy,and it accords with the demands of social development and shows its strongly responsibilities of times and historical mission.