In the 37th year of his reign, Chien-lung (1736-1795), fourth Emperor of the Ching Dynasty, issued an edict directing officials throughout China to collect all important books and submit them for imperial perusal. The order further stipulated that a general catalog be prepared to list data on all such books, including their dates of publication, in formation on the authors, and summaries of their major themes.
The ostensible purpose for this massive undertaking was to enrich the Emperor's knowledge and satisfy his scholastic curiosity. But despite Chienlung's widely known literary indulgence and his vanity as a literary expert, the all-enveloping nature of the project aptly stirred suspicion that something else was on the imperial mind.
The project, subsequently implemented under the august title, Ssu Ku Chuan Shu (A Complete Collection for the Four Treasuries), had its underlying origins in the historical context of the Manchu reign. A barbarian tribe that had inhabited the northeast section of Manchuria for centuries before entering onto the dynastic stage of China, the Manchus took power in China from Ssutzung, last Emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), in the year 1644. The new rulers found themselves confronting a staunchly intellectual Han elite dedicated to Confucian teachings that asserted sharp differentiations between hua and yi, that is, between Chinese orthodoxy and the barbarians.
Despite the fact that this Confucian concept easily lent itself to different interpretations, many used it as specific justification for unswerving allegiance to the defunct Ming Dynasty.
Conscious of their less sophisticated culture, and eager to buttress the legitimacy of their rule over China, the Manchus sought the support and approval of the Han people, on the one hand, while demonstrating real fear of the an tagonistic Confucian intellectuals, as a latent threat to the new government, on the other. As a result, the Manchu attitude toward China's elite Confucian scholars was sharply ambivalent.
Forever on the alert for fear that nationalistic Han sentiment might one day imperil the very existence of the throne they had won, indeed, in horror of the very possibility, several Manchu emperors took relentless action against suspected Han intellectuals-to such an extent that their campaigns were sometimes described as "the Inquisitions of China."
One of the most famous cases involving such persecutions of antagonistic intellectuals occurred during the reign of Emperor Shihtzung (1723-1735):
The Han scholar Tseng Ching, a licentiate at a district school, failed in the civil examinations, and his degree was rescinded. He subsequently became a schoolteacher.
Tseng studied and soon espoused the anti-Manchu sentiments expressed in the books of Lu Liu-liang (1629-1683), then long deceased. And inspired, he actively subscribed to contemporary rumors implicating Emperor Shih-tzung in the murder of his father and brother in a scheme to gain the throne. Such charges were subsequently used as a justification by Tseng to incite revolution in an attempt to overthrow the Ching Dynasty.
Letting his imagination run wild, he solicited the support of several generals. One of them, Yueh Chung-chi, betrayed Tseng and, in 1728, had Tseng and a loyal disciple, Chang Hsi, arrested.
To the surprise of everyone, Emperor Shihtzung did not punish Tseng Ching and Chang Hsi for their clearly treasonous activity. Rather, he let them live, using them now to testify against the widely dispersed rumors concerning his ascent to the throne. Ta Yi Chueh Mi Lu, a book published in 1730 defending the Emperor against these malicious accusations, specifically offers Tseng's favorable testimony.
As a matter of fact, Tseng was later returned to his native place much like a hero, and was there appointed official in charge of examinations and the rectification of social abuses.
Imperial vengeance, however, found its way to the descendants and remains of author Lu Liu-liang, after Lu had been dead for 50 years.
The remains of both Lu Liu-liang and his son, Lu Pao-chung, were excavated and scattered, and one of Lu's still living sons was executed. His grandsons were banished to the frontier region of northern Manchuria, and the contemporary womenfolk of the Lu family were enslaved to serve the imperial court.
Two of Lu Liu-liang's students, known to be sympathetic with Lu's views, were also put to death. And more than twenty persons who were not members of Lu's family but were associated with him, were caught up now in the case. Furthermore, all of Lu's writings, including his poems and introductions written for friends—46 pieces in total—were banned.
Tseng Ching's seeming good fortune was not long lived. In 1735, Emperor Chienlung, on succeeding his father, Shihtzung, very apparently came to sharply different conclusions concerning Tseng Ching and Chang Hsi. They were rearrested and sentenced to die on January 30, 1736. The executions took the form of ling chih—a lingering method of enforcing the sentence which made death itself a great blessing.
While Shihtzung had used the book Ta Yi Chueh Mi Lu to defend himself against allegations of murder, his son, Emperor Chienlung, judged the book to have the contrary effect. He ordered all extant copies destroyed. And he did all this under the impeccable guise of a dutiful and filial son.
Just four years before the compilation of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu, one of Emperor Chienlung's edicts betrayed his dark inner feelings concerning Han scholars. In it, he posthumously condemned a long-deceased Han official, poet, and scholar, Chien Chien-yi (1582-1664), reputed to be the first official of the Ming Dynasty to declare allegiance to the new Manchu rulers of China.
