A Study Of Shen Zengzhi's History

Shen Zengzhi with profound and immerse learning was one of the representatives who specialized in the research on the geography of borders in the Tongzhi to Guangzu period(the late Qing Dynasty)and a famous master of great learning and integrity in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic China.Due to the profound scholarly attainments handed down in his family and his abundant learning experiences with many scholars,he achieved a lot in his pursuit of scholarly research.During the Tongzhi to Guangzu period,the increasingly grave problems about borders made the geography of borders become the noted school of thought.Under the influence of such an academic environment and other factors,Shen Zengzhi began to research on the geography of borders and became one of the representatives professional in the research on the geography of borders.His important works were Interpretation of origin of Mongolia and Correction and Connotation of Mongolia's Secret History which were about research on the geography of borders and the profound analysis of Mongolia's history.In the works,he mainly conducted the textual research on names of Mongolian lineage,historical events,geography and other aspects.He was famous for his accurate and comprehensive textual research and quotations.For instance,especially in terms of the textual research on geography,he employed a number of materials about the geography and areas outside borders to make the research more accurate and clear.According to Chronicle of Shen Zengzhi?s Life and related historical materials,Shen Zengzhi served as the editor in chief in charge of the affairs in the drawing place where Guangxu emperor rehearsed rites.Daqing Huidian Yutu was the most important work when he served the editor in chief.In the work,Shen Zengzhi and others applied many western painting techniques to make the accurate map,providing Qing with the map reference to solve the border problems.The compilation of Daqing Huidian Yutu by Shen Zengzhi and Guangxu emperor reflected the interaction between official historiography and private historiography at the late Qing Dynasty.They made the accurate and detailed mapping of the geography when confronted with the common border problems,reflecting the convergence of official historiography and private historiography at that time and their faith in serving for reality and solving the real problems.Shen Zengzhi,exposed to the thought of practice since Jiaqing-Daoguang periods,expressed his strong ideas about serving for reality in terms of scholarly research,being official and other aspects.The traditional ethics,morals and culture and textual research on the classics,the origin of his thought of practice,laid the foundation for him to express his political insights and conduct scholarly research.What's more,his thought of practice was tinged with the time characteristics.For example,though he learned the western state-of-the-art geographical knowledge,western literature and supported the Constitutional Reform and Modernization(1898),he just made these efforts to defend the traditional hierarchy and values.