Continuation of Zizhi Tongjian (Full 3 Volumes)

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Publish Date: 2001-09-01
Features: The Zizhi Tongjian compiled by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty is described as "extensive in scope, profound in thought, unprecedented in ancient chronicles" (Four Treasuries General Catalogue). Its achievements reached the pinnacle of ancient chronological history, making it an immortal classic of Chinese scholarship and holding a significant position in the history of ancient Chinese historiography. The Zizhi Tongjian records history from the 23rd year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC) to the 6th year of Xingde in the Later Zhou Dynasty (959 AD), covering 1,362 years of history. Subsequent historians have since engaged in continuous supplementation. These supplementary works can be divided into two categories: supplementing the beginning and continuing the end. The former includes Liu Shu's Tongjian Waiji (10 volumes), which begins with Bao Jie and ends with the 22nd year of King Weilie of Zhou (404 BC), connecting with the Zizhi Tongjian; Song Lixiang's Tongjian Qianbian (80 volumes), which starts from the reign of Tang Yao and connects to the Zizhi Tongjian. The latter includes Li Tao of the Southern Song Dynasty's Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian (520 volumes), covering 168 years from the Jianlong era to the Jingkang era of the Northern Song Dynasty; Wang Zongmo's Song Yuan Zizhi Tongjian (64 volumes), which imitates the style of the Zizhi Tongjian and records the history of the Song and Yuan dynasties; Xue Yingqi's Song Yuan Zizhi Tongjian (157 volumes), also imitating the style of the Zizhi Tongjian and recording the history of the Song and Yuan dynasties; Xu Qianxue's Tongjian Houbian (184 volumes), which starts from the first year of Emperor Taizu's Jianlong era in the Song Dynasty (960 AD) and ends with the 27th year of Emperor Zhenzhi's Zhizheng era in the Yuan Dynasty (1367 AD), also recording the history of the Song and Yuan dynasties; and Xia Jie's Ming Tongjian (100 volumes), which specializes in the history of the Ming Dynasty. The work that is Chen ’s Tongjian Xubian (24 volumes), which begins with the story of Pangu and Gaoxin, absent in the Tongjian Qianbian, followed by chapters on the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasties as well as Khitan history. The remaining 22 volumes narrate the history of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties to continue the Zizhi Tongjian. Additionally, Bi Yuan's Xu Zizhi Tongjian, also belongs to the category of continuing the Zizhi Tongjian. Through the continuous supplementation by these scholars, a complete series of Tongjian -style chronicles has formed in the vast treasury of Chinese historical literature. The arrangement of content in this book equally emphasizes the history of the Song, Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties, overcoming the past trend of overly detailed coverage of the Song Dynasty while neglecting the Liao, Jin, and Yuan dynasties—a significant feature of this work.