Book of Northern Qi (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Li Baiyao
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-07-01
Features: The Book of Northern Qi, a 50-volume work, comprising 8 volumes of chronicles and 42 volumes of biographies, written by Li Baiyao of the Tang Dynasty. In the late years of the Northern Wei Dynasty, a massive wave of rebellion broke out in the Northern Six Towns. Later, Gao Huan, who was born as a low-ranking military official in Huai xu Town, gained leadership over over 200,000 Xianbei people and controlled the Northern Wei court. In 534 AD, Emperor Xiaowu of Northern Wei, Yuan Xiu, was forced to flee west to Chang'an, and Gao Huan then established Emperor Xiaojing, Yuan Shanyan, and moved the capital to Ye, marking the Eastern Wei Dynasty. In 550 AD, Gao Huan's son, Gao Yang, deposed Emperor Xiaojing and established the Northern Qi. The Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties ruled territories as far south as the Yangtze River, engaging in successive conflicts with the Liang and Chen dynasties, while to the west, they bordered the Western Wei and Northern Zhou dynasties in modern-day Shanxi, Henan, and Hubei. In 577 AD, the Northern Qi was conquered by the Northern Zhou. The Book of Northern Qi was originally titled The Book of Qi, and the addition of "Northern" came during the Song Dynasty to form its current name. Although it primarily records the history of the Northern Qi, it actually covers about 80 years of history from Gao Huan's uprising to the fall of the Northern Qi, focusing on the rise and fall of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties. Li Baiyao (565–648 AD), styled Chonggui, was a native of Anping in Dingzhou (now Anping, Hebei). He came from a family of officials. From a young age, Li Baiyao was studious and extensively read classical texts. In the early Sui Dynasty, he served as a Prince Imperial Attendant and inherited his father's title as Duke of Anping. He passed away in the 22nd year of the Zhenguan era (648 AD) at the age of 84. During the Northern Qi regime, internal conflicts between cousins and brothers of the imperial family led to this short-lived 20-year dynasty having six emperors. The Book of Northern Qi contains extensive accounts of power struggles among feudal rulers. In the process of transmission, The Book of Northern Qi suffered severe damage, with only 17 volumes remaining in their original form, while the rest were supplemented by later scholars using works such as The Book of Northern Dynasties. This has significantly diminished the value of The Book of Northern Qi. However, even in its current state, it still serves as a valuable historical record for understanding the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties.