Shu-Hui Wu
Die Eroberung von Qinghai unter Berücksichtigung von Tibet und Khams 1717-1727
(English Title: The Chinese Conquest of Qinghai with Reference to Tibet and Khams 1717-1727, according to the Throne Memorials of General Nian Gengyao)

The publication of this book is reworked and based on my dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Philosophy and Social Science II of the Free University Berlin, Germany in June 1993 and published by prominent German publisher Otto Harrassowitz 1995, Wiesbaden. It is part of the series in Tunguso Sibirica NO. 2 by Central Asian Research Institute, Bonn University. Editor: Prof. Dr. M. Weiers.

Abstract

The stages in, and the details of, the development of the Qing conquest of Qinghai (Kokonoor) and the defeat of the Qoshot Mongols in the first two decades of the eighteenth century has remained unclear to scholars until the publication of the secret memorials to the throne by general Nian Gengyao (?-1726). A three-volume set of these Chinese archival documents by the general, who played such a crucial role in the extremely short fifteen-day-war against the Qoshot leader Lobzang Danjin, was published in Taipei in 1971 by the National Palace Museum under the general title of Nian Gengyao Zouzhe Zhuanji. This collection of primary source materials makes it possible for the present study to focus on the relationship between the Qing and the Qoshot Mongols during the first three years of the reign of the Yongzheng Emperor, that is, from 1723 through 1725. My work has sought to expose the long historical background, traced to the end of the seventeenth century, and to analyze the complex of causes that gave rise to the conflict, its development, and its ultimate resolution through the sheer strength of the Qing army and its superior military strategy. A detailed analysis identifies the domestic problems faced by the Qing court during the transition period of the throne. Research on the turbulent relationship that existed between the Yongzheng Emperor and Nian Gengyao, ultimately leading to the forced suicide of the latter, reflects the personality of the autocratic Emperor and redresses the position of Nian Gengyao in the history. The dissertation also includes a discussion of the expansionist policies of the Qing dynasty towards Central Asia, Tibet and Jungaria, during the latter part of the Kangxi Emperor¡¯s reign (1717-1722) and the first part of the Yongzheng Emperor¡¯s reign (1723-1727). Special attention is given to the arrangements of the Qing State for the Sinicization of the conquered peoples and to the solutions for the economic, social and political changes and problems in the newly annexed territories.

The dissertation is based on a study of Nian Gengyao Zouzhe Zhuanji, which is comprised of documents written in the Chinese and Manchu languages. This includes some ninety Chinese and two hundred and thirteen Manchu-language secret memorials written by Nian Gengyao and twenty-two Chinese and eighteen Manchu-language secret edicts issued by the Yongzheng Emperor. It is the first research as a narrative history focused on the important phase of the territorial expansion of the Qing dynasty into the worlds of the Qoshot Mongols and the Tibetans. In addition, it is the first to employ extensive use of Tibetan and other literature of different languages from various works in this field. Unpublished archival materials in Taiwan and the People¡¯s Republic of China were also used in this research, among which are such published Chinese and Manchu official sources as the Qing Shilu, Zhupi Yuzhi, Fanbu Yaolue, the Donghualu, the Gonzhongdang (Taibei 1977), and the Fuyuan Dajiangjun Zouzhe (Beijing 1991).