Chao Ye Qian Zai, Sui Tang Jia Hua

Author: Zhang Jiao (Tang Dynasty)
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-05-01
Features: Liu Su's Sui-Tang Jiahua is not recorded in the Old Book of Tang or the New Book of Tang's Bibliography of Arts and Literature. In the Direct Records of the Zhiqi Shulu by Chen Zhenzun of the Southern Song Dynasty, it was listed in the category of Novelists as Sui-Tang Jiahua, written by Liu Su. The Bibliography of Arts and Literature in the History of Song Dynasty also records Sui-Tang Jiahua, one volume, placed between Liu Su's biography and the category of Novelists. The existing Gu Family's Wenfang Novel edition, based on the Song Dynasty version, has characters like "zhen" and "gou" with strokes omitted, divided into three volumes: upper, middle, and lower. There is also the Jigutang Congke edition, which is nearly identical to the Gu Family edition, suggesting a common origin. Other versions include the Lidai Xiaoshi and Tang People's Collection, which are unnumbered and have fewer entries.
Liu Su, styled Dingqing, was the son of the historian Liu Zhiji, and his name is mentioned alongside Liu Ziyuan in the Biographies of Liu in the New Book of Tang. The biography states that he wrote National Chronicle, which was recorded in the Bibliography of Arts and Literature of the New Book of Tang under the category of Miscellaneous Biographies (Volume E). The Bibliography also records three volumes of Biographies under the category of Novelists (Volume B), which should be a shortened form of National Chronicle. This book is cited in Shao Bo's Record of Shao's Observations in Henan, Volume 30, indicating that the name National Chronicle was already in use in the Northern Song Dynasty. Additionally, when Ma Guang compiled the Zizhi Tongjian, he adopted Liu Su's novels, not only quoting the original text of the novels in his annotations but also including some Tang Dynasty historical facts in the main text of the Tongjian that were already present in the current edition of Sui-Tang Jiahua.