Tang and Song Historical Records: Notes on Kui and Xin

Author: Zhou Mi (Song Dynasty)
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Features: This book is one of the "Collected Historical Notes of the Tang and Song Dynasties," a historical record by Zhou Mi (1232–1298), a Song-Yuan dynasty poet and scholar. After the fall of the Song Dynasty, Zhou Mi resided in Kuixin Street, Hangzhou, and wrote books to express his grievances, hence the name of this book. The book is divided into four parts: Preface, Postscript, Continuation, and Appendix, totaling 481 entries, making it one of the most extensive of its kind among Song Dynasty historical notes. The content is vast, with particular attention drawn to the author's extensive records of soldiers who sacrificed for their country, officials who upheld national integrity, and the actions of ethnic minority rulers and traitors, all expressing his grief for the lost nation through his writings. Additionally, the book documents many anecdotes, institutional details, urban landmarks, art and calligraphy, medical practices, calendars, local customs, and natural phenomena that are not found in official histories, making it "far from being comparable to the works of ordinary novelists."