Archives in Old Manchu
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Chinese documents Archives in Old Manchu In 1599, the Manchu leader Nurhaci, in order to solve the need to transmit written messages and make governmental records, ordered scholars to create a written language for the Manchus, based on the Mongol alphabet and combined with the Jurchen phonetic system. This early form of Manchu derived from Mongolian did not have punctuation and was called Old Manchu. In 1632, a scholar was ordered to create punctuation in order to improve the form and phonetics of Manchu, which became known as New Manchu. The Museum possesses a rich collection of archives in Manchu. Among them are 40 large volumes, 20 of which are composed of records from 1607 to 1636, representing the early years of the Manchu government before they conquered the Chinese Ming and established the Ch'ing (1644-1911). The source of the paper for these archives was mainly from old Ming government documents and Korean paper. The writing in the archives includes Mongolian, unpunctuated Old Manchu, semi-punctuated Manchu, and fully punctuated New Manchu. This is a direct source of information for scholars to study the legends of the origins of the Manchus, their Eight-Banner system, social customs, economy and lifestyle, development, foreign relations, and the period from the fall of the Ming to the establishment of the Ch'ing. It is also an important source that documents the early development of the Manchu language. Thus, Old Manchu correlates to the period before the formal establishment of the Manchu Ch'ing dynasty in China.
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Palace Memorials |
Palace Memorials
The drafting and submitting documents to the court in the early Ch'ing dynasty (1644-1911) followed the system used in the previous Ming dynasty (1368-1644). Public matters were dealt with in subject memorials, while private ones in confidential memorials. Starting from the middle of the reign of the K'ang-hsi Emperor (r. 1662-1722), however, the memorial system was revamped, marking the beginning of the Ch'ing system. The contents of these now confidential memorials included both public and private matters. Military and civil officials memorialized on local matters, the effectiveness of government, and public sentiment, which were all reported to the emperor truthfully and on an individual basis. After a memorial was written, it was inserted into a packet and sealed, wrapped in yellow paper, and placed within a memorial case before being finally locked and then wrapped in yellow silk. The case and key for the memorial were provided by the inner court. If the case was damaged, it had to be returned along with the key and the memorial replaced. If memorial cases were lacking, and the inner court could not provide one in time, a memorial could be fastened between two boards, bound, and then wrapped in silk. If the contents were of an urgent government matter, the memorial could be sent by express courier. All other memorials, even those from high officials, could only could be sent by regular government means of transportation to the capital, where they were received by the memorial inspector at the palace gate. Memorials did not go through ordinary bureaucratic channels, but straight to the emperor, making them confidential and convenient. After the emperor personally wrote notes or comments, the memorial was returned directly to the writer. Then the memorial with imperial comments was returned to the court, where it was stored, hence the name "palace memorials." The collection of memorials in the Museum collection includes those from the reigns of various emperors and written in both Manchu and Chinese, totaling more than 158,000. They are precious first-hand information for the study of Ch'ing history and government. |
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Imperial Edicts |
Imperial Edicts Edict Announcing the Removal of Dorgan's Mother and Son From the Imperial Ancestral Temple Imperial edicts (chao-shu) were documents used exclusively by the emperor for making pronouncements to his officials and subjects. Their first mention is in the 'Chih-chieh' chapter of the Shang-shu (Book of Documents), which describes them as "the words of the king." The 'Basic Annals of the First Chin Emperor' in the Shih-chi (Records of the Grand Historian) further compares chao to ling , an instrument of command, as opposed to chih , which it equates with ming , a command in the sense of pronounced criteria to be obeyed. This definition has been accepted by later generations. In 1629, the Abahai, who assumed the title of Emperor T'ien-ts'ung of Ch'ing, set up a civil administration and ordered Confucian ministers to fill official posts in rotation. In 1636, he reorganized the civil administration into three academies-the Palace Histiographic Academy, Palace Secretariat Academy, and the Palace Academy for the Advancement of Learning. A grand academician was appointed to head each academy with the assistance of executives and other officials. The Grand Academician conveyed all official business and memorials to the throne. In 1658, the Three Palace Academies were reorganized into the Grand Secretariat and Hanlin Academy in the Ming pattern. The title of Grand Academician was lengthened to Grand Academician of the Palace Secretariat. All important state affairs, such as the ascension of a new emperor, matters of imperial administration of state, and presentation of minister titles to the emperor, were announced throughout the empire through imperial edicts, and edicts of bereavement were issued when the emperor was nearing death. Imperial edicts were composed and proofed by the Grand Secretariat and copied onto huang-pang paper and affixed with a seal reading, "Imperial Treasure." There are 50 Ch'ing imperial edicts in the National Palace Museum Collection. Most of them are affixed with the title of the emperor or imperial consortand issued in conjunction with the presentation of sacrifices the gods at the altar of heaven, worship at the