Official institutional compilations (zhengshu 政書)

Administrative statutes (Huidian 會典) and precedents (shili 事例)

The Da Qing huidian 大清會典, usually translated as “Collected Statutes of the Qing Dynasty,” and the Huidian shili (“Collected statutes and precedents”) are basic reference sources for understanding the structure of Qing government. Modeled on the Wanli-era Da Ming huidian (1587), the Qing Huidian is essentially a highly curated compilation of documents outlining the main organs of government, their duties, administrative procedures, and development over time. It contains descriptions of all departments and offices in the capital and the provinces and lays out basic procedures in all areas. Reading the Huidian, one can thus gain familiarity with the overall structure of imperial government. Indeed, the DQHD, compiled in the palace but widely reprinted, was intended to serve officials as a guide to government administration. Brunnert and Hagelstrom, Present Day Political Organization of China, is in effect a summary or digest of the Huidian and follows its system of organization. 

Over time, as alterations were made to the bureaucratic structure, changes were required in the DQHD. Five editions of the DQHD were compiled during the Qing: the Kangxi huidian (1690), the Yongzheng huidian (1733), the Qianlong huidian (1764), the Jiaqing huidian (1818), and the Guangxu huidian (1899). Each has its own peculiarities, so choosing the right edition for your research is important (see below). In the Qianlong edition, for instance, administrative regulations (zeli 則例), sometimes called substatutes, were published separately. In the “General principles” (fanli 凡例) section of the DQHD it was explained that this was necessary because though the basic institutions (dian 典) could not be altered, the specific rules concerning their operation could be changed to suit the times. The Huidian thus encompassed the dynasty’s working principles, while zeli were defined as that part of the administrative statutes which could be updated and altered.

Later editions of the DQHD had yet another supplement, known as the Da Qing huidian shili 大清會典事例, which chronicled changes in procedures for the offices and departments set forth in the Huidian. This differed from the zeli, which only recorded changes in administrative practice. In the Jiaqing edition, it was explained that the aim of the shili was to set down a precedent for each type of event, recording the origins of the change and reporting on the conclusion of each case as a reference for future study and examination. There are two versions of the Huidian shili, one from the Jiaqing reign and the other from the Guangxu reign. The Guangxu huidian in fact had two supplements: the Shili and Huidian tu 會典圖 (“Illustrations of the statutes”). Previously, illustrations and maps were scattered throughout the text of the Huidian.

(Qinding) Da Qing huidian 欽定大清會典. Editions of 1690, 1733, 1764, 1818, 1899. W 66.4.6.1. Note that the above are years of completion, not of publication, which are most commonly used when referring to individual editions (see the table below).

(Qinding) Da Qing huidian shili 欽定大清會典事例. Editions of 1818 and 1899.

Harvard is fortunate in having all five editions of the Huidian, as well as the immense supplementary collections of "cases" or "substatutes" (zeli, shili) that were part of the last three compilations. The latter form an enormous and little-used body of materials on the actual functioning of the Qing administration. Data on the various editions may be tabulated as follows, citing them by the reigns in which they appeared (for dates of "publication" it would seem best to take the years listed in the second column as dates of completion):

• A: Number of juan
• B: Date of Completion
• C: Uses Materials up to about …

• D: Printing Completed

  		A	B	C
  Kangxi huidian	modeled on the second Ming Huidian, but see Keliher 2016	162	1690	1686	1695-6
  Yongzheng huidian	rather similar in content to the above	250	1733	1727	1734
  Qianlong huidian	considerably different from both preceding editions	100	1763	1758	1768
  Qianlong huidian zeli		180	1763	1758
  Jiaqing huidian	further revised	80	1818	1812	1822
  Jiaqing huidian shili		920	1818	1812
  Jiaqing huidian tu	illustrations, formerly scattered throughout, are now collected	132
  Guangxu huidian	largely follows the Jia-qing edition	100	1899	1904
  Guangxu huidian shili		1220	1899
  Guangxu huidian tu		270

Regulations, substatutes, and precedents

In addition to the above, there were also collections of board regulations and provincial substatutes and precedents, known generically as zeli 則例 (and much more detailed than the Qianlong-era Huidian zeli mentioned above). The list below is by no means complete. Another list of 則例 in various editions can be found on this page at Douban.

