Twenty-Four Histories

The Twenty-Four Histories (Chinese: 二十四史; pinyin: Èrshísì Shǐ; Wade–Giles: Erh-shih-szu shih), also known as the Orthodox Histories (Chinese: 正史; pinyin: Zhèngshǐ; Wade–Giles: Chêng4shih3), are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century.

Twenty-Four Histories
Chinese二十四史

The Han dynasty official Sima Qian established many of the conventions of the genre, but the form was not fixed until much later. Starting with the Tang dynasty, each dynasty established an official office to write the history of its predecessor using official court records, partly in order to establish its own link to the earliest times. As fixed and edited in the Qing dynasty, the whole set contains 3,213 volumes and about 40 million words. It is considered one of the most important sources on Chinese history and culture.[1]

The title "Twenty-Four Histories" dates from 1775, which was the 40th year in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. This was when the last volume, the History of Ming, was reworked and a complete set of the histories was produced.

Collection
Title Corresponding dynasty Main author Year of compilation Notes
Records of the Grand Historian
史記		 The period from the Yellow Emperor to the Emperor Wu of Han Sima Qian
(Han dynasty)		 91 BC Part of the Early Four Historiographies (前四史)
Book of Han
漢書		 Western Han
Xin dynasty		 Ban Gu
(Han dynasty)		 82 AD Part of the Early Four Historiographies (前四史)
Records of the Three Kingdoms
三國志		 Cao Wei
Shu Han
Eastern Wu		 Chen Shou
(Jin dynasty)		 289 AD Part of the Early Four Historiographies (前四史). Greatly expanded by later annotation
Book of the Later Han
後漢書		 Eastern Han Fan Ye
(Liu Song)		 445 AD Part of the Early Four Historiographies (前四史)[2]
Book of Song
宋書		 Liu Song Shen Yue
(Liang dynasty)		 488
Book of Southern Qi
南齊書		 Southern Qi Xiao Zixian
(Liang dynasty)		 537
Book of Wei
魏書		 Northern Wei
Eastern Wei		 Wei Shou
(Northern Qi)		 554
Book of Liang
梁書		 Liang dynasty Yao Silian
(Tang dynasty)		 636 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Book of Chen
陳書		 Chen dynasty Yao Silian
(Tang dynasty)		 636 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Book of Northern Qi
北齊書		 Northern Qi Li Baiyao
(Tang dynasty)		 636 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Book of Zhou
周書		 Western Wei
Northern Zhou		 Linghu Defen
(Tang dynasty)		 636 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Book of Sui
隋書		 Sui dynasty Wei Zheng
(Tang dynasty)		 636 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Book of Jin
晉書		 Western Jin
Eastern Jin		 Fang Xuanling
(Tang dynasty)		 648 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
History of the Southern Dynasties
南史		 Liu Song
Southern Qi
Liang dynasty
Chen dynasty		 Li Yanshou
(Tang dynasty)		 659 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
History of the Northern Dynasties
北史		 Northern Wei
Eastern Wei
Western Wei
Northern Qi
Northern Zhou
Sui dynasty		 Li Yanshou
(Tang dynasty)		 659 Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (唐初八史)
Old Book of Tang
舊唐書		 Tang dynasty Liu Xu
(Later Jin)		 945
Old History of the Five Dynasties
舊五代史		 Later Liang
Later Tang
Later Jin
Later Han
Later Zhou		 Xue Juzheng
(Song dynasty)		 974
Historical Records of the Five Dynasties
五代史記		 Later Liang
Later Tang
Later Jin
Later Han
Later Zhou		 Ouyang Xiu
(Song dynasty)		 1053 Also called "New History of the Five Dynasties" (新五代史)
New Book of Tang
新唐書		 Tang dynasty Ouyang Xiu
(Song dynasty)		 1060
History of Liao
遼史		 Liao dynasty
Western Liao		 Toqto'a
(Yuan dynasty)		 1343 Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (元末三史)[3]
History of Jin
金史		 Jin dynasty Toqto'a
(Yuan dynasty)		 1345 Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (元末三史)
History of Song
宋史		 Northern Song
Southern Song		 Toqto'a
(Yuan dynasty)		 1345 Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (元末三史)
History of Yuan
元史		 Yuan dynasty Song Lian
(Ming dynasty)		 1370
History of Ming
明史		 Ming dynasty Zhang Tingyu
(Qing dynasty)		 1739

Inheritance works

These works were begun by one historian and completed by an heir, usually of the next generation.

There were attempts at producing new traditional histories after the fall of the Qing dynasty, but they either never gained widespread acceptance as part of the official historical canon or they remain unfinished.

