Sui Shu (6 volumes in total) -- Traditional vertical layout

Author: (Tang) Wei Zheng et al.
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: The Book of Sui consists of eighty-five volumes, including five imperial chronicles, fifty biographies, and thirty treatises. This book was co-authored by multiple individuals and was completed in two phases, taking a total of thirty-five years from its inception to completion. In the fourth year of the Wude era (621 AD), Ling Huo De proposed the suggestion to compile histories of the five dynasties: Liang, Chen, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, and Sui. The following year, the Tang court ordered historians to begin the compilation, but several years later, the project was still unfinished. In the third year of the Zhenguan era (629 AD), the five-dynasty history was rebuilt, with Wei Zheng overseeing the overall project and serving as the chief editor of The Book of Sui. The authors of The Book of Sui were all erudite scholars with high proficiency in historical writing. The Book of Sui is the earliest extant specialized history of the Sui dynasty and one of the historical works with the highest level of compilation among the Twenty-Five Histories.
First, it has a clear guiding principle. Emperor Taizong of Tang, who personally experienced the war that led to the fall of the Sui dynasty, often discussed the lessons of its collapse after coming to power. He explicitly stated the view that "using the past as a mirror can reveal the rise and fall of dynasties." Learning from historical lessons and using history as a guide became the guiding principle for compiling The Book of Sui.
Second, The Book of Sui upholds the fine tradition of writing history with impartiality, evaluating figures with fewer biases or omissions. The chief editor, Wei Zheng, was upright and incorruptible. The chronicles and biographies he supervised were less inclined to distort facts or conceal the truth about the powerful. For example, the book honestly recorded Emperor Wen of Sui's "harshness," autocratic rule, disinterest in poetry and books, and lack of understanding of the greater good. It also portrayed Emperor Yang of Sui's pretense, his patricide and incest, and his persecution of relatives and loyal ministers, all without concealment.
Lastly, The Book of Sui preserves a large amount of political, economic, and scientific and cultural materials. Among its ten treatises, it records the institutions and systems of the five dynasties—Liang, Chen, Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, and Sui—and some sections even trace their origins back to the Han and Wei dynasties.