Old Five Dynasties History (Complete 6 Volumes) -- Traditional vertical

Author: Xue Juzheng et al. (Song Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: Not available
Features: Old History of the Five Dynasties, originally titled History of the Five Dynasties, also known as Books of Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou, was later colloquially referred to as Old History of the Five Dynasties to distinguish it from Ouyang Xiu's New History of the Five Dynasties. It was an official imperial history commissioned by Emperor Taizu of Song. Xue Juzheng (912–981) served as the chief editor, with Lu Duksen, Hu Meng, Zhang Dan, Li, Liu Jian, Li Mu, and Li Jiuling among the co-editors. The project began in April 973 during the Kaibao era of Emperor Taizu and was completed by the intercalary October of the following year, taking only about a year and a half. The rapid completion was due to Emperor Taizu's high (emphasis), the high-ranking and strong editorial team he organized, as well as the relatively complete historical materials available for reference, given that the era was not yet distant from antiquity. The Five Dynasties each had official records, and Fan Zhi further compiled a concise version of these records, Jianlong Five Dynasties General Chronicle, which greatly facilitated the historical compilation.
In Chinese history, there was the last large-scale period of fragmentation and division in feudal society between the Tang and Song dynasties. For fifty-three years, from 907 when Zhu Wen usurped the Tang throne to 960 when the Northern Song Dynasty was established, the Central Plains emerged with five dynasties—Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou—while outside the Central Plains, ten smaller states existed, such as Wu, Southern Tang, Wuyue, Chu, Min, Southern Han, Former Shu, Later Shu, Southern Ping, and Northern Han. Additionally, there were regimes established by ethnic minorities in surrounding regions, such as the Khitan, Tibetan, Bohai, Dangxiang, Nanzhao, Yuquan, and Dongdan. These are collectively known as the "Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms." Old History of the Five Dynasties records this period of history.