Friday, September 19, 2008
History of Yuan
The History of Yuan is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. It consists of 210 chapter and covers the history of Mongols from the time of to the death of the last Yuan emperor Shun . ''Yuanshi'' was composed in 1370 by the official ''Bureau of History'' of the Ming dynasty, under direction of Song Lian commissioned by the court of the Ming Dynasty. The compilation formalized the official history of the preceding defunct Yuan Dynasty. Under the guidance of Song Lian, the official dynastic history broke with the old Confucian historiographical tradition, and established a new historical paradigm professing that the influence of history was equal in influence to the great Confucian classics in directing the human affairs.
History of Southern Dynasties
The History of Southern Dynasties is one of the official Chinese historical works in the Twenty-Four Histories canon. It contain 80 volumes and covering the period from 420 to 589, the histories of Liu Song, Southern Qi, Liang Dynasty, and Chen Dynasty. Like the ''History of Northern Dynasties'', the book along was started by Li Dashi. Following his death, Li Yanshou, son of Li Dashi completed the work on the book between 643 to 659. As a historian, Li Yanshou also took part of some of the compilation during the early Tang Dynasty. Unlike the many other contemporary historical texts, the book was not sponsored by state.
History of Northern Dynasties
The History of Northern Dynasties is one of the official Chinese historical works in the Twenty-Four Histories canon. It contain 100 volumes and covering the period from 386 to 618, the histories of Northern Wei, Western Wei, Eastern Wei, Northern Zhou, Northern Qi, and Sui Dynasty. Like the ''History of Southern Dynasties'', the book along was started by Li Dashi. Following his death, Li Yanshou, son of Li Dashi, completed the work on the book between 643 to 659. Unlike most of the rest of the Twenty-Four Histories, this work was not sponsored by state.
History of Ming
The History of Ming is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. It consists of 332 volumes and covers the history of Ming Dynasty from 1368 to 1644, which was written by a number of officials commissioned by the court of Qing Dynasty, with the lead editor Zhang Tingyu. The compilation started in the era of Shunzhi Emperor and completed in 1739 in the era of Qianlong Emperor, though most of the volumes were written in the era of Kangxi Emperor.
Five Dynasties History
The Five Dynasties History was an official history of the , which controlled much of . It was compiled by the Song Dynasty official-scholar Xue Juzheng in the first two decades of the Song Dynasty, which was founded in 960. It is one of the ''Twenty-Four Histories'' recognized through Chinese history.
The book comprises 150 chapters, and was in effect divided into 5 books, Book of Liang, Book of Tang, Book of Jin, Book of Han and Book of Zhou. After the New History of the Five Dynasties by Ouyang Xiu was published, it is no longer popular. The fatal blow came in 12th century when it was removed from the Imperial Library and no longer published by order of the Jin Dynasty. The book was completely lost since then.
During the 18th century, Qing Dynasty scholars found many complete quotes of the book in Yong Le Da Dian. They extracted them and together with other sources of the same period, they were able to reconstruct the entire book, albeit missing of a few chapters. There have been rumours that copies of the original book exist, but to date, none was found.
The Five Dynasties are composed of a string of dynasties in northern China that succeeded one another from 907 to 960. They bridge the time from which the Tang Dynasty fell in 907 to the rise of the Song Dynasty in 960, which eventually conquered all but the very northernmost reaches of China.
The Five Dynasties are the Later Liang Dynasty, Later Tang Dynasty, , Later Han Dynasty, and Later Zhou Dynasty.
Xue Juzheng lived through all five of the Five Dynasties and received his '’jinshi’’ examination degree under the Later Tang Dynasty. He then continued to hold office through the three subsequent dynasties. He took service with the Tang Dynasty when it established itself in northern China in 960.
The primary purpose of ''The Five Dynasties History'' was to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven, essentially the divine right to rule the Chinese realm. The Song Dynasty took over control of northern China from the last of the Five Dynasties, the Later Zhou Dynasty. From there, they conquered southern China to eventually rule all but the northern fringe of China known as the Sixteen Prefectures, which was under the control of the Liao Dynasty. Xue sought to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven through the succession of the Five Dynasties.
Xue argued that as each of these five dynasties controlled the traditional heart of China and held territory vastly larger than any of the kingdoms to the south, the Mandate naturally flowed through these dynasties.
