"Records of Minghuang·East View Qin Chronicles"

Author: (Tang) Pei Tingyu, edited and annotated by Tian Tingzhu
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Features: This book is one of the "Collected Notes on Tang and Song Historical Materials," featuring two Tang Dynasty notes. One is Miscellaneous Records of Emperor Xuanzong (two volumes, with one volume of supplements), written by Zheng Chumei of the Tang Dynasty, which records various events during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, occasionally touching on historical facts of the Shao and Dai dynasties. The content of this book is extensive, with vivid writing. It vividly depicts Emperor Xuanzong's early years of diligent governance and his ardent desire for talented officials, as well as his later neglect of state affairs and indulgence in pleasure, the rise of powerful ministers, and the jealousy of capable officials. It holds significant historical value for studying the rise and fall of the Kaiyuan and Tianbao eras. The recorded odd anecdotes and trivial matters are also valuable for reference. The other is Records Presented to the Eastern Pavilion by Pei Tingyu of late Tang. During the Dashun era of Emperor Xizong (890–91), Pei Tingyu participated in compiling the Records of Emperor Xuanzong. It had been over three or four decades since the Xuanzong era, and the peasant uprising led by Huang Chao had occurred in the meantime, leaving no calendars or diaries of the Records of Emperor Xuanzong. Relying on his childhood memories, Pei Tingyu collected events he witnessed during the Xuanzong era and compiled Records Presented to the Eastern Pavilion, which he submitted to the prime minister Du Rangneng. Records Presented to the Eastern Pavilion is divided into three volumes, recording 89 political events of the Xuanzong era. Among the miscellaneous histories of the Tang Dynasty, it is considered highly detailed, and most of its historical materials were later used in the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government and the New Book of Tang.