Veritable Records of Nurhaci (Qing Taizu shilu)
The Qing court's official account of Nurhaci's rise, 1559 to 1626, rewritten several times.
Full title Veritable Records of Qing Taizu (Nurhaci), 10 juan (recension of 1686 or later)
大清太祖承天廣運聖德神功肇紀立極仁孝武皇帝實錄
Qing court historiographers
Qing court historians compiled the Veritable Records of Nurhaci, founder of the Manchu state, first in 1636 and then rewrote them in 1655 and 1686. The record covers 1559 to 1626 and deals with Manchuria, Liaodong and Mongolia, working from the Manchu archives. The card lists a Peking University Library copy of ten chapters, probably the 1686 or a later recension. The atlas holds only a poor-quality machine reading (OCR) of one part of this copy, and no passages were selected or read for this guide.
- How they knew
- Official record
- Who “Tartar” means here
- Not recorded. The card names the Jurchen and Manchus, the Ming, the Khorchin and Khalkha Mongols, Korea and the Hulun states of Yehe, Hada, Ula and Hoifa. It sets the work against the Manchu Tartars of European reports.
- Why read it
- It is the official Qing story of how Nurhaci rose, to be compared with the Old Manchu Chronicles and with Ming and Korean accounts of the Jurchen.
- Watch out
- The text was rewritten repeatedly, so the recension of the copy must be identified from its title page. The card says a large user-uploaded Qing shilu set exists but is unverified.
What it says
No quotes from this one yet. Its text is out of reach for now, or the scan could not be read.
The fine print
How we know
compilation Assembled from earlier sources. The author did not observe it directly.
official retrospective record compiled from the Manchu archives and earlier Taizu shilu recensions (1636, 1655, 1686)
Research notes
- Repeatedly rewritten (1636, 1655, 1686, 1740); the copy's recension must be identified on the title page. A large user-uploaded 'Qing shilu' set (IA 45_20221008, 116 PDFs) exists but is unverified.
Why it matters
Official Qing narrative of Nurhaci's rise, to compare with the Manwen laodang and with Ming and Korean accounts of the 'Jurchen' who became the 'Manchu Tartars' of European reports.
Places named
Manchuria; Liaodong; Mongolia
Peoples named
Jurchen / Manchus; Ming; Khorchin and Khalkha Mongols; Korea; Yehe, Hada, Ula, Hoifa (Hulun confederation)