ancestral shrine, presentation of offerings at the ancestral temple, accession to the throne, removal from the ancestral temple (such that one is no longer worshipped by posterity), and the death of the emperor. All are written in Chinese and Manchurian except for the edicts announcing the retirement from court of the mother of the Prince Regent Dorgan, which is written in Chinese only. Composed on the 22nd day of the second month in the eighth year of the Shun-chih period (1651), this edict was written on huang-pang paper 186cm long and 78.5cm wide. Imperial seals reading "Imperial Treasure" are affixed in Manchurian and Chinese near the date. In the Veritable Records of the Shun-chih Emperor, the date of proclamation has been changed to the 21st day of the second month of 1651. This work also significantly alters the content of the original edict. For instance, the phrase, "entered the chambers of the imperial consort in violation of rules of propriety" was deleted, and the phrase ". . . revealing an ambition to usurp the throne," was revised to read, "Dorgan harbored rebellious ambitions." Countless other alterations were made. The original edict, shown here, thus provides an invaluable and faithful account of the historical events as they were originally recorded.. |
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Diplomatic Credentials |
Diplomatic Credentials Diplomatic Credentials from the Ch'ing Court to France . Diplomatic credentials are official documents sent by the head of state, as representative of his government, to the head of another country. As instruments in international negotiations, they were sent by special emissaries. As credentials of appointment or dismissal of foreign envoys, they were presented by the envoy himself. The diplomatic credentials in the National Palace Museum collection include dispatches to the United Kingdom, France, Russia, Belgium, Spain, Portugal, Japan, the Vatican, Korea, Annam, Burma, and Siam among others. Following the Opium War and the campaign against the allied English and French forces, the Ch'ing government began to change its attitude towards foreign affairs in an attempt to adapt to the new political climate. After the Tientsin Massacre in 1870, the court sent Chung-hou, the Superintendent of Trade for the Three Northern Ports and Left Palace Attendant of the Ministry of War, to France to seek reconciliation over the incident. In 1875, the court appointed Kuo Sung-tao, the Attendant Vice Minister of War, as its envoy to Britain. In 1884, Hsu Ching-ch'eng, an expositor-in-waiting, was sent on diplomatic missions to France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Austria in the capacity of Grand Minister. In 1905, the Grand Ministers Tai Tse, Tai Hung-ts'u, Hsu Shih-ch'ang, Tuan Fang, and Shao Ying were sent to western and eastern countries on political fact-finding missions. At 10:00 a.m. on September 24 of the same year, Wu Yueh, a member of the Revolutionary Party, attempted to assassinate the five ministers at a train station in Beijing. The bomb blast wounded Tai Tse and Shao Ying and cost Wu his life. The mission was subsequently delayed and the diplomatic documents were returned to the court. On October 26 that year, the government dispatched a new mission, on which Shang Ch'i-heng, the Shantung Provincial Administrative Commissioner, and Li Sheng-tuo, the vice-magistrate of Tien-shun Prefecture joined Tai Tse, Tai Hung-ts'u and Tuan Fang of the original delegation. This document is a diplomatic credential presented by the Ch'ing court to France. It is 269cm long and 34.5cm wide and written in Manchurian on the left side and in Chinese on the right side in vertical running script. The document bears the imperial seal. Acting Left Vice Minster of War Hsu Shi-ch'ang, Defender Duke Tai Tse, Left Assistant of the Board of Trade Shao Ying jointly presented the letter as a message of friendship and goodwill. It also served as a mutual testimony of the delegation's visit. The letter is in album form with outer covers adorned with a twin coiling dragon and pearl design. |
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Tripitaka in Tibetan |
Tripitaka in Tibetan With more than 2000 years of history, Buddhism has long been a major world religion. The translation of Buddhist scriptures, known as sutras, into Tibetan not only preserved the language and history of these peoples in China but also assists in the study of Eastern culture. Sutras are therefore a crucial source of historical material. A compilation of Buddhist texts is called a tripitaka. A tripitaka
in the Museum collection was written in Tibetan during the reigns of
the K'ang-hsi (1662-1722) and Ch'ien-lung (1736-1795) emperors and composed
of 122 sets. The sutra boxes in each set are composed of individual
leaves, front and back boards, and wrappings. The tripitaka in Tibetan
written in gold ink, known as the Kanjur Tripitaka, has leaves written
on both sides in standard script. Each set contains 300 to 500 leaves.
The sutra leaves, arranged in order, are decorated with the Eight Auspicious
Symbols painted in gold ink. The boards include an inner and an outer
pair. The outer pair is made of red lacquered wood and on front is an
inscription in Sanskrit that reads, "Om-mani-pad-me-hum,"
an invocation against evil. The inner pair is made of dark bluish wood,
and the reverse of the top piece is carved with gold characters in both
Sanskrit and Tibetan for the Buddha, the Law, and the Order. The top
piece is wrapped in layers of white, blue, green, red, and yellow silk,
each embroidered with Sanskrit and Tibetan letters along with images
of the Eight Auspicious Symbols. The lower piece is painted with five
Buddhist images in color. The leaves between the two boards are then
bound with silk thongs along with a white silk ceremonial hada cloth
and finally wrapped in yellow sutra silk to form a set. This format
of sutra mounting originated in India and was followed in Tibetan Buddhism,
becoming known as "Indian board mounting". |
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