Dictionary of the Later Han History

Author: Shandong Education Press
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 1994-08-01
Features: ★16K hardcover, Shandong Education Press, 1st edition, 1st printing
Preface
The Dictionary of the Later Han Dynasty is a specialized dictionary and part of the Dictionary Series of the Twenty-Five Histories. Its purpose is to facilitate readers in studying the Later Han Dynasty. The current edition of the Later Han Dynasty consists of 120 volumes, including 10 volumes of chronicles and 80 volumes of biographies, written by Fan Ye of the Southern Dynasties of the Song period; and 30 volumes of chronicles and records, written by Sima Bi of the Jin dynasty. Due to the division of some longer chapters into upper and lower volumes, the book is actually 130 volumes in total.
The Later Han Dynasty records historical events from 25 AD (the first year of Jianwu in the reign of Emperor Guangwu of Han) to 220 AD (the first year of Yan Kang in the reign of Emperor Xian of Han), covering a total of 196 years of history. Fan Ye, styled Wei Zong, was from Shunyang (now Xichuan in Henan). He was born in 398 AD (the second year of Long'an in the reign of Emperor An of Jin) and died in 446 AD (the 22nd year of Yuangai in the reign of Emperor Wen of Song), at the age of 48.
Fan Ye came from a bureaucratic family. His grandfather, Fan Ning, served as the Governor of Yujiang in Jin, and his father, Fan Tai, was a minister in the Song court. Due to Fan Ye's adoption into his cousin Fan Hongzhi's family, he inherited the title of Marquis of Wuxing. Later, he held positions such as aide to Prince Pengcheng Liu Yikang, governor of Xinchai, and minister of the Ministry of Personnel. In the first year of Yuangai (424 AD), he was demoted to the position of governor of Xuancheng due to an incident that displeased Liu Yikang. The Later Han Dynasty was written during this time. He later served as a general, governor of Nanpi, and minister of the left, as well as the chief of the Crown Prince's staff. In the 22nd year of Yuangai (446 AD), he was accused of plotting with Kong Xixian to crown Liu Yikang as emperor and was executed for treason. Although the 22nd year of Yuangai was originally 445 AD, since he died in December, the Gregorian calendar had already advanced to 446 AD.
Fan Ye lived over two hundred years after the Later Han Dynasty, and before him, many scholars had already written histories of the Later Han period. According to the Book of Sui·Bibliography, there were as many as eight works, including Liu Zhen's Records of the Eastern Han from the Eastern Han dynasty, Xie Cheng's Dictionary of the Later Han from the Three Kingdoms period, Xue Ying's Records of the Later Han from the Jin dynasty, and Sima Bi's Continuation of the Han Dynasty from the Jin dynasty. Fan Ye was dissatisfied with these works and used Records of the Eastern Han as the primary reference, incorporating rich historical materials from various sources while carefully selecting and arranging them to write the Later Han Dynasty, which consisted of 90 volumes of chronicles and biographies only. He originally planned to write the chronicles and records as well, intending to "comprehensively cover all the chronicles and records of the Former Han," but he died before completing them.
According to the Biography of Xie Yan in the Later Han Dynasty·Biographies of Emperresses, quoted by Li Xian in the Biography of Empresses, Shen Yue wrote: "Fan Ye's ten chronicles and records were all entrusted to Xie Yan. The compilation was nearly complete when Fan Ye was executed, and the books were buried in a cart." However, the Book of Song does not include a Biography of Xie Yan. This passage also explains one of the reasons why the Later Han Dynasty lacks chronicles and records.
Due to Fan Ye's literary talent and historical expertise, the Later Han Dynasty is known for its fluent writing, clear and detailed narratives, and rigorous structure, with few repetitions or omissions. After its publication, it was widely studied and praised, while other works on the Later Han Dynasty gradually faded into obscurity. The Later Han Dynasty was well-received by scholars and became a subject of extensive study and research. During the Southern Dynasties of the Liang period, famous scholars Liu Zhao and Wu Jun both wrote commentaries on the Later Han Dynasty. Liu Zhao noticed that Fan Ye's work lacked chronicles and records and considered it a deficiency. He selected the eight chronicles and records from Sima Bi's Continuation of the Han Dynasty and added annotations, dividing them into 30 volumes to supplement Fan Ye's work. Although Liu Zhao added chronicles and records to the Later Han Dynasty, he did not merge them with Fan Ye's work, keeping them as separate volumes. It was not until the early years of the reign of Emperor Zhenxi of Song that Sun Xiang suggested combining them, which is why the current edition exists. Most of Liu Zhao's annotations on the Later Han Dynasty have been lost, except for the annotations on the eight chronicles and records, which are preserved. Therefore, the annotations on Fan Ye's chronicles and records in the current edition are by Li Xian and other emperors of the Tang dynasty, while the annotations on Sima Bi's eight chronicles and records are by Liu Zhao.