Libu zeli 吏部則例. Editions of 1734, 1742, 1783, 1843, 1828-1899, 1866,  and later revisions.

Harvard has both the 1776 and 1865 editions in the library. In addition, according to the Guoxuedashi website, there are also editions of 1802, 1831-1851, and 1874. One can also find the whole scanned copy online, the 1776 edition from the Yenching Library, in the Ctext database along with transcription. But don't trust it. It contains too many mistakes. Yet it still provides a good start and would potentially save time to read. The name hubu, the Board of Households, explains itself to some degree, although it is usually translated to the Borad of Revenue. Indeed, this zeli deals with issues including household registration, taxation, state revenue and its distribution, salt regulation, caoyun, monetary policy, etc. In other words, it regulates issues regarding people's livelihood as well as the government's inner workings based on what it collected from the people. For example, consult it if you want to know how "barbarian people" (yimin) should be settled and registered, how the land should be censused, how to examine cash silver put in storage, how salt is priced, how much tea should be taxed, how much officials should be paid, and so forth.

Qinding Libu zeli 欽定禮部則例. Editions of 1794, 1841, 1844.  In 202 juan. 

An extremely important and fascinating resource, the etiquette/ritual manual for all court occasions and people, laying out guidelines for everything from the colors of clothing to be worn by the various levels of imperial consort to how many times one ought to prostrate before entering the quarters of the empress dowager.  (Answer: sangui jiukou 三跪九叩.)  A must read for Qing historians and especially for all fans of 宮鬥劇.  The student reading this zeli should not be put off by the particularly chaotic formatting of text on the page, the result of having to place all references (and there is a near infinitude of them given the nature of the book) to the emperor and the senior imperial family at the start of a new column.  The Yenching Library owns a copy from 1844, and the University of California Berkeley 1844 copy is available online at Hathi Trust accessible through Hollis.

Qinding libu quanxuan Hanguan zeli 欽定吏部銓選漢官則例. Hong Kong: Fuchi shuyuan, 2004.

These 8 juan make up a section in the regulations of the Board of Civil Appointments dealing specifically with the appointment of Han officials. Provisions for selections, appointments, dismissals, replacements, leaves of absences, etc., are detailed here.

Disciplinary Regulations for the Ministry of War Compiled by Imperial Order (Qinding bingbu chufen zeli 欽定兵部處分則例 [76 fascicles]), edited by Bo-lin伯麟 , Qing-yuan慶源, Chang-ling長齡 (1758-1838), et al. Xuxiu siku quanshu 續修四庫全書 (Shanghai: Shanghai guji chubanshe), shibu 史部, zhengshu lei 政書類, vol. 856. Edition of Daoguang 1823.

Chang-ling was a member of the Sartuk lineage (Sa-er-tu-ke薩爾圖克 hala) and served as director (zhushi 主事) in the Lifanyuan 理藩院. Bo-lin (d. 1823) was President of the Board of War (兵部尚書).

Qinding liubu chufen zeli 欽定六部處分則例 "Imperially commissioned regulations on punishments for the Six Boards." 1892. [Reprinted in Jindai Zhongguo shiliao congkan 近代中國史料叢刊, edited by Shen Yunlong 沈雲龍, vols. 332a and 332b. (Taipei: Wenhai, 1972).

This edition collects the substatutes as they appeared in 1887, following their final revision. Several memorials, printed at the beginning of the volume, give historical background to the substatutes and explain the logic that guided the revisions. The Board of Appointments and the Board of Punishment have by far the largest number of substatutes – approximately three times more than either the Board of War or the Board of Rites, which have the fewest statutes.

Chufen zeli tuyao 處分則例圖要. Revised edition. Published by Jiangsu Shuju. 1864.

Helpful diagrams detailing the punishments prescribed for various crimes. This volume is available in the Law Library's collection of Chinese law books.

Qinding Baqi zeli 欽定八旗則例. Edition of 1739. Ertai et al. eds. Hong Kong: Fuchi Shuyuan Chuban Youxian Gongsi (2004).

