Record of the Envoy's Voyage to Taiwan

黄叔璥Jun 2024

4.3

Word count: 87K words
Chapters: 11

Summary

Traditional Chinese cultural thought has a long history and is highly original, inventive and literary. Early intellectual forms have distinctive features: religious theology, classical Chinese medical texts, ancient military strategy, Confucian, Daoist, Buddhist and Hundred Schools thought, feng shui and arcane studies, the Twenty-Four Histories, and customs and local gazetteers—all are profound and extensive. This "Essence of Classic Chinese Culture Original Texts" series preserves the appearance of the original books, with emphasis on conserving and transmitting traditional Chinese thought and culture. By reading the literary essence left by ancient sages, readers cultivate temperament and subtly encounter the classics of Chinese learning.

Editor's review

Taihai Shicha Lu is an important document left by Huang Shujing from his inspection tour of Taiwan during the Qing dynasty. It covers Taiwan's geographical situation, coastal defense arrangements, local customs, and administrative affairs, and has considerable value as historical source material. As part of the "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts" series, it preserves the original form of the book and focuses on documentary preservation and dissemination. It is suitable for readers interested in Taiwan's historical geography, Qing coastal governance, and traditional Chinese geographical writing. It is best understood in the context of the Qing dynasty's conception of a unified territory and its management of coastal frontiers, where both institutional arrangements and details of local society come into view. However, as a facsimile or original-text edition, its language and structure bear the distance of its era; general readers need some ability to read classical Chinese and should use relevant historical and geographical reference works. As a sourcebook, its value lies not in popular narrative but in a primary text available for consultation and close reading.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students researching Taiwan's historical geography and the Qing coastal defense system
Readers interested in ancient Chinese geographical writing, travel records, and coastal frontier documents
Readers of literature and history with classical Chinese reading ability who wish to consult primary historical sources
Editors and teachers engaged in compiling local gazetteers and spreading traditional culture

Not a good fit for

General readers seeking popular stories of Taiwan's history and lacking a foundation in classical Chinese
Beginners expecting modern scholarly introductions and detailed annotations
Readers who only want quick conclusions and are unwilling to read original documents closely

Reading tips

Read the table of contents and prefaces first to understand the book's structure and the author's inspection background, then read by topic.
Keep a dictionary of classical Chinese and a historical atlas of Qing-era Taiwan at hand to check place names and official titles as you read.
Take separate notes on local customs and coastal defense content to build your own source notes.
Read alongside Taiwan-related works in the same series and compare the different emphases of the records.

版权信息
台海使槎录
鲁序
卷一
卷二
卷三
卷四
卷五
卷六
卷七
卷八

FAQ

Can I read this book without any grounding in classical Chinese?

The book preserves its original form, and its language shows the features of Qing classical Chinese and geographical writing; without a foundation in classical Chinese it will be difficult. Readers are advised to acquire basic classical Chinese reading ability first, or to use annotated editions, reference works, and historical maps of Taiwan as aids; it is not suitable as a first classical Chinese text.

What does this book mainly record?

According to the source material, this is a Taiwan-related document by Huang Shujing belonging to the category of traditional geographical and coastal frontier records, covering geography, coastal defense, local customs, and administrative affairs. It focuses on preserving the original text; specific contents and details should be checked against the original. It is suitable as a historical sourcebook for consulting on conditions in Qing-era Taiwan.

Why does this series preserve the original form of the books?

The series is positioned as "Essential Classics of Chinese Traditional Culture: Original Texts," focusing on preserving and disseminating traditional Chinese thought and culture, so it keeps the original form as far as possible and minimizes modern rewriting. This helps preserve the documents' original appearance, but it also means readers must adapt to the old structure and language themselves.

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About the author

黄叔璥 Author

Huang Shujing was an official and man of letters in the early Qing period. Details of his life, including his birthplace and exact dates of birth and death, are limited in publicly available sources. Two of his works survive, both closely concerned with the local conditions and customs of Taiwan. Taihai Shicha Lu is a notebook-style record of Taiwan's mountains and waterways, sea routes, produce, customs, and distribution of ethnic groups, combining the features of a local gazetteer with travel observation. Fanshe Caifeng Tukao pairs illustrations with an examination of the daily life, dress, tools, and rituals of the indigenous communities, written in concise prose that emphasizes direct observation. Taken together, the two books show that Huang Shujing based his writing on firsthand inquiry and interview. His style is plain and substantive, avoiding empty rhetoric, and he preserves local knowledge in meticulous entries. They are therefore often cited by later gazetteer compilers and by scholars of early Taiwanese history and ethnic customs, and possess considerable value both as historical sources and for literary appreciation.