The ''New Book of Tang'', generally translated as the "New History of the Tang" or "New Tang History", is a work of official history covering the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the rest ...

, led by

Ouyang Xiu Ouyang Xiu (; 1007 – 1072 CE), courtesy name Yongshu, also known by his art names Zuiweng () and Liu Yi Jushi (), was a Chinese historian, calligrapher, epigrapher, essayist, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a renowned writer a ...

and

Song Qi Song Qi (; 998–1061), courtesy name Zijing (子京), was a Chinese essayist, historian, politician, and poet of the Northern Song dynasty. Imperial advisor Song was a Grand Councilor in the Imperial Chinese court. In this role, he was called ...

. It was originally simply called the ''Tangshu'' (Book of Tang) until the 18th century.

History

In Chinese history, it was customary for dynasties to compile histories of their immediate predecessor as a means of cementing their own legitimacy. As a result, during the

Later Jin Later Jin may refer to two states in imperial China: * Later Jin (Five Dynasties) (後晉; 936–947), one of the Five Dynasties * Later Jin (1616–1636) (後金; 1616–1636), precursor to the Qing dynasty See also * Jin (disambiguation) Jin ...

dynasty of the

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period (), from 907 to 979, was an era of political upheaval and division in 10th-century Imperial China. Five dynastic states quickly succeeded one another in the Central Plain, and more than a dozen conc ...

, a history of the preceding Tang dynasty, the ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'' () had already been compiled. In 1044, however,

Emperor Renzong of Song Emperor Renzong of Song (30 May 1010 – 30 April 1063), personal name Zhao Zhen, was the fourth emperor of the Song dynasty of China. He reigned for about 41 years from 1022 to his death in 1063, and was the longest reigning Song dynasty empe ...

ordered a new compilation of Tang history, based on his belief that the original ''Old Book of Tang'' lacked organization and clarity. The process took 17 years, being finally completed in 1060.

The ''New Book of Tang'' differed dramatically from the older version in its organization and contents, in part due to the literary and philosophical inclinations of its chief compilers.

frequently invoked the principle of reason in evaluating historical accounts, and purged all accounts containing elements of myth or superstition, thereby dramatically shortening many of the biographies of emperors and major figures. In contrast, the ''New Book of Tang'' included several new sections of more practical interest to Tang history. These included a much expanded series of Treatises (), including topics on the horse trade with

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and military affairs, and a table of the bureaucratic hierarchy of the Tang administration which was missing from the old ''Old Book of Tang''. Another feature which was revived was the use of "tables" (), annalistic tables of events and successions which included not just the emperors themselves but also chancellors and

jiedushi The ''jiedushi'' (), or jiedu, was a title for regional military governors in China which was established in the Tang dynasty and abolished in the Yuan dynasty. The post of ''jiedushi'' has been translated as "military commissioner", "legate", ...

. The style of prose in the ''New Book'' also differed, due to Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi being both admirers of the simplified, 'ancient' prose style of Tang scholars such as

Han Yu Han Yu (; 76825 December 824), courtesy name Tuizhi (), and commonly known by his posthumous name Han Wengong (韓文公), was a Chinese essayist, poet, philosopher, and politician during the Tang dynasty who significantly influenced the devel ...

, rather than the flowery prose style found in official Tang documents. This led them to change the original wordings in the documents that they quoted in the book. However, in the reduction, the direct use of Tang court records was lost, some reduced passages were unclear, and many errors were introduced in attempting to find more 'ancient' words to rephrase the Tang originals.Endymion Wilkinson. '' Chinese History: A New Manual.'' (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Asia Center, Harvard-Yenching Institute Monograph Series New Edition; Second, Revised printing March 2013: ), 737.

Annals

The annals of the Tang emperors are covered in volumes 1–10. Wilkinson notes that the annals in the New Book of Tang are considerably shorter than the ''

''.

Treatises

The treatises are contained in volumes 11 through 60. As noted above the treatises are greatly expanded compared with the ''

''. The section on Rites and Music () is the largest occupying 12 volumes (11-22). The ''New Book of Tang'' was the first of the standard histories to include a treatise on selecting and appointing officials (). This included a description of the examination system, which had become an increasingly important aspect of recruiting officials in the Tang, especially after 780.

Tables

The tables are contained in volumes 61–75.

Biographies

Four biographies of women appear in this new book that were not present in the first ''

''. The women kill or maim themselves in horrible ways, and represent examples of Tang dynasty women that were intended to deter contemporary readers from extreme behavior. For example, Woman Lu gouges her own eye out to assure her ailing husband that there will be no second man after him. Biographies of 35 overly filial and fraternal men are also included in the work, though these men do not resort to the extremes of female mutilation found in the female biographies.

References

Citations

Sources

; Works cited * *

External links

Chronicles of the Chinese Dynasties
Twitchett, ''Official History under the T'ang'', pp. 19119–236.

Chinese text with matching English vocabulary {{DEFAULTSORT:New Book Of Tang Twenty-Four Histories 11th-century Chinese books 11th-century history books Historiography of China History books about the Tang dynasty Song dynasty literature