Statutes related to the regulations of the Banner-men. 

Lifanyuan zeli 理藩院則例. Edition of 1842. Haikou, Hainan Chubanshe, 2000.

The linked 2 volume set is a revision of the 1843 edition. It is composed of 64 juan (including the table of contents). Most content is dedicated to Mongol affairs, with the bulk outlining trade, tribute, tax, and crime and punishment standards. There are, however, five juan dedicated to "Lama precedents" (喇嘛事例), two juan on "Tibetan Institutions" (西藏通制, includes responsibilities of the resident representatives of the court, known as amban 駐藏大臣), and one juan on "Russian precedents" (俄羅斯事例). one version available on C-Text.

Fujian shengli 福建省例. Edition of 1873. For an online edition published by 臺灣銀行經濟研究室 as part of 臺灣文獻叢刊, go to here then find book no. 199; also available on C-Text.

FJSL was compiled from 1873-1874. It was simply named shengli, as it was only published and circulated within Fujian (including Taiwan, which was a prefecture of Fujian). This shengli has only one volume, and it includes 33 categories of precedents, totaling 484 cases, that span from 1752 to 1872. The foreword in the 臺灣文獻叢刊 version provides a concise summary of the content of FJSL.

Qinding Fujiansheng waihai zhanchuan zeli 欽定福建省外海戰船則例. Remnant chapters published by 臺灣文獻叢刊, 1961, go to here then find book no. 125; also available on C-Text.

This zeli, or the vestige of it, consists of 12 juan. The exact year of publication is unknown, though the author of the foreword of the 1961 version surmises that it was compiled during the Qianlong reign. Like Fujian shengli, this zeli also includes Taiwan, which makes up one third of the content. This zeli is not concerned with the number of ships or procedural changes of shipbuilding, which are detailed in provincial gazetteers; rather, it records the shipbuilding procedures, including the number and length of materials required. 

Hunan shengli cheng’an 湖南省例成案. Edition of 1820.

For online version, see here. This collection contains over 800 regulations and precedents in force in Hunan province which served as guide and reference to the local administrators. 

Jiangsu shengli 江蘇省例. Edition of 1904.

This selection of regulations that were considered important for the restoration of government of Jiangsu starting from 1863. The purpose of this document was to ensure that the magistrates implement regulations and laws in uniformity across the province. Online version also exists. 

Yuedong shengli xinzuan 粤東省例新纂. Edition of 1846.

This is supplement to the 粵東省例. Online version is accessible through c-text. 

Jiuqing yiding wuliao jiazhi (Qianlong chao) / Zhehai chaoguan zhengshou shuiyin zeli 九卿議定物料價值(乾隆朝)/浙海鈔關徵收稅銀則例. Hong Kong, Fuchi shuyuan, 2004.

Updated version of standard value of goods, issued by the Board of Works in the first year of the Qianlong reign. First gold, then other goods, were assessed by the standard of silver.
Standard customs tax rate at the Zhejiang customs, and a detailed list of exported goods in the Yongzheng reign.

Qinding junqi zeli 欽定軍器則例. Editions of Jiaqing era, 1808, 1891.

This selection of regulations was intended to the management of armament. 

Qinding zongrenfu zeli 欽定宗人府則例. Editions of 1840, 1898, 1909. Also see C-text.

The Court of Imperial Clan (宗人府), staffed by members of the clan, deals with matters pertaining to the clan. It uses regular reports on births, marriages, and deaths to compile the genealogy of the imperial clan, and it deals with clansmen who committed crimes. This Zeli, consisting of 31 juan, deals with topics including genealogy, nobility, ritual, education, examination, officialdom, and legal codes. 

Qinding gongzhong xianxing zeli 欽定宮中現行則例. Hong Kong: Fuchi shuyuan, 2004.

Contains two versions of the zeli applied in the imperial household. The first version covered imperial orders regarding palace regulation by the Jiaqing reign. The second is a slightly edited and expanded version extending to the Guangxu reign. Also, salaries of palace personnel and punishment for misconduct are documented.

Qinding Guanglusi zeli 欽定光祿寺則例. Edition of 1839, 1910.

