The History of the Ming Dynasty is the last of the Twenty-Four Histories, and it is also a history book that is recognized as having a relatively high quality of editing.
The Zhonghua Bookstore edition of the History of Ming was signed by Zhang Tingyu and others. But the actual editors often fail to include it, such as Vance Tong.
Cover of the Zhonghua Bookstore edition of the History of Ming
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > the Wan family</h1>
Wan Sitong's father, named Wan Tai, was a native of Yinxian County, Zhejiang Province, and a fellow villager of Wang Anshi. Wantai is a ming dynasty Chongzhen Bingzi year of the lifter, Bo Tong Jing, History. There is a saying that the literary atmosphere in Ningbo since the end of the Ming Dynasty was actually opened by Wantai.
Wantai had eight sons, all of whom were also considered to be the widows of the Ming Dynasty, so the deeds would be included in the "Draft History of the Qing Dynasty". Vance Nian, Vance Xuan, Vance Da, and Vance are also the four eldest sons of Wantai, all of which are passed down in the history books; the other four younger sons are not as prominent as those of the eldest brothers and have not been selected for the list of legends.
Wantai also had several of his sons study with a generation of famous Confucians, Huang Zongxi. The origin of family learning, coupled with the guidance of the famous teacher Huang Zongxi, made Wan Shiyi more green and blue, surpassing Wan Tai.
· Big Brother Vance Year
Vancenian is not known for his learning.
Si Nian's son is famous for ten thousand words, and the word is zhenyi. Wan Yan was a deputy Gongsheng and also participated in the compilation of the History of the Ming Dynasty. He once worked as a long editor of Chongzhen, and many of the former bureaucrats' children paid bribes one after another, hoping to give their ancestors some face and write more good words. Ignore all words.
Wan Yan once offended a high-ranking official, was imprisoned, and almost died. His son Wan Chengxun lost his family, brought five thousand gold, and it took some operation to rescue his old father who was reserved and upright.
Wan Chengxun's poetry is good, and there are ice and snow collections passed down.
· Second Brother Vance Elect
Vance Tong's second brother was named Vance Xuan, who was also a scholar from Huang Zongxi. Vance chose to advocate devotion and oppose exaggeration. Vance Died Sixty, and Huang Zongxi wept bitterly.
· The third brother Vance is big
Wan Si Da, zi Chongzong, was the third son of Wan Tai, a scribe, especially proficient in the three traditions of the Spring and Autumn Period such as Zuo Shi, Ram, and Gu Liang, and the three rites of the Zhou Li, the Rites, and the Li Ji, and wrote a number of works explaining the Spring and Autumn And the Three Rites.
Wan Jing, the eldest son of Vance, was also taught by Huang Zongxi, and later became a jinshi, and also continued to write many works of his father and uncles. Unfortunately, a fire burned out his life's work, and Wanjing also died of depression, claiming to be guilty of his ancestors.
· Vance tong
Vance Tong, zi Jiye, is the fourth son of Wantai, specializing in historiography all the way, and the third brother has different interests.
Vance has a very good memory and was able to recite the Yangtze Dharma at the age of eight. Like his brothers, Vance Tong also studied with Huang Zongxi, followed him around, opened his eyes, and increased his knowledge.
Ningbo Wansitong Former Residence
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > Vance participated in the compilation of the Ming history</h1>
· The first revision of the history of the Ming Dynasty
In the second year of Shunzhi, when Nanming was still alive, the Shunzhi Emperor issued an edict to revise the history of Ming. But this is more of an action in the political sense, meaning that the Ming Dynasty has ended, so it began to revise the history of the Ming Dynasty. At that time, the conditions were not available, so the project of revising the history was not really started.
· The Second Revision of the History of The Ming Dynasty
In the fourth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, he issued another edict to revise the history, but the result was still a tiger's head and tail, and it was not over.
· The Third Revision of the History of the Ming Dynasty
In the eighteenth year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the third edict was issued to revise the history, when Xu Yuanwen was the superintendent of the revision, and also invited Vance Tong to participate in the editing.
