Zizhi Tongjian Research Articles

자치통감(資治通鑑)을 통해 본 당(唐)⋅오대십국(五代十國) 시대의 차

This study examined the meaning of tea in the governance of the Northern Song period through an analysis of tea-related contents contained in Zizhi Tongjian, a Chinese history book compiled by Sima Guang under the order of Emperor Yingzong of the Northern Song Dynasty. As the title suggests, this book was compiled to help govern by taking history as a mirror. The description of good and evil was covered and described clearly to be easily read and referenced as the emperor's textbook. Only the contents necessary for governance were strictly selected and summarized to reduce the length. Tea-related articles were included in Zizhi Tongjian because tea was an important commodity in governance. The tax system for tea was dealt with in the Tang period, and the tea industry, including trade, was promoted in the era of the Five Kingdoms. This is because Sima Guang thought that the proper use of the economic value of tea politically and militarily would help governance.

『御定宋史筌』 「遼傳」을 통해 본 『宋史』 改修의 역사적 의의

Eojeong Songsa jeon 御定宋史筌 is a rewriting edition of Songshi 宋史 compiled by King Jeongjo and his Gyujanggak subjects in Joseon dynasty. Songsa jeon is characterized by (1) the creation of the imperial biographies of Danzong and Modi, the last emperors of the Southern Song dynasty, (2) the inclusion of Liao, Jin, and Mongol dynasties in its' biographies, (3) the creation of an independent Wuxian Biography for the five Neo-Confucianism scholars from Zhou Dunyi to Zhu Xi, and (4) the creation of Yimin Biography to honor those who had been loyal to the Song dynasty. However, it is difficult to say that the authenticity, which is one of the backgrounds of the compilation of Songsa jeon, has been fully considered. This article compares Liao Biography 遼傳 in Songsa jeon with Liao Biography in Songshi Xinbian 宋史新編 to determine the significance of Songsa jeon's compilation. As can be seen from the legend of Songsa jeon, Joseon dynasty defined Liao and Jin as 'the vulgar ethnic groups in the northeast' and 'the subject states of Goryeo dynasty', and did not recognize Mongol empire as 'authenticity' even after completely destroyed Song. In addition, Goryeo Biography is placed at the top of the biographies of the foreign states to express the criticism, and Liao, Xixia, Jin, and Mongol dynasties are arranged in the order of their founding. The characteristics of Liao Biography in Songsa jeon are as follows. First, Songsa jeon takes the form of the biography more strictly than Songshi Xinbian. Second, Songsa jeon is more thoroughly orthodox than Songshi Xinbian, including the use of Song's reign title. And in terms of content, the records of Qidan Guozhi 契丹國志 cited in Songsa jeon are basically quoted from Xu zizhi tongjian gangmu 續資治通鑑綱目. Furthermore, to express respect for Song, the Battle of Gaoliang River and the Battle of Qigou Pass, in which the Song were greatly defeated from Liao, are described very briefly. In addition, the articles from the Goryeo dynasty were recorded without omission, reflecting the position of Joseon dynasty, the bearer of the compilation. Finally, all the records on Civil Service Examination, Confucianism, and book editings are included in Songsa jeon. Its purpose is to represent the lessons. This indicates the intention that if even Liao, as the barbarian, had developed the rituals and the rites, then Joseon, as 'the inheritor of Chinese culture,' should work even harder to promote the rituals and the rites. Furthermore, considering the arrangement of the biographies of foreign states in Songsa jeon, the placement of Goryeo Biography at the top implies that Goryeo had a more advanced the rituals and the rites than Liao, Jin, Xixia, and Yuan. I think it is the ultimate intention of Joseon dynasty to express from the biographies of foreign states in Songsa jeon. On the other hand, the scholars of Qing Dynasty also tried to revise Songshi, but all of them were not completed. In this sense, the completion of Songsa jeon has historiographical significance.

History or legend: An Analysis of the Historical Sources of the Refusal of Tang Taizong’s Arranged Marriage by Lu Dongzan and Other Events Recorded in Li Deyu’s Postscript of Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy

A post script written by Li Deyu on the “Emperor Taizong Receiving the Tibetan Envoy” (步辇图) records events such as Tang Taizong’s appointment of an official position and arrangement of marriage to Lu Dongzan, as well as Lu Dongzan’s refusal to accept Tang Taizong’s arrangement. The historical source of these events is not the Annals of Emperor Taizong verified by Fu Xuancong and Zhou Jianguo but rather the “Legend of Tang Taizong’s Nine Tests of Tibetan Welcoming Envoys,” which Li sent people to collect during his tenure as the Jiedushi of Xichuan in Jiannan. Later, it was included in his book Record of Defending the Southwest Frontier. This legend became popular because of the deification and reshaping activities of Lu Dongzan and his sons during their period of monopolizing power. As a result, the series of events recorded by Li Deyu in his postscript were able to enter the “Tibetan Biography” of orthodox historical books such as Old Book of Tang, Tang Huiyao, New Book of Tang, Zizhi Tongjian, Zizhi Tongjian Kaoyi, and Cefu Yuangui, becoming the so-called “true and credible history.”

