Editor's note:December 26, 2023 is the 130th anniversary of the birth of Comrade ***, the main founder of the Communist Party of China, the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the People's Republic of China, and the great leader of the Chinese people. "Monthly Reading", a monthly cultural magazine sponsored by Chung Hwa Book Company with the core of promoting excellent traditional Chinese culture, published the article "A Life's Love for Local Chronicles" in the fourth issue of 2023. The article mentions that from 1917 to 1965, when there were first records, a large number of people were familiar with Fang Zhi, not only to satisfy their curiosity, but also as a way of investigation and researchIt can be seen from the large number of articles written by *** that many of his analyses and judgments benefited from reading Fang Zhi. ** said: "After the allusion of Zhu Xi was circulated, 'those who govern the world take history as a mirror, and those who govern the county and the country take the will as a mirror' and 'present the will to read' have become the practice of later generations. Today, you must also know how to learn from history in order to do good things. "* The method of investigation and research based on the history of the expo is still worth learning from today. The full text is now as follows for reference, and a brief introduction to the local chronicles of Sichuan that we read during the Chengdu Conference in 1958 is attached to express our deep remembrance.
I have loved local history all my life
Wang Jianxin. There are two types of local chronicles, namely the national general chronicles and the local prefectures, counties, and county chronicles, which record in detail the historical evolution, mountains, rivers, climate, customs, places of interest and historic sites throughout the country. It has a huge volume, about 8,700 kinds of Chinese chronicles, more than 110,000 volumes, accounting for about 10% of the ancient books, is rich in Chinese resources. Except for the occasional search for the local chronicles of their hometowns or the gazetteers of other places for special needs, ordinary people do not take the initiative to read the local chronicles.
However, *** has a hobby of studying Fang Zhi intently, whether it is in war years or in peacetime, he has to ask Fang Zhi to read everywhere he goes. Among the politicians of the past and present, almost no one attaches as much importance to Fang Zhi as he does, and few people have a clear understanding of local customs and things like him.
In the autumn of 1912, ** did a "strange thing": he dropped out of the provincial No. 1 middle school and went to study at the Hunan Provincial Library in Dingwangtai, Changsha every day for half a year. The library has a "Great Map of the World", and he discovered that the world is so big for the first time, which gave him a strong stimulus. This incident had a profound impact on his life of struggle and his study career. Later, when he read the newspaper, he often carried a map with him, and checked the name of the place that appeared in the newspaper against the map.
During his study at the Hunan First Division, he borrowed some historical books. What he saw carefully and had experience was Sima Guang's "Zizhi Tongjian" and Gu Zuyu's "Minutes of Reading History and Public Opinion". "Minutes of Reading History and Public Opinion" was written by Gu Zuyu in the early Qing Dynasty, 130 volumes, describing China's regional situation, urban passes, mountains and rivers, as well as ancient and modern battles, defenses, captures, gains and losses. The original manuscript is now stored in the Shanghai Library, and in the 50s of the 20th century, ** went to Shanghai and specially accessed this manuscript from the library.
On February 29, 1916, ** wrote in a letter to Xiao Zisheng: "There are thirteen kinds of right classics, sixteen kinds of history, twenty-two kinds of subs, twenty-six kinds of sets, and seven kinds of seventy. From the current point of view, I think that the books that China should read stop here, and that it is indispensable to aspire to knowledge. Judging from the text, this letter should have listed 77 bibliographies of the subset of classics and histories, which can represent his views on the "Great Essentials of Chinese Studies", but unfortunately due to the fragmentation of the manuscript, the specific titles of the books cannot be checked, and the titles of several of the books in the Fang Zhi category are also unknown.
