Chapter 6 Section 3 Three Books of the Northern Dynasties ("Wei Shu", "Northern Qi Shu", "Zhou Shu") and "Sui Shu"

"Book of Wei", written by Wei Shou of the Northern Qi Dynasty.There are 12 chapters and 14 volumes of Emperor Ji, 92 biographies and 96 volumes, and 10 chapters and 20 volumes of chronicles. The whole book has 114 chapters and 130 volumes.The chapter volumes are different because some chapters are divided into two volumes.From the first year of Emperor Daowu of the Northern Wei Dynasty (AD 386) to the eighth year of Emperor Xiaojing Wuding (AD 550), it records the history of more than 170 years from the establishment of the Northern Wei Dynasty by the Tuoba family in the Northern Dynasty until the successive demise of the Eastern Wei and Western Wei.

Wei Shou was a famous scribe in the Northern Qi Dynasty and served as a historian for a long time.Since he was 26 years old, he has participated in the compilation of the national history of the Northern Wei Dynasty and the Eastern Wei Dynasty.From the time official of the Northern Qi Dynasty to Zhongshu Ling and author Lang.In the second year of Tianbao (551 A.D.), the history of Wei Dynasty was compiled by the order of Emperor Wenxuan Gao Yang.From the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty through the Eastern Wei Dynasty to the Northern Qi Dynasty, Wei Shou participated in the compilation of history for more than 20 years.There were Fang Yanyou and others who assisted him in compiling history. Because Wei Shou's "sexual hatred surpasses himself", most of the people he used were not historical talents, and they did not play much role. The actual responsibility is still Wei Shou himself.After the first draft was completed, there were mixed reviews, causing long-term disputes within the ruling group, and some even denounced it as "filthy history".Despite the support of Gao's father and son, Wei Shou still had to make two serious revisions in the face of many strongly dissatisfied, before the "Book of Wei" was barely promulgated.

It turns out that in the late Northern Wei Dynasty, with the development of the feudal economy, the prosperity of the aristocratic families, and the intensification of internal conflicts within the ruling class, the Northern Wei Dynasty split into the Eastern Wei and the Western Wei. and Northern Zhou.The "Book of Wei" compiled by Wei under the order of the Northern Qi emperor strongly reflected the interests of the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi ruling groups.Those who belong to the group, if they are merciful in writing, they cover up and defend everything, and those who do not belong to the group or have a relatively distant relationship, "preserve the truth and record it, so as to avoid privateness", and write directly about the matter, which offends the ruling class. other faction groups.The long-term controversy about "Book of Wei" is mainly due to this, not because of Wei Shou's personal arrogance and selfish praise or criticism.This incident also shows that the power of the aristocratic family at that time was strong enough to interfere with the compilation of national history.Later, the Sui and Tang dynasties continued to work on rewriting the history of the Wei Dynasty. It was also because the Sui and Tang Dynasties inherited the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty, so they had to distinguish the authenticity from the false and strive for orthodoxy in order to safeguard the political interests of the group.However, Wei Dan's adaptation in the Sui Dynasty and Zhang Taisu's new work in the early Tang Dynasty failed to surpass the "Book of Wei" after all, and they were lost in the Northern Song Dynasty.After the mid-Tang Dynasty, with the decline of the power of the old aristocratic families, the "Book of Wei" finally managed to coexist with other histories of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and entered the list of "official histories".

