"The Beginning and End of the Peace of Yunnan" is a chronicle-type historical work written by an anonymous person in the Qing Dynasty. It is a one-volume book. It mainly describes the historical process of the complex turmoil and conquests in Yunnan (anciently known as "Dian") and surrounding areas in the early Qing Dynasty. It focuses particularly on presenting the Wu Sangui Rebellion and its chain impact with major historical events such as Yunnan and Guangdong and Guangxi. The author claimed that he had taken shelter in the mountains during the war, and later returned at the request of friends to organize this book based on personal experience and hearing. Although he did not dare to record certain dates, place names, and people's names, the overall narrative is detailed and clear, and he strives to reproduce the wars, politics, and human nature of that era in detail. In the genre of unofficial history, this work is less rigid about authoritative official history and pays more attention to on-site observation and character psychology, making the historical narrative more present and readable.
The book describes the origins of Wu Sangui's rebellion, the central decision-making, the confrontation between the rebels and the Qing army, as well as the process of Yunnan's local forces and the Qing court's conquest, interspersed with the interactions and fates of local officials, sergeants, rebel generals and the people. The narrative not only includes war strategy and military and political layout, but also reflects the characters' personalities, entangled interests, and individual choices and dilemmas in troubled times, allowing readers to understand the unfolding of the turbulent situation from multiple perspectives.
As an important supplementary material for studying the San Francisco Rebellion in the early Qing Dynasty and the local history of Yunnan, "The Beginning and End of the Peace of Yunnan" not only has the value of precious first-hand historical materials, but also provides modern readers with a more three-dimensional and vivid historical perspective. Both historical researchers and readers interested in ancient China's civil strife and frontier politics can gain a deeper understanding of this critical historical period.