The Lecture Records are *** class notes from October to December 1913. It excerpts some of the contents of Pan Lei's "Preface to the Daily Knowledge", and transcribes this paragraph in special detail: "Mr. Gu Ningren of Kunshan ......Footprints for half the world, all the friends of the virtuous and heroic elders, the examination of its mountains and rivers customs, the suffering and the disease, such as the palm. "Rizhilu" is a 32-volume academic notebook written by Gu Yanwu (Zi Ningren), a native of Kunshan in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, with rich content. Gu Yanwu's student Pan Lei, divided the content of the "Rizhilu" into eight categories, namely, classics, historiography, officialdom, official governance, wealth, ceremonies, public opinion, and art and literature. Gu Yanwu's 120-volume "Book of Diseases of the Heavenly Counties" is a historical and geographical work that records the social, political and economic conditions of various regions in the Ming Dynasty, and is also highly respected.
The lecture hall record also wrote: ""General Dictionary", "General Examination", "General Chronicles", the books that scholars must read, the rules and regulations, the etiquette, the music of soldiers and peasants, etc., are carefully examined and judged, and they are very useful books. "General Dictionary", written by Tang Duyou, 200 volumes, starting from Tang Yu and ending with Tang Suzong and Daizong. "General Examination", the abbreviation of "General Examination of Literature", written by Ma Duanlin on the occasion of the Song and Yuan Dynasties, 348 volumes, recording the evolution of the canonical system from ancient times to the time of Song Ningzong. "Tongzhi", written by Zheng Qiao of the Southern Song Dynasty, 200 volumes, is a general history made up of historical materials of previous dynasties.
**What kind of chronicles were first encountered are not found in the written record. It is also difficult to count which provincial and county chronicles I read when I was a student. In July 1917, ** went out on a study tour with his fellow students Xiao Zisheng and Xiao Weiran. In Meicheng, ** consulted the "Anhua County Chronicle". This is an early record of reading specific local chronicles, and his habit of trying to consult local chronicles whenever he goes to a place has gradually developed.
Young man *** has actively organized a group of aspiring young people to go to France for work-study, but he himself did not study abroad. Part of the answer can be found in his letter to Zhou Shizhao on March 14, 1920: "If we want to do a little bit in today's world, of course, we can't do without the territory of 'China'. It seems that the situation in this site is indispensable for on-the-spot investigation and study. If this level of work is left to be done when I come back from overseas, I am afraid that it will be a little difficult due to the relationship between personnel and life. ”
At the beginning of the new year in 1921, some members of the Xinmin Society held a New Year's meeting in Changsha, and after discussion, it was decided to adjust the purpose of the Xinmin Society from "innovating academics, improving conduct, and improving people's hearts and customs" to "transforming China and the world". This has not only become the common goal of Xinmin Society, but also the lifelong pursuit of Xinmin Society. In order to realize this grand ambition, ** went to the west, fought in the south and the north, and traveled all over the north and south of the river. He was more eager to understand China and the world, and reading Fang Zhi became one of the important ways for him to understand the situation in China.
In March 1929, the Red Army occupied Changting, Fujian. **Read "Tingzhou Mansion Chronicles" at Changting Xingeng Villa. In June 1929, after the "Seventh National Congress" of the Red Fourth Army was dismissed, ** returned to Longyan Xinqiu House. **According to the requirements of ***, a large bundle of books and newspapers was moved from the county library, including "Longyan Prefecture Chronicles".
One day in March 1930, ** asked the guards to find Xiao Hua, secretary of the Xingguo County Party Committee of the Communist Youth League. When Xiao Hua arrived, he saw that *** was carefully reading a copy of the "Xingguo County Chronicles" compiled during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. After the Red Army captured Ruijin, ** found an 8-volume "Ruijin County Chronicles" during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, although only 7 volumes were left, but *** still read it carefully as if it had been obtained. During the Long March, after the Red Army crossed the Xiang River, the headquarters ordered to be lightly armed. Wang Jiaxiang looked at the iron box and asked, "There are so many ancient books in your iron box, are they all necessary?"* said seriously: ""Romance of the Three Kingdoms", "Water Margin", and some Tang and Song poems, and local chronicles picked up on the road are all necessary, more necessary than rice pots and toothbrushes. "During the Long March, every time he captured a county seat or every important town, he asked people to collect county and local chronicles for him, and it was the middle of the night at a glance. During the Zunyi Conference, Xu Teli sent people to send him a large number of books and newspapers, including several volumes of "Zunyi Mansion Chronicles" compiled during the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty.
