Romance of the Later Han

Author: Cai Dongfan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-01-01
Features: "Mr. Cai's book, from a literary perspective, can only be considered mediocre. But, it is a mine, towering like a mountain, with lush forests, flowing springs and waterfalls, containing coal, iron, gold, and jade. Naturally, there is also soil, and the most unremarkable sand and stones. Its extraordinary quality lies in its rich reserves. As mentioned earlier, it was not born out of obedience to orders or reviews, but out of timely necessity. During the collapse of the feudal system and the turmoil of the new era, Mr. Cai devoted his life to composing this epic, which can be heard as a dirge or seen as a symbol of the birth of the new era. From a practical standpoint, its vitality is still growing. How many people today can still read the traditional Chinese character editions of the 24 Histories? Not many, not even the simplified character versions of classical literature. But our national history must be inherited and continued. Reading Mr. Cai's books can guide you into the world of history, and there is no other option like this. In this sense, his achievement is truly remarkable." Cai Dongfan, a famous historian and novelist of the Republic of China, aimed to "save the nation through storytelling" and spent ten years writing The Popular Histories of China. Starting from Qin Shi Huang and ending in 1928, the series comprehensively records the 2,166 years of Chinese feudal history, gaining fame for its rich content and well-sourced material, and was highly favored by readers. The writing style of this series combines the Romance of the Three Kingdoms with Mao Zonggang's annotations, featuring main text, annotations, and overall summaries, all self-annotated by Cai Dongfan. Through these annotations, he either refuted fantastical claims, noted the sources and differences of certain historical materials, explained ancient systems of government, laws, geography, artifacts, titles, and even colloquialisms in a popular way, or praised or criticized certain characters, all to help readers understand the main text and clarify history. In terms of selecting and using historical materials, Cai Dongfan primarily relied on "official histories," supplemented by unofficial accounts and anecdotes, with all such materials requiring collateral evidence and rigorous verification to ensure accuracy. Due to his strong emphasis on historical authenticity and opposition to fictionalization, this series, despite being popular, holds significant historical value. The Romance of the Eastern Han Dynasty is one of the Popular Histories of China. The entire book consists of 100 chapters, covering 196 years of the Eastern Han Dynasty and 43 years of the Shu Han Dynasty, starting from the overthrow of Wang Mang in the late Western Han Dynasty and Liu Xiu (Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han) rising up against him to establish the Eastern Han Dynasty, until the formation of the Three Kingdoms.