Title Corresponding dynasty Main author Year of compilation Notes
New History of Yuan
新元史		 Yuan dynasty Ke Shaomin
(Republic of China)		 1920 Part of the Twenty-Five Histories (二十五史)
Draft History of Qing
清史稿		 Qing dynasty Zhao Erxun
(Republic of China)		 1927

Modern attempts at creating the official Qing history

In 1961, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of China (ROC), the ROC government in Taiwan published the History of Qing, adding 21 supplementary chapters to the Draft History of Qing and revising many existing chapters to denounce the People's Republic of China (PRC) as an illegitimate, impostor regime. It also removed passages that were derogatory towards the Xinhai Revolution.[4] This edition has not been widely accepted as the official Qing history because it is recognized that it was a rushed job motivated by political objectives. It does not correct most of the errors known to exist in the Draft History of Qing.[5]

An additional project, attempting to write a New History of Qing incorporating new materials and improvements in historiography, lasted from 1988 to 2000. Only 33 chapters out of the projected 500 were published.[5] This project was later abandoned following the rise of the Pan-Green Coalition, which sees Taiwan as a distinct entity from Mainland China, both culturally and politically. As such, it is argued that it is not the duty of the Taiwanese regime to compile the Qing history.

In 1961, the PRC also attempted to complete the Qing history, but historians were prevented from doing so against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution.[6]

In 2002, the PRC once again announced that it would complete the History of Qing.[7] The project was approved in 2003,[8] and put under the leadership of historian Dai Yi.[9] Initially planned to be completed in 10 years,[10] the project suffered multiple delays, pushing completion of the first draft to 2016.[11] Chinese Social Sciences Today reported in April 2020 that the project's results were being reviewed.[12]

Modern editions

In China, the Zhonghua Book Company (Zhonghua Shuju) have edited a number of these histories. They have been collated, edited, and punctuated by Chinese specialists.[13]

From 1991 to 2003, it was translated from Classical Chinese into modern written vernacular Chinese, by Xu Jialu and other scholars.[14]

Translations

One of the Twenty-Four Histories is in the process of being fully translated into English: Records of the Grand Historian by William Nienhauser, in nine volumes.[15]

In Korean and Vietnamese, only the Records has been translated. Most of the histories have been translated into Japanese.

See also

References

Citations
  1. Ch 49, "Standard Histories," in Endymion Wilkinson. Chinese History: A New Manual. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series, 2012). ISBN 9780674067158. Also see "Standard Histories" link to the Googlebook of the 2000 edition of Wilkinson.
  2. Hill, John E. (2009) Through the Jade Gate to Rome: A Study of the Silk Routes during the Later Han Dynasty, 1st to 2nd Centuries CE. BookSurge, Charleston, South Carolina. ISBN 978-1-4392-2134-1.
  3. Xu Elina-Qian, p. 23.
  4. 台灣版《清史》一年速成 筆墨官司幾上幾下. big5.huaxia.com (in Chinese). Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  5. Chen, Hsi-yuan (2004). "Last chapter unfinished: The making of the official Qing History and the crisis of Traditional Chinese Historiography". Historiography East and West. 2 (2): 173–204. doi:10.1163/157018606779068306. ISSN 1570-1867. S2CID 153377177.
  6. Wilkinson, Endymion (2012). Chinese history: a new manual. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Harvard University Asia Center. pp. 834–5. ISBN 978-0674067158.
  7. Huáiràng, Yuè (3 April 2019). 新修《清史》已进入稿件通读阶段，预计今年出版问世. Péngpài Xīnwén 澎湃新闻 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 12 April 2019.
  8. Mao, Liping; Ma, Zhao (2012). ""Writing History in the Digital Age": The New Qing History Project and the Digitization of Qing Archives". History Compass. 10 (5): 367–374. doi:10.1111/j.1478-0542.2012.00841.x.
  9. Chéng, Chóngdé (3 January 2021). 戴逸先生与清史纂修前的准备工作. Guangming 光明 (in Chinese).
  10. 中新社网站 (26 August 2003). 两岸学者聚京共商清史纂修大计 预计10年完成. 新浪军事 (in Chinese).
  11. Rèn, Mǐn (18 December 2013). Sòng, Yǔchéng (ed.). "Guójiā Qīngshǐ Biānzuǎn Gōngchéng yǐ wánchéng chūgǎo" 国家清史编纂工程已完成初稿 [The first draft of the National Qing History Compilation Project has been completed]. Běijīng Xīnwén 北京新闻 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 19 December 2013.
  12. Guo, Fei (21 April 2020). Ma, Yuhong (ed.). "Dai Yi speaks on Qing history national compilation project". Chinese Social Sciences Today. Archived from the original on 14 September 2021.
  13. Xu Elina-Qian, p. 19.
  14. "二十四史全译 - 图书".
  15. The Grand Scribe's Records (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1994- )

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