During the Yan'an period, while concentrating on studying Marxist-Leninist works, he also carefully read literary and historical books, including Fang Zhi. He also read the "Minutes of Reading History and Public Opinion" repeatedly. Some prefecture and county chronicles in northern Shaanxi, including "Yan'an Prefecture Chronicles", have also been read. In 1936, ** also read some local chronicles of Shanxi. This was also the case throughout the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation.
After the founding of the People's Republic of China, ** love to read Fang Zhi's interest is still the same. His collection of historical books such as "Yongle Canon", "Siku Quanshu", "Four Preparations", "Wanyou Library", "Ancient and Modern Books Collection" and other historical books, including general chronicles, provincial chronicles, government chronicles and county chronicles. **There is also a special collection of some provincial chronicles, prefecture chronicles and county chronicles, as well as monographs such as "Nanyue Chronicles". **When you go out to inspect, you have to find the local chronicle to see, and many local libraries still have records of his borrowed books.
In October 1952, when he inspected the Yellow River, he told the person in charge of Pingyuan Province to read the book "Zhongzhou Chronicles" that he wanted. After inspecting the Yellow River, he and Zhang Xi, secretary of the Henan Provincial Party Committee, had a late-night discussion on the issue of harnessing the Yellow River. Before going to bed, he also browsed "Henan Tongzhi" and "Bianjing Zhi".
On December 29, 1956, ** sent a letter to Zhou Shizhao, saying: "Please wait for Mr. Cao Zigu and thank him for his poems and Nanyue Zhi." ”
In March 1958, a working conference was held in Chengdu. **As soon as I arrived in Chengdu, I immediately came to read "Sichuan Tongzhi", "Shu Benji", "Huayang Guozhi" and so on. In the future, he will come to "Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Summary" and "Guan County Chronicles" again, and he will also draw circles on the book. He also personally selected some poems about Sichuan written by poets of the Tang, Song, and Ming dynasties, and printed them together with the "Huayang National Chronicles" to the participating comrades.
On September 16, 1958, ** returned to the hotel after inspecting the factory in Hefei, Anhui Province, it was 10 o'clock in the evening, but he was still not tired and continued to read "Anhui Tongzhi".
On November 13, 1958, ** went to Suiping, Henan Province to inspect, and he read the "Runing County Chronicles" revised during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty in the car.
On June 30, 1959, ** climbed Lushan, and asked the secretary to borrow the "Lushan Chronicles" in the morning, and then came to the "Continuation Chronicles". * Explained to the staff the origin of the name of Lushan, and also told the allusion of Zhu Xi's "asking the book at the beginning of the sedan chair". In March of the sixth year of Chunxi (1179), Zhu Xi went to Nankang County (now Xingzi County, Jiangxi) to take office, and the local subordinate officials greeted him in front of the sedan chair. ** said: "After the allusion of Zhu Xi was circulated, 'those who govern the world take history as a mirror, and those who govern the county and the country take the will as a mirror' and 'present the will to read' have become the practice of later generations. Today, you must also know how to learn from history in order to do good things. ”
On May 21, 1965, on the way back to Jinggang Mountain, he stayed overnight in the compound of the Chaling County Party Committee in Hunan. He said to Zhang Pinghua: "Chaling Prefecture Chronicles", I wanted to see it when I first visited Chaling in 1927, but I didn't get it, and now I don't know if I can borrow itZhang Pinghua quickly asked the county archives to send a set of eight thread-bound copies of the Qing Dynasty Tongzhi 9th year (1870) edition and **22nd year (1933) reprinted "Chaling Prefecture Chronicles". That night, ** read until 3 a.m.
