Zizhi Tongjian Stories Complete Collection (Illustrated Edition) (Complete Four Volumes)

Author: Yin Liyun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-06-01
Features: The Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government) comprises 294 volumes and approximately 4 million words. Transforming such a monumental work into a narrative form is undoubtedly challenging. Since the Zizhi Tongjian narrates events chronologically by year, a single incident may be scattered across decades, requiring readers to consult multiple volumes to understand its complete context. The Southern Song Dynasty scholar Yuan Shu wrote Zizhi Tongjian Jishi Benmo (Comprehensive Mirror: Annals of Events), summarizing important historical events from the Zizhi Tongjian into 239 specialized chapters to address the flaws of its chronological narrative. However, this proved counterproductive, as its complexity did not differ from the original Zizhi Tongjian. Consequently, reading it was less enjoyable than reading the Zizhi Tongjian. The term "Complete Collection" in The Complete Collection of Zizhi Tongjian Stories carries two meanings. First, all stories from the Zizhi Tongjian are included. Second, the combined stories must reflect the entirety of the Zizhi Tongjian. Based on this principle, we have extracted 1,580 stories from the Zizhi Tongjian, with each story focusing on a single event and ranging in length from a few hundred to over two thousand words. In this way, readers can easily grasp the essence of the Zizhi Tongjian by reading a few passages after meals. This set includes four volumes: The Complete Collection of Zizhi Tongjian Stories 1, The Complete Collection of Zizhi Tongjian Stories 2, The Complete Collection of Zizhi Tongjian Stories 3, and The Complete Collection of Zizhi Tongjian Stories 4.