History of Northern Dynasties (Complete 10 Volumes)

Author: Master Li
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The History of the Northern Dynasties is a comprehensive historical record in the style of chronicles and biographies, co-authored by Li Yanshou, the same as The History of the Southern Dynasties. It consists of 12 volumes of chronicles and 88 volumes of biographies, totaling 100 volumes. Alternatively, it has 10 volumes of chronicles and 70 volumes of biographies, comprising 80 volumes in total. The narrative begins with the founding of the Northern Wei Dynasty by Emperor Daowu in the first year of the Dengguo era (386 AD) and ends with the second year of the Yining era under Emperor Gongdi of the Sui Dynasty (618 AD), covering 230 years of history from the four feudal regimes of the Northern Wei, Northern Qi, Western Wei, and Sui. The History of the Northern Dynasties and The History of the Southern Dynasties were compiled based on eight dynastic histories in the style of chronicles and biographies that recorded the history of the Southern and Northern Dynasties and the Sui Dynasty, including The Book of Song, The Book of Southern Qi, The Book of Liang, The Book of Chen, The Book of Wei, The Book of Northern Qi, The Book of Western Wei, and The Book of Sui. They represent a successful adaptation and creative reimagining of these eight works. The History of the Northern Dynasties and The History of the Southern Dynasties break away from the traditional dynastic system, dividing this period into the Northern and Southern parts and writing comprehensive histories that span the eras, creating two interconnected and complementary works. They seamlessly integrate the long-stage history from the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the unification under the Sui Dynasty, thereby overcoming numerous flaws such as fragmented historical records, repetitive accounts, difficulty in editing, excessive length, and inconvenience for readers. They also record specific facts in a concise manner, providing readers with a comprehensive and systematic understanding of history. This facilitates the comparison of the distinct characteristics of different dynasties and historical periods, accurately depicting the historical context and trends of change, and reflecting the essential nature of historical development. Additionally, the way The History of the Northern Dynasties and The History of the Southern Dynasties are compiled encourages historical reflection from the perspective of the overall history of the Chinese nation, helping to eliminate the long-term division and estrangement between the North and South and fostering a sense of unity under one roof. However, these two histories failed to produce a chronology of the relationship between the North and South, reflecting the authors' lack of a holistic perspective. Furthermore, the variations in the Southern and Northern dynasties are not clearly explained by the author, making it difficult to fully meet Sima Qian's requirement of "understanding the changes between past and present."