There is also a habit that whenever I meet a comrade I have met for the first time, I usually ask him where his hometown is, and then he can always tell the characteristics or allusions of his hometown. For example, in April 1937, ** met Peng Zhen for the first time in Yan'an. Peng Zhen said that he was a native of Houma, Shanxi, ** said: Houma is a good place, the Spring and Autumn Jin Kingdom built its capital there, and Zhou Bofeng of the Han Dynasty was here. In March 1940, ** met Shi Zhe in the Yangjialing cave in Yan'an, and learned that he was from Hancheng, and immediately said: "Oh, you and Sima Qian are fellow villagers. On April 13, 1942, ** talked with writer Cao Baohua and others. Cao Baohua is a native of Jiading, Sichuan, nodded and said: "There are two Jiadings in China, one in Sichuan and one in Jiangsu. Jiading in Sichuan is a land and water wharf. Cao Baohua didn't expect that ** knew his hometown so clearly. On January 10, 1956, ** passed through Changsha on his southern tour, and met with provincial, prefectural and county leaders on the train. When he learned that Zhang Heting, the first secretary of Ningxiang County, was from Daming County, Hebei Province, he said humorously: "It turns out that you are from the Daimyo Mansion in Beijing!."Lu Junyi is still your fellow countryman!Everyone laughed. The list goes on.
** Reading a lot of Fang Zhi is not only to satisfy the thirst for knowledge, but also to use it as a way of investigation and research. On August 1, 1941, the "Decision of the Communist Party of China on Investigation and Research" was drafted. The "Decision" points out: "* Set up investigation and research organs to collect materials on political, military, economic, cultural, and social relations at home and abroad, and study them, so as to be the direct assistants of the work." In the "Decision" "on the method of collecting materials", it is clearly required that "county records, government records, provincial records, and genealogies should be collected and studied". In March 1958, at the Chengdu Conference, he advocated the inheritance of the tradition of cultivating the Zhi and advocated that all localities should compile the Fang Zhi. This initiative has greatly promoted the compilation of new chronicles throughout the country, and has made this work highly valued by party committees and leaders at all levels.
It can be seen from the large number of articles written by *** that many of his analyses and judgments are due to his reading of Fang Zhi. For example, in 1928, "The Struggle in Jinggangshan" pointed out: "There is another special thing in the border counties, that is, the boundary of the Tu Hakka nationality. There is a great divide between the natives of the Turks and the Hakka who migrated from the north hundreds of years ago, and the historical feuds are very deep, sometimes fierce. For example, articles such as "We Must Pay Attention to Economic Work" in August 1933 and "Our Economic Policy" in January 1934 both talked about the historical situation in the base areas.
In the autumn of 1949, when discussing the march into the southwest, it was decided to let Liao Zhigao, a native of Xikang, be the secretary of the provincial party committee. **Say: The situation is complicated, people who are familiar with the local area, understand the situation, and do things easily. In 1950, at a meeting, ** asked Liao Zhigao: "When was your hometown developed?"Liao said he didn't know. ** said: "It was developed in the Tang Dynasty." Liao asked again, "How do you know?"* said, "It is to see your county records." ”
In March 1958, when listening to the report of Tao Lujin, the first secretary of the Shanxi Provincial Party Committee, on the problem of water shortage at the Chengdu meeting, he asked: You have a Wenxi County in Shanxi, do you know why it is called Wenxi?Tao said he didn't know. ** said: "Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty arrived here by boat, and it happened to be the good news of a great victory in Vietnam, and Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty named this place Wenxi." Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty was able to take a boat on the Fen River at that time, which shows that the Fen River had a lot of water at that time, and now the Fen River is dry, and we are ashamed of the Jin people. ”
No matter where you go, you always have a strong interest in the cultural monuments there. Not only did he look at it himself, but he often used it to test others. On August 5, 1958, ** went to Anguo, Hebei Province for inspection. The vehicle drove into Anguo Street, passed by Yaowang Temple, and asked Jiao Jiaju, the magistrate of Anguo County: "What is the surname of the Yaowang in this temple?".The county magistrate said he didn't know, and he was a little dissatisfied: "A county magistrate doesn't know what Yaowang's surname is?""Pi Tong, who is worshiped in the Yaowang Temple, is one of the twenty-eight generals under Liu Xiu, Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Pi Tong loves medicine. According to the "Qizhou Chronicles", Pi Tong was buried in Nanguan of Anguo after his death, but he "appeared" in the Song Dynasty, and was the king of Song and Qin. In ***'s view, Yaowang Temple is a valuable cultural resource, but the head of a county is not very good, which inevitably makes him dissatisfied.
