Zi ji tun jian ( Chinese trad. 資治通鑑 , ex. 资治通鉴 , pinyin : Zīzhì Tōngjiàn , pall .: Zi ji tun jian , “An all-pervasive mirror that helps control”) is a chronicle written by Sima Guang , released in 1084 . By order of Emperor Yingzong (Song Dynasty) in 1065, the great historian Sima Guang (1019–1086) led a working group, which also included Liu Shu, Liu Bang, and Fang Zuyu [1] on compiling the universal history of China. The work required 19 years [1] , and only in 1084 the work was presented to the next emperor Shen-zong . Zi Zhi Tun Jian covers the period of Chinese history from 403 BC. e. to 959 A.D. e., describing the rule of 16 dynasties for 1400 years [1] . The work of more than 3 million characters is collected in 294 volumes ( 巻 ).
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Content
Text Structure
The main text of ' Zi Zhi Tun Jian' consists of 294 scrolls ( juan ) ( 巻 ), in chronological order from the Period of the Battle of the Kingdoms to the Age of the Five Dynasties . Syma Guan owns a significant part of the work in almost every section, he collected events, prepared the text and published.
Sima Guan somewhat departed from the traditional forms of historiography. Since the history of Shi Ji, Sima Qian for more than 1000 years, historians have shared the annals ( 紀 ) of rulers and biographies of prominent officials. Sima Guang adhered to a strictly chronological structure, which turned out to be more convenient for analysis and was used by subsequent historians. " [2]
294 juan covered 11 periods of Chinese history (the Period of the Battle of the Kingdoms , the Qin Dynasty , the Western Han , the Eastern Han, the Age of the Three Kingdoms , the Jin (265-420) and Sixteen barbarian states , the Southern and Northern Dynasties , the Sui Dynasty , the Tang Dynasty and the Five Dynasty . This work has become one of the largest historical treatises.
Development and Comments
Contents
294 volumes correspond to the following dynasties and periods:
- 5 volumes - Zhou Dynasty (1046-256 BC)
- 3 volumes - Qin Dynasty (221-207 BC)
- 60 volumes - Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 CE)
- 10 volumes - Wei (Three Kingdoms) (220-265)
- 40 volumes - Jin (265-420)
- 16 volumes - Liu Song (420-479)
- 10 volumes - South Qi (479-502)
- 22 volumes - Liang Dynasty (502-557)
- 10 volumes - Chen Dynasty (557-589)
- 8 volumes - Sui Dynasty (589-618 CE)
- 81 volumes - Tang Dynasty (618-907)
- 6 volumes- Late Liang (907—923)
- 8 volumes - Late Tan (923-936)
- 6 volumes - Late Jin (936–947)
- 4 volumes - Late Han (947–950)
- 5 volumes - The Late Zhou (951-960)
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 Xu Elina-Qian, p.20
- ↑ Wilkinson (2000: 499)
Literature
- Chen, Guangchong, "Zizhi Tongjian" ("Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government") . Encyclopedia of China (Chinese History Edition), 1st ed.
- Bo Yang. Modern Chinese Edition of Zizhi Tongjian . Taipei: Yuan-Liou Publishing Co. Ltd, vol. 1 ISBN 957-32-0795-8 to vol. 72 ISBN 957-32-1810-0 .
- De Crespigny, Rafe. (1973). "Universal Histories," in Essays on the Sources for Chinese History , Donald D. Leslie, Colin Mackerras, Wang Gungwu, eds., Columbia: University of South Carolina Press, pp. 64–70.
- Ji xiao-bin. (2003). "Mirror for Government: Ssu-ma Kuang's Thought on Politics and Government in Tzu-chih t'ung-chien ," in The New and the Multiple , Thomas HC Lee, ed. Hong Kong: Chinese University Press, pp. 1–32.
- Partington, James Riddick (1960). A History of Greek Fire and Gunpowder . Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd.
- Wilkinson, Endymion. 2000. Chinese History: a manual . Revised and enlarged ed. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center. ISBN 0-674-00249-0
- Yap, Joseph P. (2009). Wars With The Xiongnu, A Translation from Zizhi tongjian . AuthorHouse, Bloomington, Indiana, USA ISBN 978-1-4490-0604-4 .
External links
- Zizhi Tongjian "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"
- Xu Elina-Qian, 2.1 Introduction to the Sources on the Pre-dynastic Khitan (pp. 19–23) The Zizhi Tongjian, p. 20
- Zizhi Tongjian (original text in Guoxue)