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Lanzhou jilüe 蘭州紀略

May 1, 2011 © Ulrich Theobald

(Qinding) Lanzhou jilüe (欽定)蘭州紀略 "(Imperially endorsed) Military history of the war against the rebels of Lanzhou" is a history of the war of the Qing dynasty 清 (1644-1911) against the Muslim insurgents of Lanzhou in 1781. The 21-juan long book was compiled on imperial order under the supervision of Agūi 阿桂 (1717-1797) and is written in the style of military annals (fanglüe 方略).

The Muslim leader Su Sishisan 蘇四十三 proclaimed himself King (Hui wang 回王), raised a rebel army and conquered Lanzhou. The Qing court dispatched Hešen 和珅 (1750-1799) and Agūi to put down the uprising. Su refused to submit and offered bitter resistance to the Qing army until the city was captured. The book does not only describe the course of the war but also described the background of the rebel's motifs, their internal struggles with an old and a new religious school, of which the Qing court supported the traditional school. Important information is also given about the reform of the tax system and the monetary structure of the region, for which an experienced provincial administration commissioner (buzhengshi 布政使), Wang Tan 王亶, was appointed. It also shows the problems of controlling funds in such a distant region like the province of Gansu.

The book is included in the series Siku quanshu 四庫全書.

Sources:
Gao Wende 高文德, ed. (1995). Zhongguo shaoshu minzu shi da cidian 中國少數民族史大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin jiaoyu chubanshe), 1699.
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.
Zhou Weizhou 周偉洲, Ding Jingtai 丁景泰, eds. (2006). Sichou zhi lu da cidian 絲綢之路大辭典 (Xi'an: Shaanxi renmin chubanshe), 793.