Abstract:

After the outbreak of the Chinese People's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression in 1937, borderland issues became increasingly serious. Shi Nianhai and his tutor Gu Jiegang were concerned with the historical material of China's borderland issues, especially those of northwest China. They examined voluminous historical materials to write this article, so as to reveal the process of formation and historical variations of China's frontier, and to bolster the national spirit against Japanese aggression. Shi thought that as early as the period of Qianlong and Jiaqing of the Qing dynasty, scholars had studied the history and geography of northwest China. After that period, instability of the northeast borderland attracted the attention of even more scholars. They collected documents, wrote monographs, and recorded the imperial court's military attainments in the northwest as well as its conducts in frontier affairs with Russia. Their works are still of great value.

Key words: Qing scholars, history and geography of northwest China, research achievements