Eighteen History Books of Jin are those history books which were published and used as the history books of the Jin dynasty before the Book of Jin was published.
They comprised Book of Jin from nine kinds and Annals of Jin from nine kinds. Many history books of the Jin dynasty began to disappear from the scene after the Book of Jin was written in the period Zhenguan (貞觀: 627–649) of the Tang dynasty and they were going to be hard to find at the days of Song dynasty (960–1279).
As most of them were written during the Jin dynasty itself, it seems that they were incomplete and some of them were only of the Western Jin, though the Book of Jin of Zang Rongxu is thought to be more complete, since it comprised from Sima Yi, the founder of Jin to the Jin's fall by the Liu Yu (劉裕: 363–422) and it consisted of 110 books.
Therefore, Book of Jin of Fang Xuanling (房玄齡: 579–648) is thought to have consulted to Zang Rongxu's book.
Yu Song, courtesy name Shilong, was an official of the Jin dynasty of China. He previously served in the state of Eastern Wu during the Three Kingdoms period. He wrote the Qiong Tian Lun (穹天論), an essay on astronomy.
Lady Zhen, personal name unknown, was the first wife of Cao Pi, the first ruler of the state of Cao Wei in the Three Kingdoms period. In 226, she was posthumously honoured as Empress Wenzhao when her son, Cao Rui, succeeded Cao Pi as the emperor of Wei.
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. The contents of the Book of Jin, however, 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.
Liang Lanbi (梁蘭璧) was an empress during Jin Dynasty (266–420). Her husband was the ill-fated Emperor Huai.
Huan Jie, courtesy name Boxu, was a Chinese official who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty and served under the warlord Cao Cao. After the fall of the Eastern Han dynasty, he briefly served in the state of Cao Wei during the Three Kingdoms period.
Ji Ben was an imperial physician who lived during the late Eastern Han dynasty of China. In 218, he started a rebellion with several others in the imperial capital, Xu, but the revolt was suppressed and the conspirators were captured and executed.
Emperor Xiaowu of Song (宋孝武帝), personal name Liu Jun (劉駿), courtesy name Xiulong (休龍), nickname Daomin (道民), was an emperor of the Chinese dynasty Liu Song. He was a son of Emperor Wen. After his older brother Liu Shao assassinated their father in 453 and took the throne, he rose in rebellion and overthrew Liu Shao. He was generally regarded as a capable, but harsh and sexually immoral emperor. He curtailed the powers of the officials and imperial princes greatly during his reign.
Lu Wan was an official and vassal king of the early Han dynasty. He served under Liu Bang, the founding emperor of the Han dynasty.
Pei Songzhi (372–451), courtesy name Shiqi, was a Chinese historian and politician who lived in the late Eastern Jin dynasty and Liu Song dynasty. His ancestral home was in Wenxi County, Shanxi, but he moved to the Jiangnan region later. He is best known for making annotations to the historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi) written by Chen Shou in the third century, providing additional details omitted from the original work. His commentary, completed in 429, became integral to later editions of the Sanguozhi, making the joint work three times as long as the original. His son, Pei Yin (裴駰), and great-grandson Pei Ziye (裴子野), were also well-known historians.
Sima Fang (149–219), courtesy name Jiangong or Wenyu, was an official who lived during the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Through his second son Sima Yi, he was an ancestor of the ruling Sima clan of the Jin dynasty (266–420) of China.
Annotations to Records of the Three Kingdoms by Pei Songzhi (372-451) is an annotation completed in the 5th century of the 3rd century historical text Records of the Three Kingdoms, compiled by Chen Shou. After leaving his native land, Pei Songzhi became the Gentleman of Texts under the Liu Song Dynasty, and was given the assignment of editing the book, which was completed in 429. This became the official history of the Three Kingdoms period, under the title Sanguozhi zhu. He went about providing detailed explanations to some of the geography and other elements mentioned in the original. More importantly, he made corrections to the work, in consultation with records he collected of the period. In regard to historical events and figures, as well as Chen Shou's opinions, he added his own commentary. From his broad research, he was able to create a history which was relatively complete, without many of the loose ends of the original. Some of the added material was colourful and of questionable authenticity, possibly fictional. All the additional material made the book close to twice the length of the original.