In 1646, two years after the fall of the Ming Dynasty, Chien had served on the Imperial Board of Ceremonies as senior deputy director, but a few months later, retired from public office for good.
The very next year he was accused of plotting against the new regime, and imprisoned, but was acquitted the following year.
Emperor Chienlung's attack on the old scholar came 104 years after Chien's death. The Emperor became irate after discerning anti-Manchu feeling in one of Chien's poems—a certain exhilaration in reaction to the death of Emperor Shunchih, Chienlung's grandfather.
Little wonder then, seen in this context, that the Emperor's Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project "to search out valuable books" has so often been interpreted as a deliberate effort "to identify anti-Manchu sentiments in books and manuscripts. "
That the project was fraught with virulent political implications became fairly evident, despite Emperor Chien-lung's explicitly proclaimed concern for the welfare of the citizenry; for instance, his associated warning to local officials against meddling with the life of the people is obviously far from genuine: A project as penetrating as the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu was bound to have great impact on life throughout the different layers of Chinese society, especially for the literate classes.
The reign of Emperor Chienlung spanned the golden era of the Ching Dynasty. He was called Shi Chuan Lao Jen, indicating that he was among the very few in the mortal world favored by the ten beatitudes of life.
At the time the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project was instituted, Manchu rule was already consolidated. And although fear of anti-Manchu sentiment among the Han still hovered like a shadow in the mind of the Emperor, his priorities were sharply different as reflected in his attitude toward Tseng Ching: Emperor Chienlung was concerned about the image of the imperial family, rather than incipient revolt.
Although he was made crown prince, for instance, his mother was but a former servant girl in the palace, of low birth. In addition, Chienlung was sensitive to several historical scandals involving members of the imperial family over the past hundred and fifty years, including power struggles, murder, and even incest.
Though all of these were carefully covered up in the official historical documents of the Ching Dynasty, all kinds of stories and rumors continued to circulate among the general public. Chienlung was aware of this and was determined to learn how his court fared in written materials reaching the eyes of the literate public.
Also, very notably, given the ambition and vanity of Emperor Chienlung, it is highly probable that he entertained the idea of assembling the cultural heritage of China, in whatever sense of the term, along the model of the Ming Encyclopedia (Yung Le Ta Tien) so that he would thus be remembered by posterity.
Although Emperor Chienlung came up with the idea of collecting books for review, scholars such as Chu Yun drew up the tangible plans and presented them to the throne for approval.
Chu Yun, a scholar of "Han Learning," was eager to have access to such a comprehensive collection of important books and manuscripts. Among other motives, he wanted new materials with which to refute aspects of "Sung Learning," and thus to advance the cause of "Han Learning" in the contemporary Ching Dynasty. This proved, also, to be one of the strong motivations for the support of Chi Yun, editor-in-chief of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project, who was an important figure among devotees of "Han Learning."
It was on the basis of diverse interests and motives, then, that both the Emperor and important scholars found the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project so appealing. But all this should not obscure the very basic fact that it was primarily intended as a means to examine (and control), at least to a certain extent, the thoughts of potential antagonists.
As Kent Guy put it, an interaction of gentry, bureaucratic, and imperial interests invigorated the project, which was "shaped by all but dominated by none" ... and in the process, more than 2,000 works were suppressed, a large portion of which dated back to the late Ming period. And it is in this regard that the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu is so tinged with the colors of narrowness and darkness. Indeed, the collection was dedicated to orthodoxy; "unorthodox" texts were exploited as evidence for persecutions.
The Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project was launched in 1773 under the nominal supervision of Prince Yungjung, sixth son of Emperor Chienlung. Chi Yun and Lu Hsi-hsiung were appointed editors in-chief; Sun Shi-yi assumed the role of third chief editor, from just 1780 to 1782. Lu-fei Chih was chief collator for the project, and such famous Ching scholars as Tai Chen, Shao Chin-han, and Chou Yung-nien participated in the compilation, each in charge of a section on his specialty.
The following figures indicate the great magnitude of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu:
- The complete Ssu Ku Chuan Shu collection comprises 3,747 works, which are copied into 79,018 chuan arranged in 36,304 volumes.
- The editorial staff numbered 368 people, including the three editors-in-chief, other ranking editors, the chief collator, and 160 odd assistant editors. More than 2,000 calligraphers were commissioned to copy the original texts in a new, standard format.
- 2,931 works were found to be subversive and destroyed.
- Writings having little to do with moral cultivation or considered to contribute nothing of value to the accumulation of knowledge were excluded from the collection. Reviews of such works, however, are to be found in the main catalog of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu. More than 6,800 works in 94,034 chuan fall into this category.
- The first set was completed in 1782, ten years after the initiation of the project. But it took 18 years to accomplish the whole project, which produced seven sets in toto.
The collection was primarily drawn from three sources:
- The imperial collection, which included books already in the imperial library as well as those published by the Wu Ying Tien, (Imperial Publishing Office)—among these, the Yung Le To Tien constituted an important source.