"Book of Wei" is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories to record the history of minority regimes.It records the historical process of the development and prosperity of the Tuoba tribe of the Xianbei ethnic group in northern my country, the unification of the north, and the realization of feudalization and aristocratic status.The Northern Wei Dynasty is an important dynasty with great research value in Chinese history, but few historical materials have been handed down. The "Book of Wei" is the only basically complete history book on the history of the Northern Wei Dynasty, which preserves a large number of important original materials.Its style roughly imitates the history, and according to the characteristics of the times, it has been modified and innovated.The "Preface" is listed first in the part of Emperor Ji, which traces Tuobagui's ancestry to the 27th generation, and clarifies the origin of his development. This is a special arrangement unprecedented in his history. The advantage of "Wei Shu" is that the content of Zhi is relatively rich. "Shihuo Zhi" records the social and economic situation in detail. The edict of Juntian in the Northern Wei Dynasty in the ninth year of Taihe (AD 485) and Li Chong's suggestion on implementing the three-head system in the tenth year of Taihe (AD 486) are very important for the study of my country. The evolution of the land rent and taxation system has important historical value.The land equalization system in the Northern Qi, Northern Zhou, Sui and Tang Dynasties is roughly based on the Northern Wei Dynasty with minor similarities and differences. Neither the "Song Shu" nor the "Nan Qi Shu" had "Shi Huo Zhi", but Wei Shou was able to notice these important economic historical materials, which shows his historical vision.Since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, Buddhism and Taoism have prevailed, exerting a major influence on politics, society, thought, and culture.The history books of previous dynasties did not pay enough attention to this, and it was only appended to the biography of the barbarians.Wei Shou set up a special chapter of "Shi Laozhi" to discuss it, which can be described as a pioneering work.Such as the introduction of Buddhism, the grand occasion of translating scriptures and statues to seek the Dharma and building temples, the process of Emperor Taiwu destroying Dharma, and the completion of the Wuzhou Grotto Temple by Tan Yao (that is, the beginning of the Yungang Grottoes in Datong), etc., are all recorded in the annals, which are about Chinese religions. important historical material. "Guan Shi Zhi" is also newly established. The first half talks about the official system, and the second half talks about clans, that is, the origin of the surnames of the tribes ruled by the Xianbei and the changed Han names. Great convenience.This book also has rich materials on the Emperor Ji, for example, "Xiaowen Emperor Ji" describes in detail the various reform measures implemented after the capital was moved to Luoyang.Most of the imperial edicts and memorials included in the book are related to politics, and other articles are also sufficient for examining the author’s life experience, etc. However, most of the flamboyant words that were popular at that time were discarded, which shows that Wei Shou had made great efforts in selecting historical materials .

During the Southern and Northern Dynasties, the powerful families were powerful, and the society attached great importance to family genealogy. The biographies of "Wei Shu" are influenced by it, and they mostly describe the genealogy.This way of writing reflects the social reality at that time. Its advantage is that it can distinguish the family origins of Han people and Xianbei people and avoid confusion; its disadvantage is that it is cumbersome.In one volume, father, son, brother, son, grandson and in-laws are grouped together, as many as 10 to 20 people, many of whom have no real facts to record, and the facts are no different from family biography, so they have little historical value.Confined to the prejudice of the Northern Qi ruling group, this book regards the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei as orthodox, and does not establish records for the three emperors of the Western Wei. Scolding the Eastern Jin Dynasty as an usurped Jin Dynasty, and denouncing Song, Qi, and Liang as "island barbarians" are all narrow-minded and not objective and fair.

Before the Northern Song Dynasty, history books were circulated by copying.Due to limited conditions, there are many mistakes in the history of the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the "Book of Wei" is relatively incomplete, with nearly 30 volumes.During the reign of Emperor Renzong of the Song Dynasty, "Wei Shu" was corrected by Liu Yu (ban class), Liu Shu, An Tao, and Fan Zuyu.The engraved editions of later generations are all based on this Northern Song Dynasty revised edition. "Book of Northern Qi", written by Li Baiyao of Tang Dynasty.Originally named "Book of Qi", the word "Northern" was added in the Song Dynasty to distinguish it from "Book of Southern Qi" written by Xiao Zixian.There are eight volumes of Emperor Ji, 42 volumes of biographies, and 50 volumes in total.It mainly records the split of the Northern Wei Dynasty around 534 A.D., the establishment of the Eastern Wei Dynasty, the 40-year history from the Qi Dynasty to the Eastern Wei Dynasty in 550 A.D., and the demise of the Northern Qi Dynasty in 577 A.D.

Li Baiyao had few literary talents and served in the Sui and Tang Dynasties.His father Li Delin participated in the compilation of the history of the country when he was in the Northern Qi Dynasty. There were 27 volumes in the Genesis Biography, which was continued in the Sui Kaihuang Dynasty and increased to 38 volumes.In the early years of Zhenguan, Li Baiyao continued to compile the history of Qi under the order of Tang Taizong.Based on his father's old manuscript, he referred to Wang Shao's annals "Qi Zhi", collected other books, expanded and rewritten, and completed the whole book in the tenth year of Zhenguan (636 AD).

