Yan Shigu () (581–645), formal name Yan Zhou (), but went by the

courtesy name A courtesy name (), also known as a style name, is a name bestowed upon one at adulthood in addition to one's given name. This practice is a tradition in the East Asian cultural sphere, including China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.Ulrich Theobald ...

of Shigu, was a famous

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...

historian,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. It is called a scientific study because it entails a comprehensive, systematic, objective, and precise analysis of all aspects of language, particularly its nature and structure. Linguis ...

, politician, and writer of 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 ...

Biography

Yan was born in Wannian (, in modern

Xi'an, Shaanxi Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqing ...

). His ancestors were originally from Langya (, in modern Linyi, Shandong). Yan's grandfather

Yan Zhitui Yan Zhitui (, 531–591) courtesy name Jie () was a Chinese calligrapher, painter, musician, writer, philosopher and politician who served four different Chinese states during the late Northern and Southern dynasties: the Liang Dynasty in southe ...

was an official under the

Northern Qi Qi, known as the Northern Qi (), Later Qi (後齊) or Gao Qi (高齊) in historiography, was a Chinese imperial dynasty and one of the Northern dynasties during the Northern and Southern dynasties era. It ruled the eastern part of northern China ...

. After the fall of Northern Qi, Zhitui became an official of the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern dynasties of China's Northern and Southern dynasties period, it succeeded the Western Wei dynasty and ...

, and moved his family to

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben basin within present-day ce ...

. His son Yan Silu (), Yan's father, was also an official, and served in the residence of

Li Shimin Emperor Taizong of Tang (28January 59810July 649), previously Prince of Qin, personal name Li Shimin, was the second emperor of the Tang dynasty of China, ruling from 626 to 649. He is traditionally regarded as a co-founder of the dynasty ...

. Yan was well-read during his youth and was familiar with philology. Recommended by Li Gang (), he was given a post at Anyang county (now

Xiangyang Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Hubei province, China and the second largest city in Hubei by population. It was known as Xiangfan from 1950 to 2010. The Han River runs through Xiangyang's centre and divides the city no ...

, Hubei) during the reign of

Emperor Wen of Sui The Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), alias Narayana () deriving from Buddhist terms, was the founder and the first emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. The ''Book of ...

. One of his father's old friends, Xue Daoheng (), was impressed by Yan's talent, and often asked for his comments on his new works. For some reason, Yan Shigu was later dismissed, and took up residence at

Chang'an Chang'an (; ) is the traditional name of Xi'an. The site had been settled since Neolithic times, during which the Yangshao culture was established in Banpo, in the city's suburbs. Furthermore, in the northern vicinity of modern Xi'an, Qin Shi ...

. During the next ten years he lived in poverty and taught for a living. He was later granted several important official posts during 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 ...

. Yan was promoted when Li Shimin ascended the throne, but resumed his duty after his mother's funeral. After years of struggle, Yan was then demoted, but was subsequently ordered to revise the ''

Five Classics The Four Books and Five Classics () are the authoritative books of Confucianism, written in China before 300 BCE. The Four Books and the Five Classics are the most important classics of Chinese Confucianism. Four Books The Four Books () are C ...

'' in the library. He wrote commentaries on several

Chinese classic texts Chinese classic texts or canonical texts () or simply dianji (典籍) refers to the Chinese texts which originated before the imperial unification by the Qin dynasty in 221 BC, particularly the "Four Books and Five Classics" of the Neo-Confucian ...

such as the ''

Shiji ''Records of the Grand Historian'', also known by its Chinese name ''Shiji'', is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The ''Records'' was written in the early 1st century by the ancient Chinese hist ...

'' and ''

Hanshu The ''Book of Han'' or ''History of the Former Han'' (Qián Hàn Shū,《前汉书》) is a history of China finished in 111AD, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. I ...

''. According to ''

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

'', he died on the road during an expedition to

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC–668 AD) ( ) also called Goryeo (), was a Korean kingdom located in the northern and central parts of the Korean Peninsula and the southern and central parts of Northeast China. At its peak of power, Goguryeo controlled most ...

in 645.

Ancestors and descendants

Yan Zhitui's father was Yan Xie (颜协; 498 - 539According to Yan Xie's biography in ''Book of Liang'', he was 42 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. (大同五年，卒，时年四十二。) ''Liang Shu'', vol.50. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 498.). Yan Xie's father was

Yan Jianyuan Emperor He of Southern Qi () (488–2 May 502; r. 14 April 501– 20 April 502), personal name Xiao Baorong (), courtesy name Zhizhao (), was the last emperor of the Chinese Southern Qi dynasty. He was put on the throne by the generals Xiao Yingzh ...

. Yan Yuansun (顏元孫, the author of ''

Ganlu Zishu ''Ganlu Zishu'' () is a Chinese orthography dictionary of the Tang Dynasty. The first surviving orthographical dictionary for the regular script, it was authored by Yan Yuansun (顏元孫), a descendant of the famous scholar Yan Shigu. It is rou ...

'') was Yan Shigu's descendant.

References

* ''

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 ...

'', vol. 7

* ''

'', vol. 19

External links

Author List for Yan Shigu
at The Ricca Institute Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Shigu 581 births 645 deaths Chinese Confucianists Historians from Shaanxi Linguists from China Medieval linguists Politicians from Xi'an Tang dynasty historians Writers from Xi'an Chinese classicists