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Jiaoping sansheng xiefei fanglüe 剿平三省邪匪方略

May 31, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

(Qinding) Jiaoping sansheng xiefei fanglüe (欽定)剿平三省邪匪方略 "(Imperially endorsed) Military history of the extinction of the heretic bandits of the three provinces" is a history of the suppression by the Qing dynasty 清 (1644-1911) of the White Lotus 白蓮教 rebellion compiled on imperial order under the supervision of Cinggūi 慶桂 (1737-1816). The book is written in the style of military annals (fanglüe 方略) and is divided into a head part of 9 juan length, a first part (Zhengbu 正編) of 352, a second part (Xubian 繼編) of 36, and an appendix of 12 juan.

The head part contains a foreword written by the Jiaqing Emperor 嘉慶帝 (r. 1796-1820), the edicts and memorials concerning the compilation of the book, as well as laudatory poems written by the Qianlong Emperor 乾隆帝 (r. 1736-1795) and the Jiaqing Emperor. The annals describe the origins of the uprising and the long-lasting war against the White Lotus sect during the years 1796-1809. The primary sources were a lot of archival material, like imperial edicts and palace memorials.

The book was first printed by the Wuying Hall 武英殿, with a reprint in 1980 by the Zhongguo Shudian 中國書店.

Sources:
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰, eds. (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 1, 917.
Zhongguo fanglüe congshu 中國方略叢書 (Chengwen Publishing), www.chengwen.com.tw/tc/cat/str/2guo1.htm.