Book of Han (Complete 12 Volumes)

Author: Ban Gu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2000-01-01
Features: The Book of Han is a monumental dynastic history in the style of annals and biographies. It was compiled by Ban Biao, Ban Gu, Ban Zhao, and Ma Xuyi, with a grand and elegant literary style, accurate accounts, and impartial perspectives. It is renowned alongside the Records of the Grand Historian, the History of the Later Han, and the Records of the Three Kingdoms as the "Four Great Histories," and has long been esteemed by historians. The continuity of Chinese culture over 5,000 years is reflected in the unbroken series of the Twenty-Four Histories, with each dynasty's official history following the Book of Han's format, demonstrating its significance. Countless allusions and scholarly works originate from it. Without reading the Book of Han, one cannot appreciate its charm. The Book of Han comprises 120 volumes, consisting of twelve chronicles, eight tables, ten treatises, and seventy biographies. It covers events from Emperor Gaozu of Han to Wang Mang, focusing solely on the Western Han Dynasty, hence its designation as a dynastic history (though some tables and treatises, like the Table of Figures from Antiquity to the Present, include figures from before the Han). The practice of writing dynastic histories began with Ban Gu, and subsequent dynasties' official histories followed the Book of Han's structure. It encompasses everything from emperors and generals to scholars and recluses, as well as topics ranging from astronomy and economics to government officials and local counties.