Record of the Northern Expedition

金幼孜Jul 2024

3.5

Word count: 9.6K words
Chapters: 3

Summary

Traditional Chinese thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive, and literary. Early forms of thought are especially distinctive: religious theology, classical texts of Chinese medicine, ancient military strategy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and the Hundred Schools, feng shui and metaphysics, the Twenty-Four Histories, and local customs and geography—all are profound and extensive. This series, "Essence of Chinese Classics: Original Texts," preserves the original appearance of the works, with the emphasis on preserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by the ancient sages, one cultivates character and subtly absorbs the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Beizheng lu (Record of the Northern Expedition) comes from the hand of Jin Youzi, a civil official of the early Ming, and records what he saw and heard along the route while accompanying the emperor on the northern expedition. Campaign records written by civil officials tend to pay more attention than mere military reports to mountains and rivers, customs, and local products, and their prose is more polished, combining the value of historical source material with literary beauty. The descriptions of climate beyond the passes, roads, and camp life let readers feel the concrete texture of the northern expedition route, and offer a window into early Ming frontier management and the outlook of scholar-officials. This edition continues the series' orientation toward preserving the authentic text and is suitable for reading alongside the official histories and similar records of northern expeditions. If you are interested in Ming frontier writing, this book can serve as a text for close reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers of history and literature interested in Ming frontier and northern expedition sources
Readers who enjoy ancient texts in the form of civil officials' notebooks and travel writing
Students of Ming history who need material to cross-check against the official histories

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting modern vernacular translation and annotation for barrier-free reading
General readers who prefer novelistic plots and strong narrative

Reading tips

Read through once without worrying about full comprehension, then go back over mountains, rivers, place names, and itinerary points to form a sense of the route.
Keep a pen handy to mark the difference between the civil official's observations and military records, and to appreciate how identity and perspective shape the writing.
After finishing, consult relevant entries in the official histories on the Yongle Emperor's northern expeditions to verify and supplement the book's accounts.

版权信息
北征录
北征录正文

FAQ

What does Jin Youzi mainly record in this book?

As a civil official accompanying the emperor, his records mostly concern the mountains, rivers, geography, climate, local products, and daily observations along the march, along with court camp affairs. It is a firsthand northern expedition travel record rather than a complete military history.

Is this book suitable as an introductory reading in Ming history?

It is better as supplementary material. It offers a firsthand perspective and details but is not systematic; readers lacking background knowledge should first read an overview of Ming history, then use this book to supplement details and a sense of immediacy.

What tools should one prepare for reading?

It is advisable to have a map of the northern frontier in the Ming dynasty and a brief chronological table of Ming history on hand, so that personal and place names can be checked at any time. Understanding will be more accurate if a corresponding annotated edition or research work is available for reference.

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About the author

金幼孜 Author

Jin Youzi was a civil official of the early Ming dynasty. Because public information about his life is limited, its details are difficult to set out; his surviving works, however, confirm that he accompanied a northern campaign and left a record of it. Five of his works are held in this collection, including the Beizheng lu, the Beizheng houlu, and different editions of these texts. Based on firsthand experience, they describe the geography, people, and events encountered on the march, and possess both historical and literary value. His style tends toward reportage: the language is concise, with attention to on-site observation and little rhetorical embellishment. Besides the northern campaign records, his works also touch on historical reading, Eastern philosophy, and literary appreciation, suggesting a certain breadth of reading and a grounding in letters and history. Overall, Jin Youzi is known for his travel and campaign records, which offer later readers a detailed reference for the early Ming northern campaigns and preserve a valuable text for the study of literati travel writing of the period.