The "Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" is relatively brief and specific in its records. Although there are many false articles concealed by the rulers, it still preserves valuable original materials in terms of important historical facts.For example, the peasant uprising at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty, and some armed struggles of the people during the Eastern Wei and Northern Qi dynasties are described in detail in many biographies.In the debate between Xing Shao and Du Bi on the relationship between form and spirit, Xing Shao said: "God is in people, just like light is in candles. When the candle is exhausted, the light will be poor, and when people die, the gods will die." The point of view is clear, and it is similar to Fan Zhen's " "God's Extinction Theory" is echoing from afar.Although the author denies Xing Shao, he still objectively describes the views of both parties. "Qi [qi Qi] Mu Huai Wen Biography" records the progress of steelmaking technology at that time, which is also a valuable history of science and technology.History writers also exposed a lot of the brutality, debauchery and despicableness of the rulers of the Northern Qi Dynasty as defeated kings, which objectively helped people understand the nature of feudal rulers.The use of spoken language and vivid narrative in the book may have something to do with the absorption and adoption of the records in Wang Shao's "Qi Zhi".

"Book of the Northern Qi Dynasty" was severely incomplete during the circulation process. By the beginning of the Northern Song Dynasty, only 17 volumes of the original text survived, nearly 1/3.Since the materials on which the supplement is based were originally copied, deleted, and edited from the "Book of Northern Qi", the loss of important historical materials is not much, and the concatenation of articles is roughly considerable.According to the textual research of Qian Daxin, a scholar of the Qing Dynasty, generally speaking, most of the articles that contain comments and praises from historians, and who also call Gaozu, Shizong, Xianzu, Suzong, and Shizu temple names are the original works of Li Baiyao; the comments and praises are not complete. , also known as Shenwu, Wenxiang, Wenxuan, Xiaozhao, and Wucheng posthumous titles, all of which were supplemented by later generations.When Zhonghua Book Company recompiled the general catalog, all the volumes supplemented by later generations were marked with the word "supplement", which is more convenient for readers.In short, although this book is a more incomplete supplement, its historical value cannot be ignored.

"Book of Zhou", written by Tang Linghu Defen and others.There are eight volumes of records, 42 volumes of biographies, a total of 50 volumes, and no records. Although the "Book of Zhou" is titled with "Zhou", it actually records the history of the Western Wei Dynasty and the Northern Zhou Dynasty. It started from the split of the Eastern Wei and Western Wei in 534 AD, and ended in 581 AD when Yang Jian replaced Zhou with the Sui Dynasty, which lasted for 48 years. Linghu Defen was born in a powerful and noble family.His father, Linghuzheng, was a general in the Northern Zhou Dynasty and one of the key figures in the Yuwen regime.Linghu Defen was quite well-known in the early Tang Dynasty. He participated in the compilation of official books many times.In the fourth year of Wude (AD 621), he suggested to Tang Gaozu Li Yuan to compile the history books of Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou, and Sui Dynasties, and his opinion was adopted.In the third year of Zhenguan (629 A.D.), Defen was ordered by Emperor Taizong to edit Zhoushu, and Cen Wenwen and Cui Renshi participated in the compilation.In the tenth year of Zhenguan (AD 635), "Book of Zhou" and other historical books of the four dynasties were completed.He also participated in and presided over the compilation of the new "Book of Jin", "History of the Five Dynasties", and the national history of the Tang Dynasty and the memoirs of Taizong and Gaozong.

