Book of Northern Qi (Full Two Volumes) ((Full Two Volumes))

Author: Li Baiye
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The Book of Northern Qi, a 50-volume work, comprising 8 volumes of chronicles and 42 volumes of biographies, compiled by Li Baiye of the Tang Dynasty. In the late years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, a massive wave of rebellion swept through the Northern Six Garrisons in the north. Gao Huan, who rose from the ranks of a low-level military official in Huaixico Garrison, eventually gained leadership over over 200,000 Xianbei people and controlled the Northern Wei court. In 534, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, Yuan Xiu, was forced to flee west to Chang'an, where Gao Huan then established Emperor Xiaojing of Eastern Wei,, known as the Eastern Wei. In 550, Gao Huan's son, Gao Yang, deposed Emperor Xiaojing and established the Northern Qi. The Eastern Wei and Northern Qi ruled territories extended south to the Yangtze River, engaging in successive confrontations with the Liang and Chen dynasties, while their western borders were with the Western Wei and Northern Zhou in modern-day Shanxi, Henan, and Hubei. In 577, the Northern Qi was conquered by the Northern Zhou. The Book of Northern Qi was originally titled The Book of Qi, and the addition of "Northern" came later during the Song Dynasty to form its current name. Although it primarily records the history of the Northern Qi, it actually covers approximately 80 years of history from Gao Huan's uprising to the fall of the Northern Qi, focusing on the rise and fall of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. Li Baiye (565–648 AD), styled Chonggui, was a native of Anping in Dingzhou (now Anping, Hebei). He came from a scholarly family and was known for his love of learning from a young age,. In the early Sui Dynasty, he served as a Prince Imperial Attendant and inherited his father's title as Duke of Anping. He died in the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era of Emperor Taizong, at the age of 84. During the Northern Qi regime, internal conflicts between cousins and brothers of the imperial family led to the short-lived dynasty seeing six emperors in just 20 years. The Book of Northern Qi contains extensive accounts of power struggles among feudal rulers. In the process of transmission, the work suffered severe damage, with only 17 volumes remaining in their original form, while the rest were supplemented by later scholars using The Book of Northern Histories and other works. This has significantly diminished the value of The Book of Northern Qi. However, even in its current state, it still serves as a valuable historical record for understanding the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties.