清中后期蒙族名宦明谊仕履艺文考

Official Career,Art and Literature Achievements of Ming Yi,A High Official in the Middle and Late Qing Dynasty

明谊,蒙古正黄旗托克托莫特氏,出身贵胄,中嘉庆二十四年进士,自兵部主事升员外郎,授琼州知府,擢山西按察使,甘肃按察使,充哈密办事大臣、库伦办事大臣,擢乌里雅苏台将军。历仕四朝,同治七年卒,谥勤果。盖蒙古诸部初随满洲八旗入关,以娴于弓马,皆充武职。其后贵族子弟渐浸淫于汉儒典籍,乃或循例入八旗官学,或径步科第正途。明谊之弃武修文,膺进士之选,正清代中叶游牧种族菁英文化蜕变之显迹。明谊于国势衰颓、边务倥偬之际,效法儒家之士范,步趋循吏之箴规,多有善政,复能以国为重,与俄罗斯力争寸土,实属难能。其在海南,力倡重修《琼州府志》,董理一方文献,功不可没。其手录之《弦索备考》则以工尺详尽记录流传久远之弦索十三套曲谱,为中国音乐史上极重要之文献,其价值不啻国宝。

Ming Yi, born into a noble family of Plain Yellow Banner of the Mongolian tribes, became a Jinshi, a successful candidate in the highest imperial examinations, in the 25th year of Emperor Jiaqing （1820）. He was appointed successively as military official at the Ministry of War, magistrate of Qingzhou Prefecture, surveillance commissioner at Gansu Province, minister at Hami, minister at Kulun, and Uliasutai General. He served as high official during the reigns of four emperors, and died in the 7th year of Emperor Tongzhi, with posthumous name Qinguo. Following the Manchus Eight Banners, Mongolian tribes got to the Middle China and became military officials mostly, as they were good at fighting on horseback. Later on, their descendants were engaged in Confucian classics, studying at Eight Banners Official schools or taking imperial examinations, which would lead them to military officials or civil ministers. Ming Yi gave up military career and became a civil official. The year when he became Jinshi witnessed the change of the elite culture for the nomadic ethnics in the middle of the Qing dynasty. Ming Yi, following the example of Confucian scholars, contributed to the good governance and strived to preserve the territory when negotiating with Russians. When he stationed at Hainan, he advocated strongly to revise Qiongzhou Government Records, and collected and compiled the local literature, which are the great contributions. He recorded with his own hands Reference Collection of String Music, containing 13 sets of string musical scores. It is a national treasure and the most important literature in Chinese musical history.