Book of Wei | |||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 魏 書 | ||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 魏 书 | ||||||||||
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The Book of Wei, also known by its Chinese name as the Wei Shu [1] ,is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554,and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to 550. [2] Widely regarded as the official and authoritative source historical text for that period,it is one of the Twenty-Four Histories.
The Northern Wei dynasty was established in 386 by the Tuoba clan. The greatest accomplishment of the Northern Wei dynasty was the unification of Northern China in 439. An internal struggle resulted in a split which introduced the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei. The Eastern Wei dynasty was short-lived. Established in 534,several military campaigns were fought to try and reunite east and west but each failed. In 550,the area was taken over by Gao Yang who founded his own dynasty which he names the Northern Qi. It is the history of these two dynasties that Wei Shou attempted to record. [3]
In compiling the work,Wei Shou managed to withstand pressure,with the help of the Northern Qi emperor,from powerful elites who wanted him to glorify their otherwise disputed ancestral origins. [4] Detractors of the work referred to the book as Hui Shu (穢書),nearly pronounced as 'Wei Shu',but meaning "Book of Filth". From a modern reader's perspective,the book had problems characteristic of other works in Twenty-Four Histories,as it praised the subject dynasty of interest (in this case the Northern Wei). It likely overstated the power of her predecessor state Dai,which was a vassal of Western Jin,Later Zhao,Former Yan,and Former Qin. Further,it retroactively used the sinicized surnames introduced by Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei in 496 to apply to events long before,making it difficult for readers to know what the actual names of historical personages were. In addition,Wei Shou was criticized in that,as an official of the Eastern Wei and its successor state Northern Qi,he included the sole emperor of Eastern Wei,Emperor Xiaojing,among his imperial lists while intentionally omitting the three emperors from the rival state Western Wei after the division of the Northern Wei in 534. However,he was credited with harmonizing highly confusing and fragmented accounts of historical events from the state of Dai to the early period of Northern Wei and creating coherent accounts of events.
The content of the Book of Wei follows the format of previous standard histories. The first fifteen chapters are annals (紀) describing the lives and events of the emperors,with the first being a preface.
# | Title | Translation | Notes |
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Chapter 1 | 帝紀第1 序紀 | (Preface) | |
Chapter 2 | 帝紀第2 太祖道武帝 | Emperor Daowu | |
Chapter 3 | 帝紀第3 太宗明元帝 | Emperor Mingyuan | |
Chapter 4 Part 1 | 帝紀第4 世祖太武帝 | Emperor Taiwu | |
Chapter 4 Part 2 | 帝紀第4 世祖太武帝恭宗景穆帝 | Emperor Taiwu,Emperor Jingmu | |
Chapter 5 | 帝紀第5 高宗文成帝 | Emperor Wencheng | |
Chapter 6 | 帝紀第6 显祖献文帝 | Emperor Xianwen | |
Chapter 7 Part 1 | 帝紀第7 高祖孝文帝 | Emperor Xiaowen | |
Chapter 7 Part 2 | 帝紀第7 高祖孝文帝 | Emperor Xiaowen | |
Chapter 8 | 帝紀第8 世宗宣武帝 | Emperor Xuanwu | |
Chapter 9 | 帝紀第9 肅宗孝明帝 | Emperor Xiaoming | |
Chapter 10 | 帝紀第10 敬宗孝莊帝 | Emperor Xiaozhuang | |
Chapter 11 | 帝紀第11 前廢帝・後廢帝・出帝 | Emperor Jiemin (Qianfei),Prince of Anding (Emperor Houfei),Emperor Xiaowu (Chu) | |
Chapter 12 | 帝紀第12 孝静帝 | Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei | |
Chapter 13 through 104 are biographies beginning with Chapter 13:Biographies of Empresses (皇后列傳) and ending with Chapter 104:Author's Preface (自序). In his preface Wei Shou harmonizes the Xianbei cultural heritage with Han Chinese cultural heritage,arguing that the rise of the Northern Wei was mandated by Heaven and that the Xianbei people were descended from the Yellow Emperor. [5] Descriptions of figures from the historic Korean kingdoms of Goguryeo,Baekje,and also Khitan and many other historic nationalities are included in chapters 95 through 103.
