It has been 108 years since the Qing Dynasty fell. Why has "History of the Qing Dynasty" not been completed yet?

"History is the knowledge of mankind's past." As a country with a long history, our country naturally needs to have its own history books to warn future generations. "Twenty-Four Histories", as the official history of our country, is missing only one history book from the Qing Dynasty. Since ancient times, the new dynasty has been responsible for revising the history books of the old dynasties. So why is it that the Qing Dynasty has been dead for more than a hundred years, but there is still no officially recognized history of the Qing Dynasty? The workload is heavy and there are many unofficial histories

Revising a history book is no joke. It requires rigorous research and extensive collection of historical materials to finalize the content. The longest of the "Twenty-Four Histories" is the "History of the Ming Dynasty", which took a full ninety-four years to complete. From this point of view, it would not be too surprising if the history books of the Qing Dynasty took more than a hundred years to be revised.

We call officially recognized history books official history, and others are called unofficial history. There are so many unofficial histories of the Qing Dynasty that it is already a big task to collect them all, and it is even more difficult to read them all and study them carefully. Since the Qing government was staffed by Manchus, many materials at that time were written in Manchu. The official language of China is Chinese, and official history is definitely written in Chinese. Translating the meaning of Manchu into Chinese clearly and smoothly is a big effort and naturally takes a lot of time.

On the one hand, there is the "Records of the Qing Dynasty", which is the "Records of the Qing Dynasties". This is a historical material recorded by historians and is relatively reliable. The content involves the words, deeds, merits and demerits of the emperor. , there are also reports submitted by all parties, and the information on the responsibilities of various departments such as officials, households, rituals, military punishments, etc. is very comprehensive.

On the other hand, there are also historical materials compiled locally. Not to mention whether they are lost or whether they can be found, it is difficult to classify and organize the existing materials. Our official history is a general history in the form of biographies. It cannot be divided into separate parts to write the history of one place. It is very troublesome to sort out so much information. In addition, literati also wrote some things, and the "Compilation of Poems and Prosecutions of the Qing Dynasty" alone could fill a large room.

The Qing Dynasty suffered from serious literary inquisition. Many materials deliberately praised the Qing Dynasty, which made the compilation of history books more difficult. And later when the Republic of China government compiled history books, there were many elderly people who were born in the Qing Dynasty. Naturally, they would deliberately praise the Qing Dynasty and oppose the uprising. They could not present the real Qing Dynasty to the people. It is said that seeing is believing, but we cannot travel through time and space to witness these things with our own eyes. We can only rely on archaeologists, historians and some folk rumors to determine the truth or falsehood, which also increases the workload. High requirements on compilation members and unity

The "Twenty-Four Histories" are all written in classical Chinese. We now switch to vernacular. This seems to reduce the difficulty, but in fact it further tests the compiler's level. . Let’s all recall the classical Chinese translation questions you have done. Did the original one line of words become two or three lines when translated? The answers to classical Chinese questions often include a translation of the original text, which is only half a page of words. The translation may not be enough for a full page. This requires the editor to use very concise language and use as few words as possible while expressing clear meaning.

This is not easy. In ancient times, the word "ran" could have more than a dozen meanings. There was even a monarch who felt resentful because he couldn't figure out what "ran" meant by a minister. And finally.

At that time, Yuan Shikai was about to compile "History of the Qing Dynasty" three days after taking office. However, the level of personnel and the standards for compiling the book were uneven and very messy. Moreover, all the writers at that time wrote their own work at home. According to regulations, a National History Museum should be established, and a general manager should be under unified command. It is obviously unreasonable for each of them to work at home. This results in contradictions and duplications in content, and unlike official history, which reads in a consistent style, it appears that this history book was written by different people. This history book, which can only be used as reference material in the end, is called "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty", which is an unformed draft and cannot be used as official history.

Later I wanted to find someone to write it, but due to the unstable situation in the country and other reasons, I gave up. The compilation plan has been started, and we will meet "History of the Qing Dynasty" in the future

Although the compilation is very difficult, we are not without hope of meeting this history book.

Because our history must be recorded in officially recognized historical books, so that people can correctly evaluate the past dynasties and avoid internal strife among themselves.

Mr. Dai Yi wanted to compile "History of the Qing Dynasty" in the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, and got approval in the 1950s. However, the matter ended without any resolution, and Dai Yi kept waiting. He said that he must compile this "History of the Qing Dynasty". Finally, in 2002, the country officially started compiling the "History of the Qing Dynasty". It was originally planned to be completed in ten years, but it has been delayed again and again. After all, this history book is not so easy to compile. We can only wait for its publication slowly.

The state has allocated more than 30 million yuan as start-up capital for this project, and attaches great importance to this project as a national cultural project. In 2004, after preparations from all parties, the compilation work of "History of the Qing Dynasty" officially began, and in 2005, its system and catalog drafting plan was released. Ten years later, instead of publishing a "History of the Qing Dynasty" as originally planned, I just completed the first draft of another "Manuscript of the History of the Qing Dynasty" and started reviewing it. For the sake of the rigor of the official history, a second draft review began two years later, and there were three more draft reviews thereafter, and finally the draft was basically finalized in 2018.

Don’t think that these processes are too cumbersome and unnecessary. The first height can unify the content and prevent errors and contradictions. During the second review process, a lot was deleted, changed, and added. The third review is to prepare for publication.

Although the manuscript was delayed for a long time, the staff was not lazy at all. "History of the Qing Dynasty" has about 35 million words. Not to mention writing it, not to mention reviewing it back and forth. Reading so many words is a big project. A high-level mathematics book only has about 400,000 words. If you compare it like this, you can see how much work it is.

This completed "History of the Qing Dynasty" is compiled in vernacular and has a large number of pictures. It not only describes the lives of princes, generals and ministers, but also provides answers to some historical mysteries. It can be said to be detailed. To.

According to Mr. Dai Yi, the published "History of the Qing Dynasty" will have the following characteristics. First, it is politically reliable. This book was obtained through rigorous investigation and will not slander an innocent person out of thin air; second, it is factually correct and will not add fuel and vinegar to attract readers' attention like some haphazardly written street stall reading materials; third, the content Rich, covering all aspects, these 35 million words will definitely not be watered down; fourth, it is very innovative. Although it still has a sense of classical Chinese, this book is written in vernacular, which is different Compared with the first twenty-four history books, "History of the Qing Dynasty" is suitable for a wide range of readers and does not require a high level of education to read.

At present, this project has cost more than 900 million yuan. More than 2,000 scholars have participated in the project. It has 92 volumes. While compiling this history book, some related articles were also written. Historical books are used for reference by all walks of life.

We have been waiting for "History of the Qing Dynasty" for too long. It has indeed consumed a lot of hard work of our people. I believe that when it comes out, it will be loved by many people. ?