- Manuscripts, documents, and books collected and submitted by the local authorities in compliance with the 1772 imperial edict of Emperor Chienlung.
- Private collections loaned to the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu project—A large portion of the private bibliophiles involved lived in the Kiangnan area; in 1774, thirteen of them received awards for lending rare books for imperial use. The four largest contributors, who presented 500 items or more, were given a copy of the 1728 edition of the famous encyclopedia, Ku Chin Tu Shu Chi Cheng. Those contributing 100-500 items were given a copy of the Kanghsi edition of Pei Wen Yun Fu, a phrase dictionary.
One of the major responsibilities of the editorial staff was to critically review every item thus collected and screen out those beyond the pale of the established editorial policy.
Aside from political considerations, the criteria for evaluation of writings considered for inclusion in the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu was based on "kao cheng scholarship" (also called "evidential research.")
An overriding concern was focused on the proper use of sources and the extent to which the writings were subject to verification. In this connection, for example, metaphysical discourses among those annotations of the classics reflecting the Sung scholarship were dismissed. And in that sense, Ssu Ku Chuan Shu directly reflected the scholastic bias of the Ching Dynasty. On such bases, editors like Chi Yun and Chu Yun sanctioned the traditions of the "Han Learning " in contrast with the "Sung Learning" and, in the process, endowed the former with a distinctive form.
All the collected materials were divided into four grand categories, further classified into 44 subdivisions. The four overall sections were (1) Classics, (2) Dynastic histories, (3) Philosophy, and (4) Anthologies. The final category dealt with various forms of personal reflection and was the most controversial section of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu.
Seven imperial libraries were constructed in different parts of China to store the seven sets of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu-two in the north, three in the south, and one in Manchuria. At the pinnacle of the seven was the Wen Yuan Ko, erected in 1776 on the imperial palace grounds.
The second set was housed in Wen Shuo Ko in Mukden, Manchuria. The third, like the first, also rendered Wen Yuan Ko in the English spelling, differs in the Chinese pronunciation as well as the character for yuan.
The fourth set was completed in 1785 and housed in the Wen Ching Ko at Jehol.
All of the initial four libraries were constructed in accordance with one plan.
Then in the year 1782, Emperor Chienlung decreed that three more sets be published to be housed at the Wen Hui Ko at Yangchow, the Wen Tsung Ko at Chen Chiang, and the Wen Lan Ko at Hangchow (all three in the general Kiangnan area).
In 1860, when the united forces of Great Britain and France ransacked the old Summer Palace, the third set was burned to ashes. The sets in Yangchow and Chenkiang were completely destroyed during the Taiping Rebellion (1850-64), and the one at Hangchow barely escaped the same fate. The incomplete copy at the Wen Lan Ko was later restored by transcribing the missing works from those among the Wen Ching Ko set. The original copy at the Wen Ching Ko is now in Peking. The Mukden set, housed at the Wen Shuo Ko, was taken away by the Japanese during their occupation of Manchuria. The National Central Library in Taipei now houses the first original copy, from the Wen Yuan Ko at the imperial palace.
In sum, there are three surviving sets now, one each in Taipei, Peking, and Japan.
Two catalogs were prepared for the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu.
The general catalog, Ssu Ku Chuan Shu Tsung Mu Ti Yao, provides a brief summary and commentary on all works reviewed, including those not included in the main collection. Although this catalog is noted for its thoroughness, its very voluminousness makes its use inconvenient, and the excessive inclusions of bibliographies (With no accompanying texts) diverges from the original intent on undertaking the project.
As a result, in 1782, soon after the completion of the first set, a more concise catalog was produced, Ssu Ku Chuan Shu Chien Ming Mu Lu. Though based on the general catalog, it dispenses with the introduction of those manuscripts and writings not finally included in the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu collection. More importantly, certain elements of the review section were revised to facilitate access to the texts.
After the completion of the Ssu Ku Chuan Shu, many errors were found, either from the negligence of the copyists, or due to the failure of the editors to identify statements considered unfavorable to the Manchu. In 1787, some of the blunders came to the attention of Emperor Chienlung, much to his distress. He immediately ordered the recollection of the two sets deposited at the imperial court and the Summer Palace. Chi Yun was reprimanded, and was forced to undertake the necessary corrections at his own expense and replace controversial items with new ones. His co-editor-in-chief, Lu Hsi-hsiung, shared half the expense.
Far less fortunate was chief collator Lu-fei Chih. The Emperor held him most directly responsible for the errors found in the collection, because Lu-fei was the one who had drawn up most of the governing rules for editing and collating. While Chi Yun and Lu Hsi-hsiung received only light punishment, Lu-fei Chih was deprived of all official ranks and titles and, in addition, was ordered to cover expenses for recollection of the three sets in the south. And as if this was not enough, most of his property was confiscated, with only 1,000 taels left to his family. To balance all this, his sons were exempted from further penalty.
To be sure, in any inquisition of this kind, no one ever knows when and if there will be an inversion of roles between the chaser and the chased.