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Pingding Taiwan jilüe 平定臺灣紀略

May 1, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

(Qinding) Pingding Taiwan jilüe (欽定)平定臺灣紀略 "(Imperially endorsed) Military History of the pacification of Taiwan" is the official history of the war of the Qing dynasty 清 (1644-1911) against the rebellion of Lin Shuangwen 林爽文 in Taiwan in 1786-1788.

The 70-juan long book, plus 5 introductory juan, was compiled on imperial order after the end of the war. It is written in the style of military annals (fanglüe 方略) and describes the historical background of the war, the foundation of the Heaven-and-Earth Society (Tiandihui 天地會) and the course of the rebellion. The book contains a large amount of archival material that was prepared for publication. It contains not only information about the war itself but also about the organisation of the campaign and the social and economical conditions in Taiwan in the late 18th century. The book is therefore a great help for the understanding of the Qing administration and for the reasons for popular uprisings. The introduction includes some laudatory writings and poems written by the Qianlong Emperor 乾隆帝 (r. 1736-1795) after the end of the war.

It is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.

Source:
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰, eds. (1996). Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 1, 915.