Book of Han (1-12)

Author: Ban Gu
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Book of Han (Volumes 1-12) is a historical work in the annalistic and biographical style, completed through the efforts of Ban Biao, Ban Gu, Ban Zhao, and Ma Xuyun. It is a magnificent and literary masterpiece, with accurate accounts and impartial perspectives. It is renowned alongside The Records of the Grand Historian, The Book of the Later Han, and The Records of the Three Kingdoms as the "Four Great Histories," and has been highly esteemed by historians throughout history. The continuity of Chinese culture over 5,000 years is reflected in the existence of a continuous series of 24 Histories, with each dynasty's official history following the style of The Book of Han, demonstrating its significance. Countless allusions and academic works originate from it. Without reading The Book of Han, one cannot appreciate its charm. The Book of Han is a historical work in the annalistic and biographical style, completed through the efforts of Ban Biao, Ban Gu, Ban Zhao, and Ma Xuyun. It is a magnificent and literary masterpiece, with accurate accounts and impartial perspectives. It is renowned alongside The Records of the Grand Historian, The Book of the Later Han, and The Records of the Three Kingdoms as the "Four Great Histories," and has been highly esteemed by historians throughout history. The continuity of Chinese culture over 5,000 years is reflected in the existence of a continuous series of 24 Histories, with each dynasty's official history following the style of The Book of Han, demonstrating its significance. Countless allusions and academic works originate from it. Without reading The Book of Han, one cannot appreciate its charm. The Book of Han consists of 120 volumes, comprising 12 treatises on emperors, 8 tables, 10 chronicles, and 70 biographies. It covers events from Emperor Gaozu of Han to Wang Mang, focusing on the history of Western Han, hence its designation as a "period-specific history" (though some tables and chronicles include figures beyond Western Han, such as the Table of Figures from Antiquity to the Present, which includes many pre-Han personalities, but these are exceptions). The practice of writing period-specific histories began with Ban Gu, and subsequent dynasties' so-called "official histories" followed the style of The Book of Han. It encompasses everything from emperors and ministers to scholars and recluses, as well as topics ranging from astronomy and food and finance to government officials and counties.