From A Division Of Nationalities To National Unity

History studies from the Qing Dynasty can be divided into separate chronological periods. Three phenomena caused this shift in historical studies throughout the dynasty,namely, that China's literati and historians are successor of varying schools of thought,as opposed to one unified historical theory; that the Qing Dynasty issued in a new political and cultural era of strict autocratic control; and that the influence of Western culture was gaining a foothold in China.With these factors in mind we can divide Qing Dynasty history studies into the following three periods. The first is Early Qing,spanning from the establishment of the new state (approx. 1640) to the middle of Emperor Kang Xi's reign (1700). This period is characterized by the cultural shock of the recently toppled Ming Dynasty, and a trend in historiography toward a "national" history (i.e.,a history of the populace as opposed to just the state), and toward histories of state and social institutions. The second is Mid Qing, which begins in the late years of Kang Xi (post 1700) and reaches to roughly the transition between Emperors Xian Feng and Tong Zhi (1860). This period witnessed a great concentration of imperial power and state authority, and the trend in historiography was toward official state histories, especially those emphasizing the unity of the nation. The third period is Late Qing, from late Tong Zhi years (post 1860)to the end of Xuan Tong and the Qing Dynasty (1911). During this time, China was opening its doors to the outside world (or having them forced open), Western civilization was forcing its technology and ideas into China. The historical theory that was dominant during this period was once again one of national history, but this time also included traces of social and historical evolutionism. Of these three periods, the Early Qing and Late Qing historical theories were motivated by popular trends and social phenomena, while Mid Qing historiography was more the result of a reformed and strengthened government. To put it succinctly, Early Qing concentrated on popular history, Mid Qing stressed the authority of the emperor and state, and Late Qing emphasized evolutionary theory. The first and last periods emphasized the division of the "Hua Xia" people versus the minority nationalities, while the middle period emphasized national unity.We can conclude that the shift in historical theories over this nearly three hundred year period was the result of a clearly changing zeitgeist throughout the Qing Dynasty.In the beginning of the dynasty there was an atmosphere of criticizing the past with an eye to creating a better future. Historians and other academics were collectively attempting to glean lessons from the fall of the Ming Dynasty, which included avoiding the oppressive policies of the Ming and establishing new governmental organs to rebuild a more sustainable society. This trend also included an official acceptance of Neo Confucianism as the state ideology. An emphasis on national or popular history as well as on social institutions manifested itself as historical theory that was critical of the autocratic monarchy and favorable to the general population (zhong min). Among this period of historians, one of the most prominent was Huang Zong Xi who inherited the legacy of Ming Dynasty philosopher Wang Yang Ming. In an attempt to deconstruct the prevalent historical theory which emphasized "one ruler under heaven" (jun tias xia si xiang), Huang Zong Xi cited theory as far back Mencuis, whose brand of Confucian philosophy is known for advocating a benevolent government (ren zheng), favoring the people (zhong min), and considering the land to belong to all the people(tian xia wei gong) as opposed to one ruling family. Huang's historical theory cited such ideas in the hopes of reforming the structure of imperial power and enacting a systematic form of government based on the ancient idea of a monarch being a sage within and ruler without (nei sheng wai wang). Gu Yan Wu, a contemporary of Huang, also based his historical studies on a very broad perspective of the nation and its people, eschewing the solitary importance of one ruling family throughout history. As a Confucian classicist,he believed that the fullest expression of this "all under heaven" (tian xia guan) view of history could be found in the ancient Confucian corpus, also known as the "Thirteen Classics". This theory itself was an expression of the trend at that time to value most the things of the past and reject what is modern (hou gu bo jin).Contrary to the trend of hou gu bo jin, the early Qing historian Wang Fu Zhi borrowed the theories of a Song Dynasty philosopher, Zhang Zai, and employed them in his own history studies. Wang set up a theory of history with Confucian philosophy and the Han nationality at its center, thus defying the traditional histories which put the state at the center of all historical movement, and used the Neo Confucian concept of li as a guiding metaphysical principle.The Mid Qing period of history studies showed a major paradigm shift. The new political and academic spirit displayed a proclivity toward national unity,an acceptance of state authority, and the loyal obedience of ministers to the ruler. The Kang Xi and Yong Zheng eras were times of political strengthening and power consolidation. The emperors were well aware of their political success, and immediately began to write their own legacy in historical terms. They believed that in many ways they represented the pinnacle of Chinese history and society, and that the values exemplified by their reigns (such as unity) transcended any ethnic differences. Emperor Qian Long also looked to solidify his place and contributions in the history books, once again fusing history studies with classical studies (reminiscent of Gu Yan Wu). He launched many large scale cultural projects, such as Si Ku Quan Shu, and initiated academic discussion on topics related to China's dynastic history,and Qing's place within it. Such an emphasis on a unified, centralized state history was the defining characteristic of Mid Qing historiography, which completely replaced the popular history of the previous stage.The famous textual studies movement of the Qian Long-Jia Qing period and its related schools also took part in the conversation on historical theory. Their straight forward and unadorned approach to the ancient texts, whether they were Confucian classics,histories,or philosophical works,led to a direct refutation and negation of the state-sanctioned Neo Confucianism. By the Mid Qing, historians such as Quan Zu Wang took a moralistic view of history. He considered the study of history to be closely tied with moral edification, and used it as a platform to advocate the rectification of improper ethical behavior. He represented a facile transition from the Early Qing period,which was critical of the central court's tyrannical authority, to the Mid Qing period,which sought to reestablish the central government's authority. Also of the period was the Qian Jia historian Zhang Xue Cheng. He,too, sought to merge the lessons from the classics with the descriptions of the histories,positing such theoretical maxims as "all the classics are in fact histories" (liu jing jie shi). Starting from an analysis of the most ancient dynasties (Xia, Shang, Zhou), he put to use all the documentological tools at his disposal to draft a new history of China which could actually be of practical benefit to scholars and common citizens alike.Directly following and carrying on Zhang's tradition of a practical and useful historiography, Gong Zi Zhen and Wei Yuan also combined the fields of Gong Yang Xue, textual studies, and geographic history, greatly broadening their perspective of "the Chinese empire" to include more land and more people. Their research drew pertinent connections between the past and present, between the majority Han and multiple minorities, helping critical historical theory grow into a useful and even predictive social theory.By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the invasion of the West was now an undeniable cultural influence, and much of the historical theory of that period reflected this fact.The Late Qing period displayed the desire of China's literati to join the rest of the world in its rapid march forward and not become another victim of evolutionary theory's"survival of the fittest".