The Late Qing Trilogy (9-Volume Set)

The Late Qing Trilogy collects Tang Haoming's three full-length historical novels: Zeng Guofan, Zhang Zhidong, and Yang Du. Each novel is divided into three volumes, making nine in total. The three works stand alone yet illuminate one another, all set against the "great transformation unseen in three thousand years" from the late Qing to the early Republic, and through the fate and inner journey of a central figure they bring forth portraits of intellectuals of the same era who took different identities and different paths. Zeng Guofan chronicles the life of the commander of the Xiang Army and renowned restoration minister: leaving home in mourning garb to raise a militia, the disastrous defeat at Jinggang and the great victory at Tianzhen, his governance of Liangjiang and recovery of Jiangning, down to the disbanding of the Xiang Army, the rectification of Liangjiang, and the vilification he suffered over the Tianjin Missionary Case. The book depicts both his civil and military strategy and his administration of the army and government, as well as his conduct toward others, his self-cultivation and family governance, and his trembling caution when his achievements overshadowed his sovereign. Zhang Zhidong traces this "last standard-bearer" of the Self-Strengthening Movement from Hanlin scholar to powerful governor-general, unfolding the Sino-French War, the Self-Strengthening Movement, the Hundred Days' Reform, the Mutual Protection of the Southeast, and the planning of the New Policies, presenting the arduous practice of "Chinese learning as substance, Western learning for application" caught between old and new. Yang Du portrays the "peerless talent" Yang Du: studying the art of emperorship under Wang Kaiyun, joining the Petition of the Examinees, studying in Japan to research constitutional government, laboring for Yuan Shikai's imperial restoration, later assisting Sun Yat-sen, and in his final years, beneath Du Yuesheng's roof, already a secret Communist Party member—a life spent shuttling among factions. Tang Haoming long presided over the compilation of The Complete Works of Zeng Guofan, and in his creative work he adopts the method of "major events not falsified, minor matters not constrained," weighing historical fact and literature equally. This edition is a newly revised version proofread word by word by the author, with a new preface.