But Vance Tong still had an idea and did not participate.
Because Vance Tong has a very deep understanding of the revision of history, he holds different views on the collective revision of the history of the bureau. Because a bunch of people write, the style is not uniform, the writing has advantages and disadvantages, and the result is as complicated as the history of the Song Dynasty. Vance tong admired Sima Qian and Ban Gu, one person to complete all. In this way, even if the writing is slightly poor, the style is consistent and the fine examination is appropriate. Even if it does not reach the level of Shi Qian, the standard of Liu Ye's Later HanShu can still be expected.
But at that time, the Manchu Qing Dynasty had a high-pressure attitude toward culture and historiography, where could a former Ming dynasty relic be left alone to study history?
The third revision of history still had no results, and it ended hastily.
· The Fourth Revision of the History
In the thirty-second year of the Kangxi Dynasty, the Kangxi Emperor once again issued an edict to revise the history, appointing Chen Tingjing, Zhang Yushu, and Wang Hongxu as presidents to edit the history of the Ming Dynasty. Chen Tingjing was in charge of the Benji, Zhang Yushu was in charge of zhi, and Wang Hongxu was in charge of the biography.
Among the three, in fact, Wang Hongxu's responsibility was the heaviest, because the length of the Honji and Zhi was small, and the column biography was the largest and occupied the largest space.
Wang Hongxu was actually just a pseudonym and did not have the ability to repair history. The specific work was done by Vance.
At that time, Vance Tong did not hold any official position in the Qing court, and called himself "Buyi Wanmou". Wang Hongxu privately asked Vance to live with him at his home, compiled the history of Ming, and invited Qian Mingshi as Vance Tong's assistant.
Vance was educated by his father Wan Tai at an early age; when he was a teenager, he traveled with Huang Zongxi, and he also had a deep sense of Huang Zongxi's integrity, and he also had a lot of affection for the former Ming; in middle age, he opened a museum everywhere alone and made a living as a private school.
During this period, Vance came into contact with many of the old texts of the former dynasty, and silently recited them, all of which were remembered.
Not only the palms in the books, Vance Tong also visited the old people, examined the past, and sought word of mouth, which was quite the legacy of Sima Qian.
Therefore, it can be seen that from childhood to adulthood, Vance Tong was almost born for ming history and lived for ming history. All efforts are made to eventually cultivate the History of ming.
In the end, Vance was with Wang Hongxu's family, based on the Ming Shilu, referring to other works, of course, mixed with his own memories and the results of field investigations, and repaired more than half of the Ming Shi Lie biography.
The final version of the History of Ming, the biography part is mostly the handwriting of Vance Tong.
In the publication notes of the Zhonghua Bookstore edition of the History of Ming, the credit of Vance Tong was affirmed
· The Fifth Revision of the History of Ming Dynasty
In the early years of Qianlong, the history of Ming was revised for the last time. This time, Zhang Tingyu is the president and dominates the overall situation.
In Zhang Tingyu's entry table, only Wang Hongxu's name was mentioned, and There was no mention of Vance Tong. However, the "Qing History Draft", which was compiled during the Republic of China, was very "miscellaneous", which more faithfully recorded the editing process of Vance Tong.
Zhang Tingyu's "Table of History of the Shangming Dynasty"
In the 24th History, the "History of Ming" is recognized as being of relatively high quality, although it is difficult to compare with the "History of History" and "Book of Han", but it is much better than the "History of Song" and "History of Yuan".
Although the Si people have not signed their names, it is difficult for future generations to deny the merits of the Gong.
Vance was indifferent to fame and fortune in his life, repairing the history of the museum, and with his surplus wealth, he funded the clan or friends. I also like to promote backwards, and there is no shelf for the elders. Therefore, from the prince to the xiucai, they all called him "Mr. Wan".
Although Vance Tong has high quality, but he has never been a man in his life, he calls himself "Buyi Wanmou", although he does not have the strength of Boyi Shuqi, but he can really be described as a clean and innocent person of Gengjie.
The tomb of Mr. Vance Tong, in Fenghua, Zhejiang
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