The China No. 1 Archive of Historical Files has compiled part of its collection into an 80-book series called The Qing Government's Documents on Xinhai Revolution.
The books were published by Jiuzhou Publishing House in September, to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the revolution.
The series contains about 5,700 letters and other documents that Qing Dynasty officials wrote and compiled to deal with the Xinhai Revolution, which broke out in Wuhan on Oct 10, 1911, and tumbled the last imperial dynasty in China.
The files were created by the Qing government from 1892 to 1917, covering the whole process of the revolution.
According to curator Hu Wanglin, the files provide details on many events, and will help correct some popular misunderstandings, and support some accounts.
The files record important activities of revolutionaries such as Sun Yat-sen, Xu Xilin and Qiu Jin. For example, there is an advertisement of Sun Yat-sen's speech in Tokyo on Aug 27, 1905, entitledOn whether the World Powers Can Carve up China.
In addition, there are records tracking down Sun's journey through Canada, Singapore and Japan, and records of Sun and his comrades plotting rebellions in Guangdong, Jiangxi and Hunan. The files also show that the Qing government offered rewards to anyone who helped capture Sun, and asked Britain and the US to deport him.
There are also files giving a detailed recount of the Wuchang Uprising, the start of the Xinhai Revolution, which took place in Wuhan, Hubei province, on Oct 10, 1911, including a report from spies about the plotting of the uprising, which forced revolutionaries to act ahead of the plan.
The Qing Dynasty crumbled following the revolution.
On Feb 9, 1912, the interim state government in Nanjing issuedThe Articles of Favorable Treatment of the Emperor of the Great Qingafter his Abdication, asking the emperor to give up the throne. Yuan Shikai, who later claimed to be the "emperor" of China, put notes on the bill to ensure its implementation.
On Feb 12, 6-year-old Aisin Gioro Puyi resigned as the last emperor of China, as Empress Dowager Longyu signedThe Act of Abdication of the Emperor of the Great Qing.
Photocopies of the original scripts of these two bills are included in the series.
Curator Hu said the compilation offers a perspective from the Qing government, through which people can obtain a different view of the revolution.
"These files are telling about the revolution from the other side, and help us to conduct a more comprehensive study on the revolution. … However, on the other hand, we should take them with discretion," Hu said.
