Du Fengzhi's Diary: A Record of Officialdom in the Late Qing (Complete Edition in Modern Chinese)

This book is a complete, annotated vernacular translation of the personal diary kept by Du Fengzhi, a county magistrate during the Tongzhi era of the Qing dynasty. Divided into eight major sections, it fully records his experiences over more than a decade, from waiting for an appointment in the capital to serving in various Guangdong counties, including Guangning and Nanhai. It covers the Qing dynasty's late-period civil service examinations and reserve appointments, loans among officials in the capital, official social obligations, government administration at the governor, prefecture, and county levels, local life and customs in the two Guang provinces, conflicts between locals and migrants, and the practicalities of taxation and criminal cases. It also contains heartbreaking personal accounts of family tragedies amid the chaos of war, as loved ones died one after another during the Taiping Rebellion. Both a firsthand historical record of local officialdom in the late Qing and an accessible, annotated vernacular edition, it brings the full picture of grassroots governance in Guangdong during the Tongzhi era to life, combining historical value with literary power.