The feudal regime of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou was a joint rule of the Xianbei nobles headed by Yu Wentai and the northern Han landlords.The rulers of the Sui and Tang dynasties all came from this system, and the family background of the author of "Book of Zhou" was also inextricably linked to the Yuwen regime to varying degrees.Therefore, "Book of Zhou" not only tried its best to praise the Yuwen regime and highlight its historical orthodox status, but also tried every means to set up monuments for the ancestors of the ruling group in the early Tang Dynasty, embellishing them with beauty. As a result, some places violated the historical facts, or the evaluation was wrong, and some places were empty , flashy. In addition to the above-mentioned obvious shortcomings, in the main aspects, the narrative of "Book of Zhou" is still concise and concise, and the words are elegant and clean.Linghu Defen is a man with profound knowledge and a great historical vision.He has dedicated his life to compiling history, and has his own uniqueness in the collection and selection of materials, and he can pay attention to making up for the lack of history.For example, "Book of Wei" takes the Eastern Wei Dynasty as the orthodox, and omits the historical events of the Western Wei Dynasty.In the "Book of Zhou Wendi Ji", he recorded in detail the political and military events of Emperor Wen, Emperor Abandoned and Emperor Gong of the Western Wei Dynasty for 22 years with the year name of the emperor of the Western Wei Dynasty.These records are the main first-hand materials for us to study and understand the history of the Western Wei Dynasty today.Another example is the last years of Emperor Liang Yuan, the patriarchal clan Xiao Xie (cha Cha, the third son of Zhaoming Prince Xiao Tong) established the Later Liang regime, proclaimed himself emperor in Jiangling, passed on to the third generation, and lasted for 37 years, successively attached to the Northern Zhou Dynasty and the Sui Dynasty. "Liang Shu" does not contain this matter. However, "Book of Zhou" set up a biography for Xiao Ji, and attached his descendants and some ministers to the end of the biography, preserving some important historical materials about the post-Liang regime.At that time, it was in the same position as the Western Wei and Northern Zhou regimes. There were Eastern Wei and Northern Qi in the north, and Liang and Chen in the south. The rise and fall of the Zen Dynasty in politics changed with each passing year. The "Book of Zhou" recorded them one by one in this chapter, with a relatively broad vision. , so that people can understand to a certain extent the general trend of historical development throughout the country during this period.The biographical records of the characters can highlight the key points, and some valuable documents are preserved, such as the "Letter to Zhou Hongren" in "The Biography of Wang Bao", and the "Fu Jiangnan Fu" in "The Biography of Yu Xin".Some historical materials about the social and economic system at that time, such as the status of slaves, maidservants, and Hakka women, the beginning of conscription, and the emergence of the Fubing system, etc., are also scattered in the sporadic records of Ji Zhuan, although they are not systematic. But very important. Biography of Foreign Lands records the history of Turks and Jihu for the first time, and reflects the political system, product economy, local customs, court employment exchanges, road traffic and other aspects of the ethnic minorities or neighboring countries in the Northeast and Northwest. "Book of Zhou" is mainly based on the official history written by Liu Qiu, the official historian of the Western Wei Dynasty, and the 18 chapters of "Zhou Ji" written by Niu Hong, the secretary supervisor of the Sui Dynasty, as the blueprint, modified and polished, and the text is characterized by ancient elegance.Linghu Defen failed to collect and collect some shallow and vulgar historical writings at that time, so the historical materials of "Book of Zhou" are not sufficient and rich. "Book of Zhou" was incomplete in the early Song Dynasty: five volumes were completely missing, and two volumes were partially incomplete.Later generations supplemented it with Li Yanshou's "Northern History" and some historical banknotes of the Tang Dynasty.The supplementary material originally came from the "Book of Zhou". Although it has been abridged and used to fill in the gaps, there is no major loss in historical materials.The Zhonghua Book Company’s proofreading edition was carefully collated in seven editions, and the quotations from “Cefu Yuangui” supplemented some passages of text that were not missing in the early Song Dynasty but were lost later, providing readers with a relatively complete and reliable reading. "Sui Shu", written by Tang Weizheng and others.Including five volumes of Emperor Ji, 50 volumes of biographies, and 30 volumes of records, a total of 85 volumes.The biography part, starting from the first year of Emperor Wen of the Sui Dynasty Kaihuang (581 AD), down to the second year of Yining of Emperor Gong of the Sui Dynasty (618 AD), records the 38-year history of the Sui Dynasty in detail. "Sui Shu" is an official history book compiled by the public after the establishment of the History Museum in the early Tang Dynasty.Ji Zhuan and Zhi were written by different authors successively.In the third year of Zhenguan (AD 629), Tang Taizong ordered Wei Zheng and others to compile the history of the Sui Dynasty. Yan Shigu, Kong Yingda, Xu Jingzong and others participated in the compilation. In the tenth year of Zhenguan (AD 636), 55 volumes of biography were completed.Among them, the preface and theory were all written by Wei Zheng.People in the Tang Dynasty called it "History of the Five Dynasties" together with "Liang Shu", "Chen Shu", "Northern