From "Writing History for the Former Dynasty" to "Fostering Confucian Principles and Virtues": Early-Qing Writings on Southern Ming History

The first decades of the Qing dynasty witnessed prolific development \nof historical writings on Southern Ming history. The comparatively relaxed \natmosphere provided a platform for literati with diverse political stances to \nvoice their views on the historical events that concerned them. \nEmphasizing the use of history in statecraft, many Chinese historians \nconsidered the history of the Ming fall and Qing rise to offer a valuable \nlesson for rulers in the future. In the social construction of the early Qing \ndiscourse on the resistance history of 1644-1662, the narratives by \nhistorians from different social groups became a tool in the struggle for \ncultural dominance and hegemony. To the remnant Ming loyalists, the \nMing yimin, their remembering and appreciation of the late Ming martyrs, \nto a large extent, were an expression of their anti-Qing sentiment and \ndetermination to live as yimin. However, to the Han Chinese in the new \ngovernment, the history of the Ming-Qing dynastic change merely \nindicated a shift of Heaven’s Will. Influenced by the yimin scholars, many \nHan Chinese in the early Qing were ambivalent about accepting the legitimacy of Qing rule and considered the Southern Ming a legitimate \ndynasty in Chinese history. This ambivalence in time led to a less \npoliticized interpretation of the resistance history that regarded the deeds of \nthe Ming loyalists as an embodiment of Confucian principles and virtues. \nAs a result of reconciliation, the new interpretation in the end became a \ncollective memory of the history of the Ming-Qing transition among the \nQing’s subjects.