The 1840 edition of the Complete Records of Ruzhou, Zhili, was compiled by Bai Mingyi, who was the governor of Ruzhou at the time (his courtesy name was Yian, and he was from Chengde, Fengtian Province; he was appointed as the governor of Ruzhou in the 18th year of Daoguang, 1838). The compilation was overseen by Zhao Chenglin, a scholar from Xiangfu County (now Kaifeng City), and was published in the 20th year of Daoguang (1840), consisting of a total of 10 volumes. This record does not follow the old format of previous records but instead re-plans and creates a new structure. It adheres to the principle of “brief for counties, detailed for states”; for disasters and auspicious events, if they are the same for both the state and county, they are summarized at the state level, while differences are clearly indicated for specific counties. This approach effectively eliminates the redundancy of previous records, making it more suitable for the purpose of a record. Additionally, it features a significant number of biographies and illustrations, with 38 individuals documented in the categories of literature, painting, and medicine, along with 16 various illustrations, among which the illustration of Fengxue Mountain is the most outstanding. These aspects are not covered in previous records. The content is detailed, and the information is rich, making it a significant compilation of the various records of Ruzhou during the Qing Dynasty.
This record is collected in major libraries across the country and within the province. The Ruzhou Archives and the Ruzhou Library hold original editions, and the Ruzhou Local History Office originally had a photocopy, which was published as a facsimile edition in 2015. Today, we present the 1840 original edition of the Complete Records of Ruzhou from a friend’s collection for readers.