Wei Shou also includeds postitve descriptions of the dialog between Confucianism,Buddhism,and Daoism. For example,in Chapter 69 where the court official Pei Yanjun (裴延隽;d. 528) describes a knowledge of both Buddhism and Confucianism as being beneficial to social administration. [6] The whole of Chapter 114,"Treatise on Buddhism and Daoism" (釋老志),of the Book of Wei is also related to this topic. Chapters 105 through 114 are treatises (志).
The book originally contains 114 chapters,but by the Song dynasty some chapters were already missing. Later editors reconstructed those chapters by taking material from the History of the Northern Dynasties dated to the 7th century.
Dien translates parts of volume 59,which describes the dispute between the Northern Wei and Liu Song at Pengcheng. [7] Lee translates part of volume 111 describing the case of Liu Hui (劉輝),who committed adultery while married to Princess Lanling (蘭陵公主). [8]
Song,known as Liu Song,Former Song (前宋) or Song of (the) Southern dynasties (南朝宋) in historiography,was an imperial dynasty of China and the first of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It succeeded the Eastern Jin dynasty and preceded the Southern Qi dynasty.
The Northern and Southern dynasties was a period of political division in the history of China that lasted from 420 to 589,following the tumultuous era of the Sixteen Kingdoms and the Eastern Jin dynasty. It is sometimes considered as the latter part of a longer period known as the Six Dynasties (220–589). The period featured civil war and political chaos,but was also a time of flourishing arts and culture,advancement in technology,and the spread of Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism. The period saw large-scale migration of Han people to lands south of the Yangtze. The period came to an end with the unification of China proper by Emperor Wen of the Sui dynasty.
Wei,known in historiography as the Northern Wei,Tuoba Wei,Yuan Wei and Later Wei,was an imperial dynasty of China ruled by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties,it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during the period of the Northern and Southern dynasties. Described as "part of an era of political turbulence and intense social and cultural change",the Northern Wei dynasty is particularly noted for unifying northern China in 439,bringing an end to the chaotic Sixteen Kingdoms period,and strengthening imperial control over the rural landscape via reforms in 485. This was also a period of introduced foreign ideas,such as Buddhism,which became firmly established. The Northern Wei was referred to as "Plaited Barbarians" by writers of the Southern dynasties,who considered themselves the true upholders of Chinese culture.
The Xianbei were an ancient nomadic people that once resided in the eastern Eurasian steppes in what is today Mongolia,Inner Mongolia,and Northeastern China. The Xianbei were likely not of a single ethnicity,but rather a multilingual,multi-ethnic confederation consisting of mainly Proto-Mongols,and,to a minor degree,Tungusic and Turkic peoples. They originated from the Donghu people who splintered into the Wuhuan and Xianbei when they were defeated by the Xiongnu at the end of the third century BC. Following the split,the Xianbei people did not have a direct contact with the Han dynasty,residing to the north of the Wuhuan. In the first century BC,the Xianbei began actively engaging in the struggle between the Han and Xiongnu,culminating in the Xianbei replacing the Xiongnu on the Mongolian Plateau.
Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei ( 魏孝文帝),personal name Tuoba Hong (拓拔宏),later Yuan Hong (元宏),was an emperor of China's Northern Wei dynasty,reigning from September 20,471 to April 26,499.
Qi,known in historiography as the Southern Qi or Xiao Qi,was a Chinese imperial dynasty and the second of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It followed the Liu Song dynasty and was succeeded by the Liang dynasty. The main polity to its north was the Northern Wei.
The Liang dynasty,alternatively known as the Southern Liang or Xiao Liang in historiography,was an imperial dynasty of China and the third of the four Southern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties period. It was preceded by the Southern Qi dynasty and succeeded by the Chen dynasty. The rump state of Western Liang existed until it was conquered in 587 by the Sui dynasty.
The Records of the Three Kingdoms is a Chinese official history written by Chen Shou in the late 3rd century CE,covering the end of the Han dynasty and the subsequent Three Kingdoms period (220–280 CE). It is regarded as to be the authoritative source text for these periods. Compiled following the reunification of China under the Jin dynasty (266–420),the work chronicles the political,social,and military events within rival states Cao Wei,Shu Han and Eastern Wu into a single text organized by individual biography.