In establishing the path of the Mandate through from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty through the Five Dynasties, there are several issues that Xue Zhucheng had to address. The first of these was the brutality exercised by the Later Liang Dynasty, the first of the five dynasties. Zhu Wen’s brutality led many to want to exclude that dynasty from the Mandate of Heaven due to the requirement that the leader work with benevolence.
Another issue had to do with the middle three, the Later Tang Dynasty, Later Jin Dynasty, and Later Han Dynasty respectively. None of these were Han Chinese ruled dynasties. Rather, all were led by .
Finally, the last major hurdle had to do with the ability to rule of all China. While each of these five dynasties held more territory than any of the other Chinese polities of the era, the reality is that none of them realistically had the chance to conquer the southern kingdoms and unite the entire realm.
Xue’s work gives us invaluable information regarding the Five Dynasties that ruled most of northern China from 907 to 960. Historians rely on this source today for much of what we now know about this period of Chinese history.
There are a couple of more ominous legacies as well, however. One is the use of official histories to strengthen claims to the Mandate of Heaven, including the bending of historical fact to suit the needs of the patron dynasty. While this is not the first instance of distorting history to legitimize ruling claims this particular work strengthened this trend in Chinese history.
Finally, there is the legitimizing of foreign dynasties, which set up the justification for later conquest dynasties that would control much of China’s destiny for most of the next millennium.
The book comprises 150 chapters, and was in effect divided into 5 books, Book of Liang, Book of Tang, Book of Jin, Book of Han and Book of Zhou. After the New History of the Five Dynasties by Ouyang Xiu was published, it is no longer popular. The fatal blow came in 12th century when it was removed from the Imperial Library and no longer published by order of the Jin Dynasty. The book was completely lost since then.
During the 18th century, Qing Dynasty scholars found many complete quotes of the book in Yong Le Da Dian. They extracted them and together with other sources of the same period, they were able to reconstruct the entire book, albeit missing of a few chapters. There have been rumours that copies of the original book exist, but to date, none was found.
The Five Dynasties
The Five Dynasties are composed of a string of dynasties in northern China that succeeded one another from 907 to 960. They bridge the time from which the Tang Dynasty fell in 907 to the rise of the Song Dynasty in 960, which eventually conquered all but the very northernmost reaches of China.
The Five Dynasties are the Later Liang Dynasty, Later Tang Dynasty, , Later Han Dynasty, and Later Zhou Dynasty.
Xue Juzheng
Xue Juzheng lived through all five of the Five Dynasties and received his '’jinshi’’ examination degree under the Later Tang Dynasty. He then continued to hold office through the three subsequent dynasties. He took service with the Tang Dynasty when it established itself in northern China in 960.
Purpose
The primary purpose of ''The Five Dynasties History'' was to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven, essentially the divine right to rule the Chinese realm. The Song Dynasty took over control of northern China from the last of the Five Dynasties, the Later Zhou Dynasty. From there, they conquered southern China to eventually rule all but the northern fringe of China known as the Sixteen Prefectures, which was under the control of the Liao Dynasty. Xue sought to establish the claim of the Song Dynasty to the Mandate of Heaven through the succession of the Five Dynasties.
Xue argued that as each of these five dynasties controlled the traditional heart of China and held territory vastly larger than any of the kingdoms to the south, the Mandate naturally flowed through these dynasties.
Issues
In establishing the path of the Mandate through from the Tang Dynasty to the Song Dynasty through the Five Dynasties, there are several issues that Xue Zhucheng had to address. The first of these was the brutality exercised by the Later Liang Dynasty, the first of the five dynasties. Zhu Wen’s brutality led many to want to exclude that dynasty from the Mandate of Heaven due to the requirement that the leader work with benevolence.
Another issue had to do with the middle three, the Later Tang Dynasty, Later Jin Dynasty, and Later Han Dynasty respectively. None of these were Han Chinese ruled dynasties. Rather, all were led by .
Finally, the last major hurdle had to do with the ability to rule of all China. While each of these five dynasties held more territory than any of the other Chinese polities of the era, the reality is that none of them realistically had the chance to conquer the southern kingdoms and unite the entire realm.
