The Diary of a Manchu Soldier in Seventeenth-Century China: "My Service in the Army", by Dzengseo

155 Pages·2006·3.41 MB·English

by  Nicola Di Cosmo

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THE DIARY OF A MANCHU SOLDIER IN
SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA
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e The Manchu conquest of China inaugurated one of the most successful and
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m long-living dynasties in Chinese history: the Qing (1644–1911). The wars fought
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c by the Manchus to invade China and consolidate the power of the Qing imperial
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D house spanned over many decades through most of the seventeenth century. This
01 book provides the first Western translation of the diary of Dzengmeo, a young
1 Manchu officer, and recounts the events of the War of the Three Feudatories
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5: (1673–1682), fought mostly in southwestern China and widely regarded as the
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t most serious internal military challenge faced by the Manchus before the Taiping
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] rebellion (1851–1864). The author’s participation in the campaign provides the
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tr close-up, emotional perspective on what it meant to be in combat, while also
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e providing a rare window into the overall organization of the Qing army, and new
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T data in key areas of military history such as combat, armament, logistics, rank
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relations, and military culture. The diary represents a fine and rare example of
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B Manchu personal writing, and shows how critical the development of Manchu
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L studies can be for our knowledge of China’s early modern history.
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y [ Nicola Di Cosmo joined the Institute for Advanced Study, School of Historical
b Studies, in 2003 as the Luce Foundation Professor in East Asian Studies. He is
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e the author of Ancient China and Its Enemies(Cambridge University Press, 2002)
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a and his research interests are in Mongol and Manchu studies and Sino-Inner
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nl Asian relations.
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ROUTLEDGE STUDIES IN THE
EARLY HISTORY OF ASIA
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e IMPERIAL TOMBS IN TANG CHINA, 618–907
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m The politics of paradise
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c Tonia Eckfeld
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1 ELITE THEATRE IN MING CHINA, 1368–1644
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1 Grant Guangren Shen
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0 MARCO POLO’S CHINA
at A Venetian in the realm of Khubilai Khan
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C THE DIARY OF A MANCHU SOLDIER IN
T SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY CHINA
E “My service in the army,” by Dzengmeo
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B Introduction, translation, and notes by Nicola Di Cosmo
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THE DIARY OF A
MANCHU SOLDIER IN
SEVENTEENTH-
2 CENTURY CHINA
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re Introduction, translation, and
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C notes by Nicola Di Cosmo
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b First published 2006
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by Routledge
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c 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
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D Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
1 by Routledge
0 270 Madison Ave, New York, NY 10016
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3 Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
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0 This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2007.
at “To purchase your own copy of this or any of Taylor & Francis or Routledge’s
] collection of thousands of eBooks please go to www.eBookstore.tandf.co.uk.”
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nt © 2006 Introduction, translation and notes, Nicola Di Cosmo
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C All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or
T reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
E mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter
N invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
B information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
LI writing from the publishers.
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N British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
I A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
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y Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
b Dzengseo, fl. 1680–1681.
d The diary of a Manchu soldier in seventeenth-century China: my
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d service in the army / by Dzengseo; introduction, translation and
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o notes by Nicola Di Cosmo.
nl p. cm.—(Routledge studies in the early history of Asia; 4)
w Includes bibliographical references and index.
o 1. China—History—Rebellion of the Three Feudatories,
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1673–1681—Sources. 2. Mongols—History—Sources.
I. Di Cosmo, Nicola, 1957– II. Title. III. Series.
DS754.66.D94 2006
951(cid:2).032092—dc22 2005036379
ISBN 0-203-96649-X Master e-book ISBN
ISBN10: 0–700–71611–4 (hbk)
ISBN13: 978–0–700–71611–1 (hbk)
FOR LIA
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CONTENTS
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er Acknowledgments ix
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e Introduction 1
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1 0 1 Diary of my service in the army by Dzengmeo 46
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0 2 Manchu text 88
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tr Appendix: military ranks used in the translation 105
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e Glossary 106
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T Notes 111
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References 132
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B Index to the translation 137
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
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e This book has been in the making for a long time, mainly because it did not intend
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m to become a book (if books can be said to have intentions of their own) until I was
ce persuaded that the text could profit from an integral translation into English, with
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D introduction and notes, and that the resulting work could not be possibly pub-
1 lished as an article. Over the many years in which I kept this text in the “Manchu
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1 materials” drawer, I received valuable suggestions, comments, and corrections
3 from teachers, students, and colleagues with whom I shared it.
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0 I must start by expressing my sincere admiration for Professor Ji Yonghai, who
at first found, studied, and published the text of Dzengmeo’s diary, as mentioned in
e] the Introduction. Without his discovery, this important source would still lie
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nt unrecognized and unknown in some dusty archive.
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C My deepest gratitude goes to Lynn Struve, Geoffrey Parker, and Mark Elvin, who
T have at various stages offered generous comments, corrections, and suggestions on
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the draft text of the translation either in writing or in conversations. Among those
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B colleagues who have commented on talks I have given about Dzengmeo’s war
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L experience, I would like to thank in particular Alexander Woodside for the
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N insightful remarks made at a conference in Lund some years ago. They have
I helped me delve more deeply into substantial issues of content as well as
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y problematic points in the translation. Comments by Robert Hegel and again Lynn
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d Struve at a conference at McGill were also very helpful as I revised the
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d Introduction. I also extend my collective, but no less heartfelt, thanks to all friends
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o and colleagues who asked questions and made observations as conferences and in
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n private, and are too numerous to name.
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o This text was used first as teaching material in Manchu classes I taught at
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Indiana University and Harvard University. As such, a portion of it (especially the
first 4 or 5 pages) have benefited greatly from the advice and suggestions that
came from students. I would like to thank especially the following former stu-
dents of my Manchu class: Annika Culver, Vernon Eagle, Dorothea Heuschert,
Lan Mei-hua, Li Ruohong, Ellen McGill, Pat Giersch, Gray Tuttle, and Kenji
Schwarz. I am delighted to recognize everyone’s contributions, and if I am
forgetting anyone, please forgive me as my notes are probably not as comprehensive
as they ought to be.
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