The 1839 edition was compiled by Yi Jing’e and others in the Daoguang reign starting in the 18th year.  It recorded details of sacrifices, festivals, weddings and banquets for different purposes, including the information of foods, drinks and wares used for these events.

Qinding zongshi Jueluo lüli 欽定宗室覺羅律例. Edition of 1910.

This is a collection of regulations governing the Gioro lineage. 

Qinding wanggong chufen zeli 欽定王公處分則例. Edition of 1856.

This is a collection of regulations governing the princes and dukes. 

Qinding kechang tiaoli 欽定科場條例. Gui-run et al., 60 juan, 1887. Reprinted in Jindai Zhongguo shiliao congkan, Shen Yunlong ed. v. 471-480, 1989

Compiled by the Board of Rites in 1887, this is a valuable source for understanding the last attempt of the Qing to regulate and update the civil service examination before it was finally abandoned in 1905

Qinding Huijiang zeli 欽定回疆則例. Hong Kong: Fuchi shuyuan, 2004. 1 vol.

This contains regulations of the Muslim territory during the Qianlong, Jiaqing, and Daoguang periods. It is largely concerned with the duties of the begs, which makes it a very interesting source for the post-1760s administration. Many of the regulations are related to specific cities, primarily Turfan, Hami, Urumqi, and Kashgar.

Huijiang zeli 回疆則例. Beijing: Quanguo tushuguan wenxian suowei fuzhi zhongxin, 2003. (vol. 11 of series)

Regulations on the Muslim territory from the Lifanyuan. It was first compiled in 1814 and finally issued in the Daoguang reign in 1843. The 1908 edition of this is also available in HYL.

Xu Ben et al. Dubu zeli 督捕則例.  2 juan, 1743. [Regulations on Arrest: 2 juan] (1743). Reprint. Beijing: Beijing ai ru sheng shu zi hua ji shu yan jiu zhong xin, 2009.

The Dubu zeli contains regulations concerning the punishment of escapees (lit., "fleeing people" taoren 逃人) and their dependents, as well as punishments for individuals and families who harbor escapees (wotao 窩逃) and their dependents, including prescribed procedures, rewards (for officials) and, of course, the punishments to be meted out to those who attempted to flee their masters. It is thought that the predecessor of the Dubu zeli (which has no counterpart in the Ming) were the laws put in place during the early years of Manchu expansion before the conquest, when the problem of "escapees" (Ma ukanju) first emerged (many but not all were escaped slaves; some were actually "escaping" to the Qing). Thus the first Dubu zeli was compiled in the reign of the Shunzhi emperor (r. 1644-1661), after the Yamen of Arrests (Dubu yamen 督捕衙門) had been set up within the Board of War (bingbu 兵部). It was revised during the Kangxi reign under the supervision of Songgotu 索額圖 (1636-1703); that 1676 edition contains 113 substatutes in 2 ce. By then, the Dubu yamen had been handed over to the Board of Punishments (xingbu 刑部). The Dubu zeli was again revised in 1743, with 103 substatutes in 2 juan. 

Qingdai jiangzuo zeli huibian: Fo zuo, menshen zuo 清代匠作則例彙編 : 佛作, 門神作 Wang Shixiang 王世襄, ed. Beijing: Beijing guji chubanshe, 2002.

Books about regulations on architecture and craftsmen have a long history. One of the most famous is Yingzao fashi 營造法式, which was compiled in the Song. Later we can see many other similar works, such as Ziren yizhi 梓人遺制, Lu Ban jingjiang jiajing 魯班經匠家鏡, and Gongbu changku xuzhi 工部廠庫須知, containing information such as mathematic formulas, costs of construction materials, classification of various techniques, and so on.

Based on more than seventy kinds of Qing jiangzuo zeli (both official and private), Wang Shixiang complied and published Qingdai jiangzuo zeli in two volumes. The first volume focuses on Buddha statues. In the book, Wang divided zeli into eight chapters mainly based on the different materials that Buddha statues were made of (for example, wood, stone, mud and golden glaze). Wang also included detailed information about the amount and cost of the material. Following the same principle, the second volume includes a more comprehensive zeli about furniture, golden decoration and oil (mostly wood oil used in construction). Information such as construction instructions, names and costs of the materials were also well recorded. These volumes are very helpful for historical research, in the fields such as material history, economic history and cultural history.

