Book of Tang
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| Book of Tang | |
|---|---|
| Name | Book of Tang |
| Native name | 舊唐書 |
| Author | Liu Xu et al. |
| Country | Tang dynasty / Later Jin |
| Language | Classical Chinese |
| Subject | History of the Tang dynasty |
| Pub date | 945–946 CE |
Book of Tang is a 10th-century official dynastic history covering the Tang dynasty from 618 to 907. Compiled under the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), the work joins the Twenty-Four Histories alongside other official histories such as the Book of Sui and the Old Book of Tang's successor, influencing later historiography like the New History of the Five Dynasties and the Zizhi Tongjian. Its compilation involved figures tied to the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), Later Han (China), and the imperial archives of the Tang dynasty capital Chang'an.
Background and Composition
The work was commissioned during the politically turbulent period after the fall of the Tang dynasty and amid the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, when courts such as Later Jin (Five Dynasties), Later Han (Five Dynasties), and officials connected to Shi Jingtang and Li Siyuan sought to legitimize regimes through historiography. Compilers drew on archival collections from the Tang imperial archives, records from regional administrations including Jiedushi, biographies preserved in Chang'an and Luoyang, and surviving memorials from figures like Du Ruhui and Wei Zheng, integrating materials circulating among scholars associated with the Hanlin Academy and clerks from the Ministry of Rites (Tang).
Structure and Content
The book follows the traditional format of Chinese dynastic histories with annals (本紀), treatises (志), and biographies (列傳), organizing imperial reigns, institutions, and personages across many entries that cover emperors such as Emperor Taizong of Tang, Emperor Gaozu of Tang, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, military governors like An Lushan, and statesmen like Yao Chong and Zhangsun Wuji. Treatises address calendrical matters tied to the Taichu calendar, ceremonial protocols related to the Court of Imperial Sacrifices, and geography overlapping with regions such as Sichuan, Guangxi, Hebei, and the Hexi Corridor. Biographical sections feature figures including poets like Li Bai, Du Fu, chancellors such as Fang Xuanling, generals like Li Shigu, and foreign envoys associated with Tubo and the Goguryeo–Tang War.
Authorship and Compilation Process
Principal editors included scholars commissioned by the Later Jin (Five Dynasties), notably Liu Xu and collaborators who worked alongside scribes attached to the Palace Library and the Court of Imperial History. The compilation relied on prior historiographical texts such as the earlier Old Book of Tang and private collections maintained by literati like Ouyang Xun and Han Yu's circle, as well as memorials and edicts from officials connected to Zhangsun Shunde and clerical networks in Kaifeng. The process entailed collation, redaction, and bureaucratic sanctioning influenced by patrons in the Later Tang (Five Dynasties) and the Later Jin court under figures like An Chongrong.
Historical Value and Sources
Scholars have highlighted the work's reliance on documentary sources including imperial edicts from Emperor Xuanzong of Tang's court, census and taxation records tied to the Household Registration (Tang) system, military dispatches from circuits governed by Jiedushi such as Li Huaixian, and epitaphs preserved in tomb stele collections from Changsha and Luoyang. It preserves material from the Tongdian tradition and passages also found in the Zizhi Tongjian, enabling cross-textual corroboration for events like the An Lushan Rebellion, the Huihui tax reforms, and frontier conflicts with the Turgesh and Tibetan Empire. Limitations include editorial smoothing, omissions inherited from lost archives, and occasional chronological inconsistencies vis-à-vis contemporaneous sources like the New Book of Tang and local gazetteers compiled in the Song dynasty.
Editions, Transmission, and Manuscripts
The text circulated in block-printed editions during the Song dynasty and was copied in handscrolls preserved in collections associated with the Academy of Scholarly Worthies and monasteries in Dunhuang, where manuscripts alongside Mogao Caves finds provide variant readings. Early printed editions from Kaifeng and Hangzhou informed later compilations used by scholars in the Ming dynasty and Qing dynasty, while synoptic collations appear in commentaries by scholars such as Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi. Surviving fragments in European collections and catalogues compiled by travelers like James Legge and Thomas Watters contributed to Western sinology’s access to differing recensions.
Reception and Influence
The book shaped official memory of the Tang dynasty in imperial examinations and literati discourse, influencing historiographers such as Sima Guang and policymakers during the Song dynasty who referenced its annals in works like the Zizhi Tongjian. It informed literary reception of poets Li Bai and Du Fu in later anthologies and provided source material for genealogists and local elites in Jiangnan and Shandong. At times it was contested by compilers of the New Book of Tang and criticized by scholars connected to the Hanlin Academy for editorial choices and perceived anachronisms.
Modern Scholarship and Criticism
Contemporary sinologists and historians including F.W. Mote, John Chaffee, Twitchett, and Denis C. Twitchett's school have reassessed the work through philological analysis, textual criticism, and comparative study with archaeological finds from sites like Xi'an and Anyang. Critiques focus on redactional layers, interpolations, and reliance on bureaucratic records that may reflect Later Five Dynasties agendas; proponents emphasize its value for reconstructing Tang prosopography, administrative practice, and diplomatic relations with polities such as Nanzhao and Balhae. Ongoing projects in digital humanities and manuscript studies in institutions like Peking University and Harvard-Yenching Library continue to refine its text-critical apparatus and historical interpretation.