Wen Bai Duiying Han Shu (Volume 1, Volume 2)

Author: Ban Gu, Zhang Chuanxi, et al.
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2004-01-01
Features: The 21st century is the century of Eastern culture, and the origin of Eastern culture is traditional Chinese culture. In the future, whoever possesses resources will be the winner. Traditional Chinese culture can be described as an inexhaustible spiritual resource for humanity. In this vast and profound spiritual treasure trove, there are countless ancient Chinese classics waiting to be explored and utilized by the world. Statistics show that there are approximately 40,000 types of ancient Chinese classics. With such abundant cultural resources, it is indeed a pride of the Chinese nation. Developing and organizing these ancient classics is also the responsibility of the Chinese people. Inheriting and learning these precious cultural heritage is a common aspiration of every Chinese descendant. Among ancient Chinese classics, the Three Encyclopedias—the Siku Quanshu, the Collected Works of Ancient and Modern Books, and the Yongle Dadian—are the most representative, ranking as invaluable treasures rarely found in the world. However, due to the limitations of the rulers and compilers of that time, as well as the constraints of the era in which they were compiled, these encyclopedias inevitably had omissions. To enable readers to gain a comprehensive understanding of ancient Chinese classics, the Wen-Bai was created, combining the essence of the Three Encyclopedias without being confined to them.
Following the Records of the Grand Historian, Ban Gu wrote the Book of Han. Ban Gu, styled Mengjian, was a native of Anling in Fufeng (now eastern Xianyang, Shaanxi Province) and was born in the eighth year of the Jianwu era (32 AD) of the Eastern Han Dynasty. His father, Ban Biao, was a historian who wrote the Sixty-Five Chapters of the Later Records to supplement the Records of the Grand Historian. The Book of Han was completed based on the Sixty-Five Chapters of the Later Records. In the first year of the Yongyuan era (89 AD), Ban Gu accompanied the cavalry general Dou Xian in his campaign against the Xiongnu and participated in the planning. Later, in the internal struggles of the ruling class, he was imprisoned and died in prison in the fourth year of the Yongyuan era (92 AD). At that time, eight tables and the Treatise on Astronomy of the Book of Han were still unfinished. Emperor Hedi ordered Ban Gu’s sister, Ban Zhao, to complete them, with Ma Xu assisting her in writing the Treatise on Astronomy. Ban Zhao’s contributions to the Book of Han cannot be erased. She was a talented female historian in feudal China and the only female author in the Twenty-Four Histories.
The Book of Han consists of twelve Annals, eight Tables, ten Treatises, and seventy Biographies, totaling one hundred chapters, which were later divided into one hundred and twenty volumes. Its narrative begins in the first year of Emperor Gaozu of Han (206 BC) and ends in the fourth year of Emperor Wang Mang’s Dihuang era (23 AD). Compared to the Records of the Grand Historian, the Book of Han has undergone changes in its style. The Records of the Grand Historian is a comprehensive history, while the Book of Han is a dynastic history. The Book of Han shortened the Basic Annals of the Records of the Grand Historian to Annals and the Biographies to Biographies, changed the Treatises to Treatises, and abolished the Households of the Feudal Lords. The Households of the Feudal Lords of the Han dynasty were all included in the Biographies. These changes were later adopted by other historical works.
The historical period recorded in the Book of Han overlaps with that of the Records of the Grand Historian. The history of Western Han before the mid-reign of Emperor Wu of Han is recorded in both works. In this part, the Book of Han often borrows from the Records of the Grand Historian. However, due to differences in the authors’ ideological perspectives and criteria for selecting materials, there were additions, deletions, and modifications when borrowing. For example, the Biography of Jia Yi includes the Treatise on Pacifying the State; the Biography of Chao Cuo adds the Treatise on Military Affairs and the Memorial on Recruiting Farmers to Move to the Frontier; and the Biography of Lu Wenshu includes the Memorial on Upholding Virtue and Mitigating Punishments. These provide new historical materials beyond the Records of the Grand Historian. Thus, to understand the history of Western Han before the mid-reign of Emperor Wu, the Book of Han is indispensable. As for the history of Western Han after the mid-reign of Emperor Wu, based on the existing historical records, the Book of Han provides the most systematic and complete account.
The Book of Han includes new Treatises such as the Treatise on Criminal Law, the Treatise on the Five Elements, the Treatise on Geography, and the Treatise on the Arts and Literature. The Treatise on Criminal Law systematically describes the evolution of the legal system and specific regulations. The Treatise on Geography records the administrative divisions, historical changes, and population figures of the various commanderies and kingdoms of that time. The descriptions of local products, economic development, and customs are particularly noteworthy. The Treatise on the Arts and Literature examines the origins of various schools of thought and records the existing books, making it the earliest existing catalog of books in China. The Treatise on Food and Wealth evolved from the Treatise on the Equitable Market, but its content is richer. It is divided into two volumes: the upper volume discusses “food,” or the agricultural economy, while the lower volume discusses “wealth,” or commerce and currency, serving as a dedicated economic treatise of that time.
Among the eight Tables of the Book of Han, one is the Table of Ancient and Modern People, which lists rulers from Taihao to Wu Guang, with the word “ancient” but no “modern,” earning ridicule from later generations. Later generations highly praised the Table of Officials and Ministers, which first describes the division of officials and positions during the Qin and Han dynasties, including the authority and salaries of various posts. It then uses a concise table divided into fourteen levels and thirty-four official categories to record the promotions, demotions, and dismissals of Han dynasty officials and ministers. Despite its brevity, it clearly presents the bureaucratic system and its changes of that time.
From the perspective of ideological content, the Book of Han is inferior to the Records of the Grand Historian. Ban Gu once criticized Sima Qian, saying, “His discussions on right and wrong often deviated from the teachings of the sages.” This reflects the ideological divergence between the two. The so-called “sage” refers to Confucius. Sima Qian did not entirely use Confucian thought as the standard for judging right and wrong, which is commendable. Ban Gu’s understanding, however, was inferior to Sima Qian’s. This change from Sima Qian to Ban Gu reflects the establishment of Confucian thought as the orthodox ideology of feudalism in the field of historiography during the Eastern Han Dynasty.
The Book of Han frequently uses archaic characters and terms, making it relatively difficult to read. Even many people in the Eastern Han Dynasty found it hard to understand. The famous scholar Ma Rong studied the Book of Han with Ban Zhao at a young age. Sun Quan sent Zhang Xiu to study the Book of Han with Zhang Zhao to familiarize Sun Deng with the recent history of that time, and then taught Sun Deng himself. This highlighted the need for annotations to the Book of Han. In the late Eastern Han Dynasty, Fu Qian and Ying Shao wrote annotations for it. By the Tang Dynasty, Yan Shigu compiled annotations from twenty-three previous scholars, correcting errors and filling gaps, completing a new annotation of the Book of Han. In the Qing Dynasty, Wang Xianqian wrote the Supplementary Annotations to the Book of Han.