Wuliao jiazhi zeli 物料價值則例. 12 juan.

Ever wanted to know how much a Qing official would have had to pay to hire a team of stonemasons for the day, or how much they would have shelled out for pine in Zhili? This book holds the secrets to all your burning price-related questions. Wuliao jiazhi zeli was started in 1761 by everyone's favorite official, Chen Hongmou (1696-1771), who at the time was governor of Jiangsu, but it was only completed in 1768 when Chen was involved with the Ministry of Public Works. The scope of the book is impressive: it aimed to catalogue the prices of individual items empire-wide and publish them in province-specific works, with the intention of helping officials buy goods at the best market price and avoid being scammed. The process of compiling the prices was lengthy, as officials reported prices at different levels of market activity (high, medium, and low), but the prices contained here reflect the price at lowest market activity. Each edition is arranged according to first prefecture, then subprefecture, and finally district. For each administrative unit the prices are listed for timber (of various kinds), stone (also of various kinds), bricks and tiles, lime, earth, painting materials, wages (for master artists and helpers), and transport costs. It can be used to compare price data across provinces, and editions are available for Zhili, Jiangsu, Shandong, Shanxi, Gansu, Zhejiang, Yunnan, Henan, Shaanxi, Sichuan, Fujian, Guangdong, Rehe, and Shengjing. The digital version linked here is to the edition for Shanxi province, held at the Library of Congress.

Da Qing yinhang zeli zhangcheng 大清銀行則例章程 Duzhi bu (度支部).  Beijing: Jinhua yinshuju, 1908.

The Yenching catalog incorrectly gives the date as 1905 (probably because the final page of the volume in which it is published contains the text of a Board of Revenue 戶部 memorial from that year), but these are in fact the 1908 "Great Qing Bank Laws" 大清銀行則例 drawn up by the new Ministry of Finance 度支部, which had been created in 1906. The regulations deal with China's central bank, another 20th century institution, created, the preface tells us, because "banks are the mainspring of the system of currency circulation and the foundation of maintaining commercial affairs and all the countries of both East and West have a central bank" 銀行者, 流通圜法之樞機, 維持商務之根本, 東西各國有中央銀行. According to Zhu Ying's chapter "On Late Qing Economic Laws and Regulations" in China, 1895-1912: State-Sponsored Reforms and China's Late Qing Revolution, these new regulations converted the central bank into a "limited joint stock company" with only Chinese citizens allowed to purchase stock, which "could not be transferred or sold to foreigners" (p. 112).

Caoyun zeli zuan 漕運則例纂. Hong Kong: Fuchi shuyuan, 2004.

Compiled by Director-general of Grain Transport 漕運總督 Yang Xifu 楊錫紱 (1701-1768), this book was intended to be a convenient handbook for officials at different levels. Yang Xifu chose essential contents from the voluminous Caoyun quanshu 漕運全書 and put them into this twenty-volume work. The structure of this work still followed Caoyun quanshu, covering various topics such as granary management and transportation deadlines. Yang Xifu was the director-general of grain transport from 1757 to 1768. Based on the introduction he wrote for the book, it was probably published around 1757. (The introduction is in his collection Sizhitang wenji 四知堂文集.)

Guangxu chao juanna zeli 光緒朝捐納則例.  近代中國史料叢刊三編, vol. 80. Yonghe: Wenhai chubanshe, between 1966 and 1995.

Compiled in 1894, this volume is a detailed handbook of contributions and donations specifying the prescribed amount of money one needs to contribute in order to obtain certain official statuses, titles, and ranks.  The titles up for grabs range from capital officials to local posts, from relatively high-rank officials to low-rank officials. In addition, the prescribed amount of money varies, depending upon the original post of the contributor.

