Heilongjiang waiji 黑龍江外記

Heilongjiang waiji 黑龍江外記 is an unofficial description of the province of Heilongjiang written by Xiqing 西清 (Sicing), courtesy name Yanzhai 研齋, from the Sirin Gioro clan 西林覺羅氏 and member of the Bordered Blue Manchu Banner (Ch. Manzhou xianglanqi 滿洲瓖藍旗).

The book of 8 juan, finished in 1810 in manuscript form, is written consistently in the style of a local gazetteer, beginning with the geography and history of the region (1), and then describing the cities, postal stations and military posts (2), of the local tribes, the number of their households, the administrative and the military system (3), the regulations for the salaries of the officialdom and the pay for the army, as well as the balance of the provincial treasure (4). The second half of the book describes regional tributes, customs and habits, as well as legal matters (5) the custom of exile for penal servitude (zheshu 謫戍), dialects, food and social ceremonies as weddings and funerals (6), biographies of important officials and travellers (7), and finally local food plants and products. The gazetteer covers a wide range of themes and is therefore a highly important source on the history of Heilongjiang and its inhabitants. The text is headed by several maps.

The book was first printed in 1895, in the series Jianxi cunshe congke 漸西村舍叢刻. It is also found in the Guangya congshu 廣雅叢書, Huangchao fanshu yudi congshu 皇朝藩屬輿地叢書, Xiaofanghuzhai yudi congchao 小方壺齋輿地叢鈔, Longsha liu zhong 龍沙六種 and Congshu jicheng chubian 叢書集成初編. In 1984 the Heilongjiang Renmin Chubanshe 黑龍江人民出版社 published a puncutated edition. Ten years later it became part of the series Heishui congshu 黑水叢書 by the same publisher.