A Study Of The Collected Works Of Qing Intellectuals In Si Ku Quan Shu

The dissertation focuses on the collected works of intellectuals in the Qing dynasty in Si Ku Quan Shu, discussing the editorial procedure of Si Ku Quan Shu. In the process of compiling Si Ku Quan Shu, the works of Qing intellectuals had been selected, prohibited, destructed and edited by a group of bureaucrats. By analyzing the process, the author hopes to solve certain problems still existing in the field of Si Ku Quan Shu studies. From the aspect of the collected works of Qing intellectuals in Si Ku Quan Shu, the value and defect of the book might be re-assessed.The dissertation comprises seven chapters. They are as follows.Firstly, before Si Ku Quan Shu, Qing intellectuals managed to show their strengths in their corpuses by selecting the better works. With the development of printing, it was common for them to publish more than one corpus. On the other hand, the editing and publishing of Qing intellectuals’selected works were still under the pressure from the Qing government.The second chapter discusses the selection, prohibition and destruction of those works in the process of compiling Si Ku Quan Shu. Although there were a large number of the works in circulation, Si Ku Quan Shu only selected a small amount, the reason of which was partly the fact that local authorities did not give Qing intellectuals’works sufficient attention. Their works, however, became the main target of prohibition and destruction. In the practice, bureaucrats hired to compiling Si Ku Quan Shu, core ministers and local authorities held different views towards those works. Moreover, due to various possibilities certain works which did not compiled in Si Ku Quan Shu, could not simply be regarded as being prohibited or destroyed.Thirdly, classification of works of Qing intellectuals in Si Ku Quan Shu is covered in the chapter. To classify was to transcribe the works either to the main text of Si Ku Quan Shu, or to the appendix. The views differed between the bureaucrats in charge of different phases of the editing process. In general, those who were in charge of primary classification had more personal preference. The bureaucrat in chief represented the government’s position. A significant event that had been long neglected was that in the46th year of Qianlong, in order to finish the work of transcribing Si Ku Quan Shu, the wenyuange edition, as soon as possible, the scale of Si Ku Quan Shu had been decreased, during which certain works of Qing intellectuals had been moved from the main text to the appendix.The following chapter deals with the editorial process of Qing intellectuals’ works in Si Ku Quan Shu. The work of textual criticism by the bureaucrats was overall remarkable. The errors occurred during the process of transcribing and proofreading, which could partly be blame to the time limitation and certain unreasonable regulations.The fifth chapter analyses the excision of works of Qing intellectuals in Si Ku Quan Shu. Their works closely related to political events in the Qing dynasty, and therefore the works had been carefully excised. The excision, out of the bureaucrats’ imagination, protected the works to some extent.The sixth chapter focuses on the writing of the summaries of the Qing works. By comparing different editions of the summaries, the author finds certain regular patterns of bureaucrats’ writing. The final edition of the summaries amplified the government’s cultural attitude.Last but not the least, the bureaucrats’ compiling of the selected works of Qing intellectuals exemplified the whole editorial process of Si Ku Quan Shu. By analyzing those works, the author also wants to point out that when using the text of Si Ku Quan Shu, readers should be very careful.