Institutional histories (Santong 三通)

The Qing version of the “Three Tong” – the Tongdian 通典, Tongzhi 通志, and Tongkao 通考 – or “encyclopedic institutional histories,” as they are sometimes known (usually, however, they are referred to only by their Chinese names), were the continuation of types of administrative publication begun in the Tang and Song. Planned to be as comprehensive as possible, there is a fair amount of overlapping content between these materials and the Qing Huidian. The main differences lie in the method of organization, with the Huidian organized primarily according to government agency and the Santong organized according to topic. Also, the Santong are retrospective while the Huidian is meant to be current.

The three works that were produced for the Qing (a fourth volume covering the late Qing was published in 1921) were published in the 18th c.; another three, covering the period in between Tang/Song and the establishment of the Qing, were also written in the Qing. All were collected as a set and published as the Jiutong 九通. With the addition of the 1921 Qingchao Xuwenxian tongkao, a final set was published in 1936, which is commonly known as the Shitong 十通. Bear in mind that there is another Ming work in this genre, Xu Wenxian tongkao (1586), which is not included in either the Jiutong or Shitong.

The classic organization includes the following sections: (1) Tongdian (Economy; Examinations; Civil Service System; Rites; Music; Military Affairs; Laws; Domestic Administrative Geography; and Frontiers and Foreign Regions); (2) Tongzhi (Annals; Chronological Tables; Genealogies; Biographies includes foreign regions; Monographs includes family and clan; philology; phonetics; astronomy; geography; political subdivisions; rites; posthumous titles; ceremonial vessels and robes; music; civil service system; examinations; legal system; economy; bibliography and letters; collation of books; charts and tables; steles in stone and metal; good and ill omens; and plants and insects); (3) Wenxian tongkao (Land Tax and Grain Tribute; Coinage; Population; Corvée and Services; Government Revenue tariffs and monopolies; Official Sales and Procurements; Local Produce; National Finances; Examinations; Education and Schools; Civil Service System; Sacrifices; Imperial Temples; Imperial Rites; Music; Military Affairs; Laws; Bibliographies; Imperial Genealogies; Enfeoffment; Astronomy; Unusual Phenomena; Domestic Geography; and Foreign Regions). The Qingchao Xu wenxian tongkao of 1921 also includes Foreign Relations, Posts and Communications, Industry, and Constitutional Government.

Shitong (The ten tong). Shanghai Commercial Press, 1935 36; Index, 1937; Taibei reprint, 1965. 20 vols. There is an index. W 25.2

Included are the original Santong: Du You, Tongdian (801); Zheng Qiao, Tongzhi (1149); Ma Duanlin, Wenxian tongkao (1307), plus another 7 volumes, 6 of which were compiled in the Qing: Xu tongdian (covers 756-1644); Qingchao (Huangchao) tongdian (1644 1785); Xu tongzhi (covers 907-1644); Qingchao (Huangchao) tongzhi (1644 1785); Xu wenxian tongkao (1244-1644); Qingchao (Huangchao) wenxian tongkao (1644-1785, generally considered the best of the Qing-era santong); and finally Liu Jinzao, Qingchao xu wenxian tongkao (1921), which covers the latter half of the Qing (on which see the following entry).

• A: Author
• B: Number of Fascicles

• C: Year Completed

  		A	B
  1	Encyclopedic History of the Institutions of Government通典	Du You 唐·杜佑	200	801
  2	Universal Treatise通志	Zheng Qiao 南宋·鄭樵 (1104-1162)	200	1161
  3	Historical Studies of Authoritative Sources and Later Interpretations 文献通考	Ma Duanlin 馬端临(1254-ca. 1324)	348	1307
  4	Xu Tongdian續通典	Ji Huang 嵇璜(1711-1794)and Liu Yong 劉墉(1719-1805), et al.	150	1783
  5	Xu Tongzhi續通志	Ji Huang 嵇璜and Liu Yong 劉墉, et al.	640	1785
  6	Xu wenxian tongkao 續文献通考	Zhang Tingyu 清·張廷玉	250	1784
  7	Qingchao Tongdian 清朝通典	Ji Huang 嵇璜and Liu Yong 劉墉, et al.	100	1767
  8	Qingchao Tongzhi 清朝通志	Ji Huang 嵇璜and Liu Yong 劉墉, et al.	126	1787
  9	Qingchao wenxian tongkao清朝文献通考	Zhang Tingyu 清·張廷玉(1672-1755)	300	1787
  10	Qing chao wenxian Tongkao 清朝續文献通考	Liu Jinzao 劉錦藻(1862-1934)	400	1910

