Chinese Written Sources of The Qing Era and Their Importance for The Study of The History of Central Asia

The article describes some Chinese written sources of the Qing era (1644-1911), which significantly supplement and expand the general information about the territories and peoples of China during the reign of the Manchu dynasty. Information about the authors of the works and the structure of written sources is provided. For example, "Qingdai Tongshi" (清代通,, The general History of the Qing Dynasty) Xiao Yishan describes the events of the entire Qing era. Information about the peoples of Central Asia is contained in the second book in the second section, devoted to the reign of Qianlong. The fundamental work, which belongs to the category of official sources "Qing Shilu" (清实录, True records of the Qing Dynasty), is a collection of chronologically arranged facts and official documents. Since the volume of the essay is huge, we are interested in extracts from this source containing materials on Xinjiang. "Qing Shilu" by Xinjiang Ziliao Jilu" (清实录新疆资料辑录, Collection of materials on Xinjiang from "Qing Shilu") The 2016 edition consists of 8 volumes, totaling 4,596 pages. Information about Kazakhs and Buruts (Kyrgyz) is contained in chapter two. Among the writings of a private nature, we note "Siyu shuidao ji" (a description of the waterways of the Western Region) Xu Song (1781-1848), a fundamental work on the historical geography of the Western Region of the Qing period.

All of these works have yet to be thoroughly investigated, as the sources contain little-studied information about the peoples and historical geography of Central Asia, on the socio-political and economic situation in Central Asia during the Qing era.