Tongdian (Complete 5 Volumes)

Author: Tang Du You / Country: Mainland China
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-05-01
Features: Tongdian holds an important position in the history of historical compilation. It is the pioneering work of specialized history on institutions and regulations. Before Du You, the history of institutions and regulations was primarily concentrated in the section of Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) and Shiji (History of the Later Han). In terms of historical content and writing style, there were numerous limitations, making it unable to fully record the development and changes of social, political, and economic systems. Tongdian, however, separated this genre as an independent category, opening up broad prospects for its development. From then on, the history of institutions and regulations became an important branch of traditional historiography. Tongdian exclusively narrates the evolution and changes of institutions and regulations throughout history, from the remote era of the Yellow Emperor to the end of the Tianbao period of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty (changes after Emperor Shaozong and Daizong are sometimes also included in the notes). It is divided into nine categories, with Shifuo (Economy) as the first, followed by Xuanju (Selections), Zhiguan (Official Positions), Li (Rites), Yue (Music), Bing (Military), Xing (Penalties), Zhou (Provinces), Xian (Counties), and Bianfang (Border Defense). Each category is further subdivided into sub-topics. For the institutions and regulations of each dynasty, it provides detailed accounts of their origins and development. Sometimes, it not only includes discussions by predecessors but also presents its own opinions and viewpoints in the form of shuo (exposition), yi (argument), ping (evaluation), and lun (discourse). The author of Tongdian is Du You. Tongdian adopts the style of Zhi (Records) in dynastic histories, transforming the discontinuous historical writing into a continuous one. It is a specialized historical work in the genre of Zhi that records the evolution and changes of political, economic, and other systems throughout history. Tongdian documents the institutions and regulations from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the end of the Tianbao period of the Tang Dynasty. It is the first Zhi genre historical work in Chinese history to record the institutions and regulations of past dynasties, opening up a new path for the development of historiography.