Table of Contents of Ma Duanlin’s 馬端临 (1254-ca. 1324) Wenxian tongkao《文獻通考》[into "Twenty-four Investigations");

Table of Contents of Huángcháo wénxiàn tōngkǎo 皇朝文獻通考總目 by Zhāng Tíngyù 張廷玉 (1672-1755)

Huangchao xu wenxian tongkao , aka Qingchao xu wenxian tongkao 清朝續文獻通考 (Encyclopedia of the historical records of the reigning or Qing dynasty, continued). Liu Jinzao 劉錦藻, comp.

This work supplements the Huangchao wenxian tongkao of the Qianlong period. It contains useful source materials, mainly from government records, on governmental organization, administration, and related social and economic matters, in the period 1786-1911. While the first edition (1905) contained only 320 juan, the following table of contents is taken from the 1936 Commercial Press edition (compiler's preface 1921), which is fuller and has 400 juan; it has been reprinted. This work is particularly useful as an introduction to institutional history, since the material under each heading is arranged chronologically, with extensive quotations from original documents.

Huangchao zhengdian leizuan 皇朝政典類纂 Wang Shixian eds. Beijing: Beijing Guji Chubanshe, 2002.

This work in 500 juan and 119 ce, preface dated 1903, is divided into 22 sections dealing with the economic, administrative, and other aspects of the Qing dynasty down to about 1900. Some 842 sources are listed at the beginning. Because sources of excerpted documents are indicated, this may be a useful introduction to Qing bibliography. The researcher's tactic should be to use this as a finding aid to the documentary sources cited.

Essential Documents and Regulations/Collected Canons(Huiyao 會要)

The compilation of Huiyao reached an apex in the Song Dynasty when the government established a special bureau for their compilation. During the Ming and Qing, many document collections were also compiled.

• A: Author
• B: Number of Fascicles

• C: Year Completed

  	A	B	C
  1	Tang Huiyao《唐會要》(Essential Documents and Regulations of the Tang Dynasty)	Wang Pu 王蒲 (922-82)	100	961
  2	Wudai huiyao 《五代會要》 (Essential documents and regulations of the Five Dynasties)	Wang Pu 王蒲 (922-82)	30	963
  3	Song Huiyao《宋會要》	Fan Zhi範質, Zhao Pu趙普, et al.	2200	1211
  4	Xihan Huiyao《西漢會要》	Xu Tianlin徐天麟(12th-13th centuries)	40	1226
  5	Donghan Huiyao《東漢會要》	Xu Tianlin徐天麟	40	1226
  6	Chunqiu Huiyao《春秋會要》	Yao Yanqu姚彥渠(ca. 1770-1840)	4	early 19th century
  7	Sanguo Huiyao《三國會要》	Yang Chen 楊晨	22	1886
  8	Gaoben Jinhui yaogao《稿本晉會要稿》	Wang Zhaoyong 汪兆鏞 (1861-1936)	56	1907
  9	Mingyao hui《明會要》	Long Wenbin 龍文彬 (1821-?)	80	1875
  10	Qiguo kao《七國考》	Dong Yue董說 (1620-86)	14	1887
  11	Nanchao Songhui yao《南朝宋會要》	Zhu Mingpan 朱銘盤 (1852-93)	19	1893
  12	Qinhui Yaoding bu《秦會要訂補》	Sun Kai孫楷 (1871-1907)	26	1904

Administrative handbooks (guanzhen shu 官箴書) W 27.6

Sometimes called “magistrate’s handbooks,” guanzhen shu (lit., “exhortations to officials”) are practical, detailed guides written mainly by officials for other officials. Hundreds of them survive, most from the Qing. A great deal of the content tends to focus on the handling of civil and criminal investigations (though these are not clearly constituted as separate spheres in Chinese legal thinking), but all manner of legal matters are included, offering an “inside” view on how local government really worked and of the nitty-gritty of the administration of justice. Pierre-Etienne Will's comprehensive study of this genre, many years in the making, was published in 2020 (see Bibliography below).