A brief introduction to some of the Sichuan local chronicles read during the Chengdu Conference
"Sichuan Tongzhi".
Yongzheng "Sichuan Tongzhi". Qing Huang Tinggui and other revisions. In view of the fact that there are many errors in the Ming Xiu's "General Chronicles of Sichuan", the Huang family searched for them vigorously, made up for their mistakes, and revised their mistakes, and the descriptions of the field endowment, border defense, Tusi, and military system are very detailed. It is actually the first general journal in the province with detailed content and appropriate system. Now there is a supplementary edition of the first year of Yongzheng (1723), and a copy of Qianlong's "Siku Quanshu".
Jiaqing "Sichuan Tongzhi". Qing Chang Ming Xiu, Yang Fangcan compiled. More than 400,000 words, the volume is huge, the style is complete, the content is rich, it is the collection of Sichuan Tongzhi, and it is of great value for the study of the whole history of Sichuan. There are 12 chronicles, such as astronomy, public opinion, food, schools, military equipment, officials, elections, people, chronicles, chronicles, Western Regions, and miscellaneous. Among them, the history, Jiangyuan, embankment, frontier and Tusi have high historical value. The extant engraved copy of the twenty-first year of Jiaqing (1816).
"Sichuan Tongzhi".Song Yuren is the chief editor, Chen Yousheng is the assistant, Gong Xuchun, Zhou Xiang, Zhang Senkai and others participated in the revision. Due to objective reasons such as the current situation in central Sichuan and funding, the compilation of the provincial chronicles was carried out with great difficulty, and by the end of 1931, when Song Yuren died, only the first draft of the "Sichuan General Chronicles" was completed. Later, Chen Yousheng, assistant director of the General Chronicle Bureau, and Su Zhaokui were jointly responsible for the compilation. Chen and Su also died soon after, and the Tongzhi Bureau was paralyzed. In 1936, he compiled more than 300 manuscripts of "Sichuan Tongzhi", all of which were copied in small letters with brushes. The content is mostly a collection of information on rituals and customs, temples, ancestral temples, officials, schools, people and other categories in the old provincial chronicles, and there are also some historical materials obtained from new interviews, but the number is not large. After the death of Song Yuren, coupled with the melee of the warlords in Sichuan, no one raised the cultivation of the chronicles, and some of the manuscripts were lost, which was a great pity. The Catalogue of the Reconstructed Sichuan Tongzhi compiled in the early days was printed in 1936. Manuscripts from before 1931 are still preserved.
"Shu Benji".
A book that records the deeds of the Shu emperor from ancient times to the Three Kingdoms period and other stories in Shu. The original name was "Shu Benji", or the province was called "Shu Ji", and also made "Shu Ji" (there is also "Shu Ji" for the Eastern Jin Dynasty King Yin). According to legend, it was written by Yang Xiong at the end of the Western Han Dynasty and is a one-volume book. Today, some scholars believe that it should be written by the Three Kingdoms Shu Zhou. After the Song Dynasty. There are only more than 20 articles preserved in the writings of the Tang and Song people. Because its content is similar to that contained in later local chronicles, it is also classified as a chronicle.
