Han Shu Bu Zhu (Complete Two Volumes)

Author: Wang Xianqian
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2006-05-01
Features: Comprehensive Notes on the Book of Han, in 120 volumes. Compiled by Wang Xianqian during the late Qing Dynasty. Wang Xianqian (1842–1917), styled Yiyu, styled Kuiyuan, and named Xushouchang, was a native of Changsha, Hunan. He passed the imperial examination in the Tongzhi era and was appointed as a Cishiji in the Hanlin Academy, later promoted to a Biaoxiu, and eventually became a Shidjiang in the Hanlin Academy. Comprehensive Notes on the Book of Han is one of Wang’s major works. Wang believed that although Yan Shigu’s Annotations on the Book of Han collected the strengths of previous commentaries, it still contained errors. Although Qing scholars’ research was "rich in writing," it was often "scattered across various books and rarely fully mastered by scholars." Therefore, Wang drew upon relevant works from the Song, Ming, and Qing dynasties, placing particular emphasis on Qing-era achievements. The cited specialized works include Qian Daixin’s Examinations of the Twenty-Two Histories, Qian Daizhao’s Doubts about the Book of Han, Shen Yinhan’s Annotations and Explanations of the Book of Han, Zhou Shouchang’s Corrections and Supplements to the Annotations on the Book of Han, among others, as well as reading notes such as Wang Nianshi’s New Records of Reading and Gui Fu’s Annotations. These references span over sixty-seven sources. The collation in this book is also highly meticulous, using the Jigu Ge edition as the base and referencing other editions, with arguments presented for both their strengths and weaknesses. Thus, Comprehensive Notes on the Book of Han serves as an essential resource for the study and research of Western Han history.