Qi,known as the Northern Qi,Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography,was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China from 550 to 577. The dynasty was founded by Gao Yang,and was eventually conquered by the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty in 577.
Empress Guo,personal name unknown,formally known as Empress Mingyuan,was an empress of the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period of China. She was married to Cao Rui,the second ruler of Wei;she was his third wife and second empress. The limited information available about her appears to portray her as an intelligent woman who fought hard to prevent her empire from falling into the hands of the Sima clan during the reigns of her adopted son Cao Fang and his cousin Cao Mao,but was unable to stem the tide.
The Book of Jin is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty,with chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor,drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1,3,54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong himself. However,the contents of the Book of Jin included not only the history of the Jin dynasty,but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period,which was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty.
The Book of Song is a historical text of the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties of China. It covers history from 420 to 479,and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories,a traditional collection of historical records. It was written in 492–493 by Shen Yue from the Southern Qi dynasty (479–502).
The History of the Northern Dynasties is one of the official Chinese historical works in the Twenty-Four Histories canon. The text contains 100 volumes and covers 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 the Southern Dynasties,the book was started by Li Dashi and compiled from texts of the Book of Wei and Book of Zhou. Following his death,Li Yanshou (李延寿),son of Li Dashi,completed the work on the book between 643 and 659. Unlike most of the rest of the Twenty-Four Histories,this work was not commissioned by the state.
The Book of Qi or Book of Southern Qi is a history of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi covering the period from 479 to 502,and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories of Chinese history. It was written by Xiao Zixian during the succeeding Liang Dynasty. This book was the only one of the Twenty-Four Histories to be authored by a member of the chronicled dynasty's ruling house –Xiao Zixian was a grandson of Emperor Gao,founder of Southern Qi,
Emperor Wenxuan of (Northern) Qi ( 齊文宣帝) (526–559),personal name Gao Yang,courtesy name Zijin (子進),Xianbei name Hounigan (侯尼干),was the founding emperor of the Northern Qi dynasty of China. He was the second son of the Eastern Wei's paramount general Gao Huan. Following the death of his brother and Gao Huan's designated successor and eldest son Gao Cheng in 549,Gao Yang became the regent of Eastern Wei. In 550,he forced the Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei to yield the throne to him,ending the Eastern Wei dynasty and starting the Northern Qi dynasty.
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The Book of Chen or Chen Shu was the official history of the Chen dynasty,one of the Southern dynasties of China. The Book of Chen is part of the official Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was compiled by the Tang dynasty historian Yao Silian and completed in 636 AD. The Chen Shu is a biographical history book with thirty-six volumes,recording the historical facts of 33 years from the accession of Chen Baxian to the last emperor Chen Shubao.
Emperor Wu of Northern Zhou ( 周武帝),personal name Yuwen Yong (宇文邕),Xianbei name Miluotu (禰羅突),was an emperor of the Xianbei-led Northern Zhou dynasty of China. As was the case of the reigns of his brothers Emperor Xiaomin and Emperor Ming,the early part of his reign was dominated by his cousin Yuwen Hu,but in April 572 he ambushed Yuwen Hu and seized power personally. He thereafter ruled ably and built up the power of his military,destroying the rivaling Northern Qi dynasty in 577 and annexing its territory. His death the next year,however,ended his ambitions of uniting China,and under the reign of his erratic son Emperor Xuan,Northern Zhou itself soon deteriorated and was usurped by Yang Jian,who founded the Sui dynasty,in 581.
The Tuoba (Chinese) or Tabgatch,also known by other names,was an influential Xianbei clan in early imperial China. During the Sixteen Kingdoms after the fall of Han and the Three Kingdoms,the Tuoba established and ruled the Dai state in northern China. The dynasty ruled from 310 to 376 and then was restored in 386. The same year,the dynasty was renamed Wei,later distinguished in Chinese historiography as the Northern Wei. This powerful state gained control of most of northern China,supporting Buddhism while increasingly sinicizing. As part of this process,in 496,the Emperor Xiaowen changed the imperial clan's surname from Tuoba to Yuan. The empire split into Eastern Wei and Western Wei in 535,with the Western Wei's rulers briefly resuming use of the Tuoba name in 554.
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