Guanzhenshu jicheng 官箴書集成. Liu Junwen 劉俊文, comp. 10 vols. Huangshan, 1997.

A collectanea of administrative handbooks, this work reprints 101 titles, of which 17 are from the Ming and 73 are from the Qing. Among the Qing titles are GX 18 Ban'an yaolüe 辦案要略 "A summary of dealing with cases," which includes sections of cases of murder, rape, theft, etc., and how to fill out reports on them, and the undated Waiguan xinren jiyao 外官新任輯要 "Essentials for outside officials newly appointed," which lists advice for bureaucrats by category, including ways to expedite the handling of criminal cases. Also includes a copy of KX 38 Fuhui quanshu 福惠全書 "A complete book concerning happiness and benevolence," for a translation of which see Huang Liuhong, below.

Zuozhi yaoyan 佐治藥言. Xuezhi yishuo 學治臆說. Wang Huizu 汪輝祖, comp. Late 18th c.

These were two highly influential compilations consulted widely by magistrates in the nineteenth century. Sybille van der Sprenkel has a partial translation of Zuǒzhì yàoyán 佐治藥言 in her book, Legal Institutions in Manchu China: A Sociological Analysis,(London: Athlone Press, 1962), pp. 137-151.

A Complete Book Concerning Happiness and Benevolence. Huang Liuhong 黃六鴻. Trans. Djang Chu. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 1984.

This very famous handbook (the Chinese title is Fuhui quanshu 福惠全書), which formed the basis of Jonathan Spence's Death of Woman Wang, was originally written in 1699 and then reissued in a popular edition in 1893. Includes 10 juan on "Administration of justice" 刑名. For the original, see Liu Junwen, comp. Guanzhen shu jicheng.

Bibliography

• Macabe Keliher. "Administrative Law and the Making of the First Da Qing Huidian."  Late Imperial China 37.1 (June 2016), pp. 55-107.
• Macabe Keliher. The Board of Rites and the Making of Qing China. California, 2019.
• Étienne Balazs. “A Handbook of Local Administrative Practice of 1793,” in Political Theory and Administrative Reality in Traditional China (London: SOAS, 1965), pp. 50–77.
• R. Kent Guy. The Emperor’s Four Treasuries: Scholars and the State in the Late Ch’ien-lung Era. Harvard Asia Center, 1987.
• Fu mei Chang Chen. “Provincial Documents of Laws and Regulations in the Ch'ing Period,” Ch'ing shih wen t'i 3.6 (December 1976), pp. 28–48.
• Song Jianze, Christine Moll-Murata. "Notes On Qing Dynasty 'Handicraft Regulations and Precedents' (jiangzuo zeli), with Special Focus on Regulations on Materials, Working Time, Prices, and Wages", LIC 23:2 (December 2002), pp. 87-126.
• Sybille van der Sprenkel. Legal Institutions in Manchu China: A Sociological Analysis. London: Athlone Press, 1962.
• Pierre-Étienne Will. “The 1744 Annual Audits of Magistrate Activity and their Fate,” LIC 18.2 (December 1997), pp. 1–50.
• Pierre-Étienne Will, Handbooks and Anthologies for Officials in Imperial China. Brill, 2020.
• Angela Zito. Of Body & Brush: Grand Sacrifice as Text/Performance in Eighteenth-Century China (University of Chicago Press, 1997).
• Theobald, Ulrich. "Space and Place in Administrative Military Regulations of Qing China: An Evaluation of the Legal Type of Zeli." Extrême-Orient Extrême-Occident 40 (2016): 183-206.
• Amelung, Iwo. "Preliminary Observations on ‘Regulations and Precedents for River Works’(Hegong zeli) during the Qing Dynasty." Chinese Handicraft Regulations of the Qing Dynasty: Theory and Application, edited by Christine Moll-Murata, Song Jianze, and Hans Ulrich Vogel. München, Iudicium (2005): 285-305.
• 郑振满. "清代福建地方财政与政府职能的演变——《 福建省例》 研究." 《清史研究》 2002.2: 24-35.
• 梁思成. 清式营造则例. 清华大学出版社有限公司, 2006.