Legacy
Xue’s work gives us invaluable information regarding the Five Dynasties that ruled most of northern China from 907 to 960. Historians rely on this source today for much of what we now know about this period of Chinese history.
There are a couple of more ominous legacies as well, however. One is the use of official histories to strengthen claims to the Mandate of Heaven, including the bending of historical fact to suit the needs of the patron dynasty. While this is not the first instance of distorting history to legitimize ruling claims this particular work strengthened this trend in Chinese history.
Finally, there is the legitimizing of foreign dynasties, which set up the justification for later conquest dynasties that would control much of China’s destiny for most of the next millennium.
Description of the Starry Raft
Description of the Starry Raft is written in year 1436 by the translator/interpreter of admiral Zheng He, the description depicted places, peoples, cultures, etc, about all of what he saw.
Classic of History
The Classic of History is a compilation of documentary records related to events in ancient history of China. It is also commonly known as the Shàngshū , or simply Shū . The title is translated in western texts variously as ''"Classic of History"'', ''"Classic of Documents"'', ''"Book of History"'', ''"Book of Documents"''.
The book consists of 58 chapters , of which 33 are generally considered authentic works of the 6th century BC. The first five chapters of the book purport to preserve the sayings and recall the deeds of such illustrious emperors as and , who reigned during legendary age; the next 4 are devoted to the Xia Dynasty, the historicity of which has not been definitively established; the next 17 chapters deal with the Shang Dynasty and its collapse. The blame for this is placed on the last Shang ruler, who is described as oppressive, murderous, extravagant, and lustful. The final 32 chapters cover the Zhou Dynasty until the reign of Duke Mu of Qin. It contains examples of early Chinese prose, and is generally considered one of the Five Classics. The Shujing is possibly the earliest narrative of China, and may predate the ''Historiai'' of Herodotus as a history by a century. Many citations of the Shangshu can be found in the , in Hubei, dated to the 300 BC.
In the transmission of the book, there are three main variations: the New Text version, the version, and the forged Old Text version.
* The first, transmitted by Fu Sheng after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, was a New Text version in 33 chapters , which had lost more than 72 chapters of the original.
* The second version was an Old Text version found by Prince Liu Yu and transmitted by Kong Anguo during the last half of the 2nd century BC, which added some 16 new chapters and were part of the Old Text Classics later championed by the scholar Liu Xin during the beginning of 1st century, the chapters were lost during the later times.
* The third, was a forged version of the Old Text with 26 chapters , which had been allegedly rediscovered by the scholar Mei Ze during the 4th century, and presented to the imperial court of the . His version consists of 59 chapters which stemmed from both 33 extended chapters and the final 26 chapters added. By then most of the versions of Old Text had been lost since then.
Since the Song Dynasty, starting from Zhu Xi, many doubts had been expressed concerning the provenance of the existing Old Text chapters of the book, but it was not until Yan Ruoju's research and the definitive conclusions he drew in his unpublished but widely distributed manuscript entitled ''Evidential analysis of the Old Text Documents'' that the question was considered settled by the 17th century.
Compilation
The book consists of 58 chapters , of which 33 are generally considered authentic works of the 6th century BC. The first five chapters of the book purport to preserve the sayings and recall the deeds of such illustrious emperors as and , who reigned during legendary age; the next 4 are devoted to the Xia Dynasty, the historicity of which has not been definitively established; the next 17 chapters deal with the Shang Dynasty and its collapse. The blame for this is placed on the last Shang ruler, who is described as oppressive, murderous, extravagant, and lustful. The final 32 chapters cover the Zhou Dynasty until the reign of Duke Mu of Qin. It contains examples of early Chinese prose, and is generally considered one of the Five Classics. The Shujing is possibly the earliest narrative of China, and may predate the ''Historiai'' of Herodotus as a history by a century. Many citations of the Shangshu can be found in the , in Hubei, dated to the 300 BC.
Transmitting of texts
In the transmission of the book, there are three main variations: the New Text version, the version, and the forged Old Text version.
* The first, transmitted by Fu Sheng after the fall of the Qin Dynasty, was a New Text version in 33 chapters , which had lost more than 72 chapters of the original.
* The second version was an Old Text version found by Prince Liu Yu and transmitted by Kong Anguo during the last half of the 2nd century BC, which added some 16 new chapters and were part of the Old Text Classics later championed by the scholar Liu Xin during the beginning of 1st century, the chapters were lost during the later times.