"Huayang National Chronicles".
Also known as "Huayang Guoji", it is a local chronicle written by Chang Xuan of the Cheng Han Dynasty in the Eastern Jin Dynasty from the fourth year of Yonghe to the tenth year of Yonghe (348-354) of Emperor Mu of the Jin Dynasty. The book is divided into Ba Zhi, Hanzhong Zhi, Shu Zhi, Nanzhong Zhi, Gongsun Shu, Liu Ermu Zhi, Liu Xianzhuzhi, Liu Hou Zhuzhi, Da Comrade, Li Te, Li Xiong, Li Qi, Li Shou, Li Shizhi, the Prophet and the Female Praise, the Later Xianzhi, the Preface and the Catalogue of the Scholars, etc., a total of 12 volumes, about 110,000 words. This book, together with the Book of Yue Jue, is known as the earliest surviving local chronicle in China. Because Huayang Guozhi is the earliest chronicle with the most complete content and the most complete style, its author Chang Xuan (now Chongzhou, Chengdu, Sichuan) was called "the originator of Fang Zhi" by later generations.
** "Dujiangyan Water Conservancy Essentials".
Written by Sichuan Provincial Water Conservancy Bureau, published in 1938. This book is an analysis report made by Dujiangyan of Sichuan Provincial Water Conservancy Bureau, which is a valuable data for researching the working principle of Dujiangyan. It also contains a large number of detailed information on the political, economic, cultural and other aspects of Dujiangyan. Because its content is similar to that contained in the chronicles, it is also classified as a chronicle.
"Guan County Chronicles".
Qianlong's "Guan County Chronicles". Qing Sun Tianning compiles and repairs. From the records of the rivers and canals of the Han Dynasty to the new water conservancy projects built during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the historical facts of the construction of this important water conservancy project in Sichuan by various dynasties are recorded in detail. His art and literature also contain many poems about Dujiangyan, as well as poems about Qingcheng Mountain. The records of the 36 peaks and 1008 scenes of Qingcheng Mountain in the miscellaneous records are also detailed, which is of great historical value. The engraved copy of the 51st year of Qianlong (1786) is now preserved.
"Guan County Chronicles".Ye Daqiang and others repaired, and Luo Jun compiled. The style of the journal is rigorous, the entries are clear, the content is rich, and the research is detailed. It contains many military and political affairs of the county and neighboring towns from the end of the Qing Dynasty to the early ** period, such as the conquest of the Qing Xianfeng, Tongzhijian Li, and the Blue Rebel Army in various parts of central Sichuan to attack cities and seize land;From Xuantong to the beginning of the first century, the Sichuan Baolu Movement, the Battle of Yuan and the Warlord Melee in Central Sichuan are really precious historical materials of modern and modern revolution. The maps attached to the bookpiece and some categories have been changed to standard surveying and mapping color printing. It has collected the poems and lyrics of nearly 500 people from all walks of life and various types of people in the past two thousand years from the Han Dynasty to the first two thousand years, mainly the content of Qingcheng Mountain, Minshan Mountain and Dujiangyan. In the anecdotes, there are detailed records of population taxation, etiquette and customs, policies and decrees. A 1933 copy is preserved.
Daoguang's "Wuhou Ancestral Records" ("Zhaolie Zhongwuling Temple Chronicles").
Edited by Pan Shitong. The book is the first monograph to record the history of Wuhou Temple in Chengdu in detail. It is divided into ten volumes, which introduces the evolution and development of Wuhou Temple in detail from the aspects of rituals, mausoleums, facts, lineage, art and literature, production, and miscellaneous knowledge, which is of great value for the study of the history and culture of Wuhou Temple.
Special Tips
**Please specify: "*Fang Zhi Sichuan".
*: Monthly Reader, Issue 4, 2023.
Author: Wang Jianxin (Professor, Vice President of Jinggangshan Executive Leadership College, China, First-Class Inspector).