Qi Shu" and "Zhou Shu" completed at the same time.There are no ambitions in the history of the five dynasties.In the fifteenth year of Zhenguan (AD 641), Yu Zhining, Li Chunfeng, Wei Anren, Li Yanshou, etc. were ordered to continue to compile historical records.At first, it was supervised by Linghu Defen. In the third year of Yonghui (652 A.D.), it was changed to be supervised by Changsun Wuji. In the first year of Xianqing (656 A.D.), it was compiled into 30 volumes of ten annals, led by Changsun Wuji.Although these 10 chronicles were compiled into the "Sui Shu" and called "Sui Shu" Ten Chronicles", they can actually be circulated separately, and they are commonly called "Five Dynasties History Chronicles", which is in line with the history of the Five Dynasties compiled in the early Tang Dynasty.However, it describes the Sui Dynasty in more detail. For Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou, etc., it lists the names of dynasties. For the Sui Dynasty, it is often only called the title of emperor or year. It can be seen that the Sui Dynasty was the main one when it was compiled. Among the several official history books in the early Tang Dynasty, "Sui Shu" is better written, with concise narrative and rigorous style.When Wei Zheng presided over the compilation of the biography of "Book of Sui", he particularly emphasized the idea of ​​taking history as a mirror, hoping that Tang Taizong could "take Sui as a mirror, so that survival and death can be ruled."The Emperor Ji part records the historical events of Emperor Wen, Emperor Yang, and Emperor Gong in detail, especially the detailed description of Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty's large-scale construction, three trips to the Jiangdu, profligate waste, and a decadent life of debauchery and brutality. There are also relatively detailed and truthful records of the specific circumstances of the peasant uprising at the end of the period, objectively revealing the profound reasons for the demise of the Sui Dynasty, and preserving a large number of valuable historical materials.There are many characters and rich information in the biographies.For example, the "Biography of the Four Sons of Wen" describes the indulgence of the four sons of Emperor Wen, who were arrogant, extravagant, and vying for power and profit. "Lin Xiao Gong Biography" recorded "Qi [Qi Qi] Artifact Map" and "Earthquake Instruments", etc., which preserved precious historical materials.There are many biographies with such important value. The ten annals of "Sui Shu" narrate the laws and regulations of the Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou, and Sui Dynasties, sometimes summarizing the entire Southern and Northern Dynasties, and even dating back to the Han and Wei Dynasties, and the most detailed descriptions of the Sui Dynasty are of high academic value , has always been respected by scholars. "Shihuo Zhi" records the system of occupying labor force according to official rank, class service system and currency system at that time since the Eastern Jin Dynasty. "Criminal Law Records" records the compilation of law books in Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou, Sui and Five Dynasties and the situation of royal legislation and destruction of laws, which reflects some characteristics of feudal despotism.The "Geographic Records" written by Yan Shigu is based on the territory of Daye in the fifth year of the Sui Dynasty. It records the household registration of counties and counties across the country, the flow of rivers and canals, the situation of mountains and rivers, the history of construction, the customs and products of various places, and the traffic conditions at home and abroad, etc. . "Lv Li Zhi" and "Tian Wen Zhi" were written by the famous astronomy and calendar scientist Li Chunfeng, recording the achievements and schools of famous astronomers and calendar scholars since the Wei and Jin Dynasties, especially during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and making a summary comparison and comment .The mathematician Zu Chongzhi's research on pi, the calendar scientist Zhang Zixin and Liu Zhuo's discussion on the law of "daily profit and contraction", and the evolution of the weights and measures system in the past dynasties since the Han and Wei dynasties are all recorded in detail in the annals . "Music History" records the situation of music and dance art exchanges in various places and at home and abroad during the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and explains the historical conditions for the emergence of "Yan Yue" in the Sui and Tang Dynasties. "Jingji Zhi" is based on the catalog of the collection of Guanwendian in the Eastern Capital of the Sui Dynasty. It divides all books into four parts: Jing, Shi, Zi, and Ji.There are a total of 45 small prefaces after each category and major prefaces after each department, which summarize the academic development of various disciplines.It is another general catalog of ancient literature after "Hanshu·Yiwenzhi", which summarizes the existence and death of Chinese books and the evolution of academics in the 600 years from Han to Sui. It is a brilliant masterpiece of ancient bibliography.The four-part taxonomy it summarized had a great influence on later generations, and it was basically followed unchanged until the Qing Dynasty. Although the "Sui Shu" is of high quality, there are still some articles in defense that are taboo for the rulers, such as the usurpation of Emperor Wen and the murder of Emperor Yangdi, which are not included in the book.As for the faults such as inaccurate chronology, inconsistencies in records, and improper compilation, there are also problems.The proofreading version of Zhonghua Book Company is currently the best current version, with detailed collation and meticulous punctuation, making it easy to read.