From "Writing History for the Former Dynasty" to "Fostering Confucian Principles and Virtues": Early-Qing Writings on Southern Ming History

Abstract

The first decades of the Qing dynasty witnessed prolific development of historical writings on Southern Ming history. The comparatively relaxed atmosphere provided a platform for literati with diverse political stances to voice their views on the historical events that concerned them. Emphasizing the use of history in statecraft, many Chinese historians considered the history of the Ming fall and Qing rise to offer a valuable lesson for rulers in the future. In the social construction of the early Qing discourse on the resistance history of 1644-1662, the narratives by historians from different social groups became a tool in the struggle for cultural dominance and hegemony. To the remnant Ming loyalists, the Ming yimin, their remembering and appreciation of the late Ming martyrs, to a large extent, were an expression of their anti-Qing sentiment and determination to live as yimin. However, to the Han Chinese in the new government, the history of the Ming-Qing dynastic change merely indicated a shift of Heaven’s Will. Influenced by the yimin scholars, many Han Chinese in the early Qing were ambivalent about accepting the legitimacy of Qing rule and considered the Southern Ming a legitimate dynasty in Chinese history. This ambivalence in time led to a less politicized interpretation of the resistance history that regarded the deeds of the Ming loyalists as an embodiment of Confucian principles and virtues. As a result of reconciliation, the new interpretation in the end became a collective memory of the history of the Ming-Qing transition among the Qing’s subjects.