Xun Yue (148–209), courtesy name Zhongyu, was an official, historian and Confucian scholar of the Eastern Han dynasty of China. Born in the influential Xun family of Yingchuan Commandery, Xun Yue served in the Han government as a historian and wrote 13 chapters of the historical text Annals of Han (漢紀), which covered the history of the Western Han dynasty.
It is not usual for a Chinese dynasty to pass smoothly into the next one, as is depicted in historical timelines, since dynasties were often established before the overthrow of an existing regime, or continued for a time after they had been defeated. However, in dynasties prior to the Yuan dynasty, the reigning dynasties often gave title to certain members of the previous dynasties as recognition of the legitimacy of the former dynasty and the way to show the right to the dynastic change. The method is known as "The two crownings and the three respects" (二王三恪), the people who were given to such position had right to retain the law from the original dynasty within the land given to them, and the reigning emperor couldn't treat them as his subject. From Yuan dynasty to the Republic of China, titles or treatments given to members of previous dynasties were not considered crownings or respects.
Liu Kun (270-318), courtesy name Yueshi, was a Chinese military general and poet of the Jin dynasty. He was a famous writer during the Western Jin dynasty and was known for his services as the Inspector of Bingzhou where he continuously fought with the growing Xiongnu threat of Han Zhao. Despite his determination and active role in fighting back Han Zhao, he lacked the sufficient skills in administration and military to match his enemies and suffered repeated losses to Liu Yao and Shi Le. He was eventually driven out from Bingzhou after suffering a decisive defeat to Shi Le in 316 and fled to Youzhou, where he allied with the Xianbei, Duan Pidi. However, after Pidi suspected him of betrayal, he was eventually executed via strangulation in 318.
Wang Mi, was a bandit leader and military general of Han Zhao during the Western Jin dynasty. He participated in a rebellion led by Liu Bogen during the War of the Eight Princes but after it was quelled, he fled to Mount Zhangguang where he became a notorious outlaw and was given the nickname "Flying Leopard". After two years of banditry, he joined the Xiongnu king, Liu Yuan and his state of Han Zhao in 308. He became one of the state's most important commanders in their war against Jin, playing a crucial role in capturing Luoyang during the Disaster of Yongjia. However, Wang Mi's career was cut short after he was assassinated by his peer and rival Shi Le in 311.
Qu Yun, was a military general of the Jin Dynasty (266-420). He was a prominent member of the group from Anding who swore to restore the Jin Dynasty in northern China following the Disaster of Yongjia and was one of Emperor Min of Jin's closest advisors in resisting Han Zhao. Despite the group's early success, the regime was short-lived as the lack of support and trust among themselves led to it eventually being overwhelmed by Han's forces in 316. After Emperor Min's surrender, Qu Yun took his own life while imprisoned.
Suo Chen, courtesy name Juxiu, was a military general of the Jin Dynasty (266-420). He was a prominent member of the group at Anding to restore Jin authority in the north following the Disaster of Yongjia in 311 and was Emperor Min's most powerful official alongside Qu Yun. Throughout Emperor Min's reign, he constantly clashed with the Han Zhao general Liu Yao with mixed results but was ultimately unable to halt Han's advances into Chang'an. After the fall of Chang'an in 316, Suo was executed for disloyalty, after he had used Emperor Min's surrender as a means to secure a high position for himself in the Han regime. His name can be rendered as Suo Lin.
Yang An was a military general of Former Qin and possibly a prince of Chouchi. He was mostly active in Qin's conquest of western China, helping Fu Jian in conquering Chouchi, Yizhou and Liangzhou. Although not as grand as his contemporaries, Deng Qiang and Zhang Ci, the Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms classed him as an important general of Qin whose merits were comparable to Deng Qiang.
Sima Xun (306–366), courtesy name Weichang, was a military general and warlord of the Jin dynasty (266–420). Although he was a part of Jin imperial family, he became the adopted son of the Han Zhao general, Linghu Ni (令狐泥), following the fall of Chang'an in 316. Han Zhao was destroyed in 329 and Xun fled south to the new Sima regime in Jiankang, where he grew to hold both military and provincial power, a rare case among his family members during the middle period of the Jin dynasty. Based in Liangzhou, he participated in a series of northern expeditions in the mid-4th century but was ultimately unsuccessful. Xun was cruel and ambitious, and in 365, he rebelled in hopes of claiming independence in Liangzhou. However, his rebellion was quelled by Zhu Xu in a matter of months, and he was subsequently executed by Huan Wen.
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