* The third, was a forged version of the Old Text with 26 chapters , which had been allegedly rediscovered by the scholar Mei Ze during the 4th century, and presented to the imperial court of the . His version consists of 59 chapters which stemmed from both 33 extended chapters and the final 26 chapters added. By then most of the versions of Old Text had been lost since then.
Since the Song Dynasty, starting from Zhu Xi, many doubts had been expressed concerning the provenance of the existing Old Text chapters of the book, but it was not until Yan Ruoju's research and the definitive conclusions he drew in his unpublished but widely distributed manuscript entitled ''Evidential analysis of the Old Text Documents'' that the question was considered settled by the 17th century.
Contents
| ## | Translation New Text version; "forged" Old Text version | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | 虞書 | 堯典 | Document of Yu | The Canon of Yao |
| 02 | 舜典 | The Canon of Shun | ||
| 03 | 大禹謨 | The Counsels of Great Yu | ||
| 04 | 皋陶謨 | The Counsels of Gaotao | ||
| 05 | 益稷 | Yi and Ji | ||
| 06 | 夏書 | 禹貢 | Document of Xia | The Tribute of Yu |
| 07 | 甘誓 | The Speech at Gan | ||
| 08 | 五子之歌 | The Songs of the Five Brothers | ||
| 09 | 胤征 | The Punitive Expedition of Yin | ||
| 10 | 商書 | 湯誓 | Document of Shang | The Speech of Tang |
| 11 | 仲虺之誥 | The Announcement of Zhonghui | ||
| 12 | 湯誥 | The Announcement of Tang | ||
| 13 | 伊訓 | The Instructions of Yi | ||
| 14 | 太甲上中下 | King Taijia Part 1, 2 & 3 | ||
| 15 | 咸有一德 | The Common Possession of Pure Virtue | ||
| 16 | 盤庚上中下 | King Pangeng Part 1, 2 & 3 | ||
| 17 | 說命上中下 | The Charge to Yue Part 1, 2 & 3 | ||
| 18 | 高宗肜日 | The Day of the Supplementary Sacrifice of King Gaozong | ||
| 19 | 西伯戡黎 | The Chief of the West 's Conquest of Li | ||
| 20 | 微子 | Prince Weizi | ||
| 21 | 周書 | 泰誓上中下 | Document of Zhou | The Great Speech Part 1, 2 & 3 |
| 22 | 牧誓 | The Speech at Muye | ||
| 23 | 武成 | The Successful Completion of the War | ||
| 24 | 洪範 | The Great Plan | ||
| 25 | 旅獒 | The Hounds of Lu | ||
| 26 | 金滕 | The Golden Coffer | ||
| 27 | 大誥 | The Great Announcement | ||
| 28 | 微子之命 | The Charge to Prince Weizi | ||
| 29 | 康誥 | The Announcement to Prince Kang | ||
| 30 | 酒誥 | The Announcement about Drunkenness | ||
| 31 | 梓材 | The Timber of Rottlera | ||
| 32 | 召誥 | The Announcement of Duke Shao | ||
| 33 | 洛誥 | The Announcement Concerning Luoyang | ||
| 34 | 多士 | The Numerous Officers | ||
| 35 | 無逸 | Against Luxurious Ease | ||
| 36 | 君奭 | Lord Shi | ||
| 37 | 蔡仲之命 | The Charge to Cai Zhong | ||
| 38 | 多方 | The Numerous Regions | ||
| 39 | 立政 | The Establishment of Government | ||
| 40 | 周官 | The Offices of Zhou | ||
| 41 | 君陳 | Lord Chen | ||
| 42 | 顧命 | The Testamentary Charge | ||
| 43 | 康王之誥 | The Announcement of King Kang | ||
| 44 | 畢命 | The Charge to the Duke of Bi | ||
| 45 | 君牙 | Lord Ya | ||
| 46 | 冏命 | The Charge to Jiong | ||
| 47 | 呂刑 | Marquis Lu on Punishments | ||
| 48 | 文侯之命 | The Charge to Marquis Wen | ||
| 49 | 費誓 | The Speech at Fei | ||
| 50 | 秦誓 | The Speech of Qin | ||
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