Xingsheng Lu is an important collection of historical notes from the transition between the late Qing dynasty and the Republic of China. Compiled by an author who signed his name “Old Man Wuzhi,” it was completed in the summer of 1909, the first year of the Xuantong reign, and reprinted with a continuation in the winter of 1914. The author's exact identity remains unverified. Much of the book consists of miscellaneous accounts the author witnessed or heard firsthand, making it a valuable primary source for studying the Boxer Rebellion and social upheaval in the late Qing. The text suggests that the author once served as a court official. His records offer a firsthand account of the Qing court's harrowing experiences after Beijing fell around 1900, including the Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu's flight from the capital and the looting carried out by defeated soldiers along the way. These vivid details let readers experience this historic upheaval from the perspective of someone who was there.
Though brief, Xingsheng Lu is told with vivid authenticity. It bears witness to major historical events while also observing social customs and everyday life, making it more than a collection of curious anecdotes. It is an important source for studying the social crisis, political collapse, and popular sentiment of the late Qing. The book also covers key moments such as the Xinhai Revolution, and some of its material was later incorporated into compilations of sources on the Boxer Rebellion. It offers valuable clues to the social and intellectual changes that shaped China in the final years of the Qing dynasty.