Sima Bi, styled Shou Tong, was a member of the Jin imperial family. His father, Sima Mu, was the nephew of Sima Yi and was enfeoffed as the Duke of Gaoyang in the early Jin period. Due to his adoption, he was unable to inherit the title. Sima Bi was a diligent scholar from a young age,, and held positions such as cavalry commander, assistant librarian, and imperial counselor. He died in the late years of Emperor Hui of Jin, at the age of over sixty. Sima Bi believed that since the Han dynasty had been restored, there was no comprehensive history, so he "discussed various books, compiled his knowledge, starting from Emperor Wu and ending with Emperor Xian, organized chronologically into 200 years, and recorded the twelve generations, comprehensively covering past and present, and incorporating all matters, writing 80 chapters of chronicles, records, and biographies, titled Continuation of the Han Dynasty." (See his biography in the Book of Jin). The Book of Sui·Bibliography records his work as 83 volumes. Sima Bi's work has long been lost, except for the 30 volumes of chronicles and records, which were preserved due to Liu Zhao's use of them to supplement Fan Ye's work.
Fan Ye originally planned to write chronicles and records similar to the Han Dynasty, but he died before completing them. Compared to Ban Gu's ten chronicles and records, Sima Bi's eight chronicles and records lack the four chronicles and records of Canals, Economy, Law, and Literature, which is a pity. Especially the absence of the Economy Chronicle leaves a gap in the systematic records of the economic system and production development of the Later Han period, making it inconvenient for historical research. The two new chronicles and records, Officialdom and Attire, are extensions of the Table of Officials and Ministers in the Han Dynasty. The Attire Chronicle records the systems of carriages, hats, and clothing, which reflect the feudal hierarchy, and have limited historical value.
The chronicles and records section of the Later Han Dynasty has long been regarded by historians as well-written. Among the ten chronicles, the Biography of Emperor Guangwu and the Biographies of Empresses are divided into upper and lower volumes due to their length, making the chronicles actually twelve volumes. The Records of the Former Han and the Records of the Han included only Empress Lü in the chronicles, while other empresses were included in the Biographies of Consorts. Fan Ye, however, changed the empresses in the Biographies of Consorts to chronicles, showing his unique perspective. Fan Ye believed that during the Later Han Dynasty, empresses or empresses-in-waiting often held political power, as stated in the preface to the Biographies of Empresses: "The imperial line of the Eastern Capital was frequently interrupted, with power falling to women—four emperors were ruled by empresses, and six emperresses presided over the court." Therefore, from the perspective of historical reality at the time, it was appropriate to include all empresses in the chronicles.
In the biographies section, the Later Han Dynasty follows the same structure as the Records of the Former Han and the Records of the Han, with single biographies, combined biographies, and thematic biographies. However, Fan Ye, based on the historical characteristics of the Later Han Dynasty and his own insights, created seven new thematic biographies: The Party Purge, Eunuchs, Literati, Solo Figures, Methods, Recluses, and Women. During the Later Han Dynasty, the eunuch and consort factions held political power for a long time, suppressing the group of famous scholars and officials by launching two major purges of the party. The Biographies of the Party Purge and the Biographies of Eunuchs record these struggles. Especially the Biographies of Women, Fan Ye included women of outstanding talent and virtue, not just focusing on chastity, which was a progressive view. For example, the Biographies of Women includes Ban Zhao, a female historian, and Cai Yan, a female writer. We know that Cai Yan married twice and served three husbands, which would not have been considered appropriate for the Biographies of Women under feudal chastity standards. However, Fan Ye was not bound by old ideas, fully reflecting his progressive historical perspective.
The Later Han Dynasty is a primary source for studying the Later Han period and is highly valued by scholars of literature and history. Since its publication, many scholars have studied and annotated it. The annotations by Li Xian and others in the Tang dynasty can be seen as a compilation of annotations from all previous dynasties. The current standard edition of the Later Han Dynasty includes Li Xian's annotations. In the late Qing dynasty, Wang Xianqian collected the results of studies on the Later Han Dynasty after the Tang dynasty, especially the works of Qing scholars such as Hui Dong's Supplementary Annotations to the Later Han Dynasty, and compiled them into Comprehensive Annotations to the Later Han Dynasty, which became a second summary work.
After the founding of the People's Republic, in 1965, Zhonghua Book Company published a revised edition of the Later Han Dynasty, providing greater convenience for readers. With the vigorous development of socialist economic construction in our country, there has been a corresponding flourishing of socialist science and culture. As a result, more people have become interested in studying historical and cultural classics, making the compilation of a set of reference books for reading the Twenty-Five Histories a need for readers today. In light of this, Shandong Education Press commissioned the Chinese Historical Documents Research Association to organize the writing of this dictionary series.
After completing the Dictionary of the Three Kingdoms, we have now completed the Dictionary of the Later Han Dynasty. During the compilation process, we made every effort to incorporate the latest research findings in academia and reference some relevant dictionaries. Due to the broad scope of the work, it was not possible to cite every source, and we apologize for any omissions. Since this book was written by many authors, discrepancies, omissions, and inaccuracies are inevitable. We sincerely request the readers' criticism and corrections.
The Editorial Committee of the Dictionary of the Later Han Dynasty
August 1991