Liang Shu (Complete Three Volumes) ((Complete Three Volumes))

Author: Yao Silian
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-09-01
Features: The Liang Shu records the history of the 56 years from the establishment of the Liang Dynasty by Emperor Xiao Yan to the fall of the Liang Dynasty by Emperor Xiang Fangzhi. It was meticulously compiled by two generations of Yao Cha and his son, Yao Silian. Yao Cha, styled Bo Shen, was a native of Wu Xing Wu Kang and a historian of the Southern Dynasties. He served in the courts of the Liang, Chen, and Sui dynasties, holding positions such as Secretary-in-Chief and Director of the Imperial Academy during the Chen Dynasty, and Secretary of the Imperial Academy during the Sui Dynasty. After entering the Sui Dynasty, he was commissioned by Emperor Wen of Sui to compile the histories of the Liang and Chen dynasties in the ninth year of the Kaigang era, but died before completing the work. On his deathbed, he instructed his son, Yao Silian, to continue the historical compilation. Yao Silian, styled Jianzhi, made full use of the draft of the historical work completed by his father in the compilation process. From the third to the tenth year of the Zhenguan era, he spent seven years completing the Liang Shu and the Chen Shu. Although both Yao Cha and Yao Silian were historians, they possessed a strong literary foundation. In their writing of historical texts, they maintained simplicity and austerity, avoiding the pursuit of ornate or superficial language, and inherited the style and method of Sima Qian and Ban Gu. Among the histories of the Southern Dynasties, their literary craftsmanship is particularly rare and commendable.