The Characteristics and Significance of Gu Zhi’s Annotations and Research on the Poetry of Wei and Jin Dynasties

All his life, Gu Zhi was interested in the literature research of Han, Wei and six Dynasties, especially focusing on the annotated Wei and Jin poems. His imagination and interpretation of Wei Jin is centered on Wei Jin poetry notes, including Wei Jin poetry notes as evidence, poetry creation as dictionaries, and business interests as righteous people. The academic path embodied in the poetry of Guzhi Wei and Jin With the characteristics of traditional scripture “commenting on scripture and making notes”, academic resources are immersed in the essence of classical scripture and history under the system of classical scripture and history, and academic vision hovers under the overall style of integrating the old and the new. Further expanding this Wei-Jin poetry activity will touch the Wei-Jin complex that is fashionable among the Republic of China. Gu Zhi (1885-1959), character Gongyu, trumpet layer ice, Yuan, Zhengfu, Gusheng.Pangxi, Longwen Township, Mei County, Guangdong villagers. His life is scattered in many literary and historical materials, and his son Gu Chengye’s “Outline of the Genealogy of Gu Zhi Nian” is the most detailed record of his life process. Gu Zhi was born into a poor family and lived in poverty at an early age, but according to his early wisdom, he studied his own. At the age of 16, he went to Xingning to learn from Mr. Luo Yiyun, a suru who was “very good to Mr. Luo”, and saw Mr. Luo’s collection of books such as “Zhaoming Wenxuan” and “Zizhi Tongjian”, especially “Wenxuan”, which laid the foundation for later intensive study of the literature of the Six Dynasties of Han and Wei. In 1906, he joined the “Chinese League Association” and since then has followed Dr. Sun Yat-sen to actively carry out democratic revolutionary activities. In November 1911, Gu Zhi, Zhong Dong and others organized an uprising in Meicheng and recovered Meixian in one fell swoop. In the following ten years, Gu Zhi was engaged in revolutionary propaganda and government affairs, and vigorously established schools. In 1921, he went to Lushan Jiangxi Province in February to build a grass house, named “Ge Taozhai”, and leisurely had the intention of returning to seclusion. During this period, he wrote three volumes of “Wang Rongfu Wenji”, one volume of “Zhuge Wuhou Annals”, four volumes of “Tao Jingjie Poems”, and one volume of “Tao Jingjie Poems and Notes”, together with other poetry works, collected into twelve volumes of “Wuwen Collection”. The book of seclusion, which is becoming more and more mature academically. During the Great Revolution, he was employed as a professor at Guangdong University. In 1926, Guangdong University changed its name for Sun Yat-sen University. In 1928, he was invited by Sun Yat-sen University to return to the university to preside over the Chinese department, where he remained until 1938. During this period, he wrote “Cao ZiJian poetry Notes” “Ruan Si Zong Yong Huai Poetry Notes” “Five Types of Layer Ice Hall”. After the fall of Guangzhou in 1938, Gu Zhi returned to his hometown, resumed Meinan Middle School, served as the principal, created the Meinan Literature Museum, publicized the War of Resistance, and covered the revolutionary activities of the Communist Party. After the liberation of Guangzhou, he was first employed as a counselor of the provincial counsellor’s office, and later became a librarian of the provincial museum of culture and history and a member of the provincial CPPCC. After that, Gu Zhi enthusiastically praised the construction of New China, wrote “Liberation of Poetry Banknotes”, and prepared to rearrange the old works. He died of illness in Guangzhou in 1959 at the age of 74. From the 20s to the 50s of the 20th century, Gu Zhi lasted for more than thirty years, focusing on Wei and Jin poetry notes, and worked hard. Gu Zhi’s notes on Wei and Jin poetry mainly focus on the poems of Cao Zijian, Ruan Zhi and Tao Yuanming, especially the comprehensive study of Tao Yuanming, which can be said to have exhausted his life’s energy.

Consumption of Alcoholic Beverages (jiǔ) and Political Struggle During the Tang Dynasty in the Light of Zizhi tongjian

This paper examines the close relationship between alcoholic beverages and politics in the Tang dynasty (618‑907 AD), starting with the way in which Chinese people categorised various types of beverages. Through the terminology used to denote Chinese alcohol (jiǔ) and its two opposing physical and psychological effects, the Chinese realised that it could also have numerous beneficial and harmful effects on political life. As a result, jiǔ was an important player in the Chinese imperial political scene, playing a variety of roles there, examples of which were given in large numbers in the Zizhi tongjia.

Historian translating histories: a conversation with Rafe de Crespigny on his translation of Zizhi Tongjian and beyond

ABSTRACT Known as the Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government, Zizhi Tongjian represents the highest achievement in the history compilation work of Song Dynasty. It contains 294 juan and records 1362 years of Chinese history. For many Europeans, Zizhi Tongjian and its related works provided a preliminary source for them to know and study China and its history since the publication of de Mailla’s works in 1777. The translated versions of Zizhi Tongjian by Rafe de Crespigny are widely accepted for readability and comprehensibility. This interview with the translator tries to unveil the factors that may influence the translation like translator identity, translation intentions and historical context during the translation process.

The Making of Song Dynasty History: Sources and Narratives, 960–1279 CE by Charles Hartman

Every once in a long while, a book comes along that challenges the basic assumptions of an entire field. Hartman shows convincingly that much of what historians think happened during the Song dynasty (960–1279) did not occur as recorded, whether in surviving primary sources or in the English- and Chinese-language secondary sources based on them.His key insight? The sources reflect the time in which they were composed—not the times that they purport to describe. Why has it taken so long for Song historians to realize it? We have long known that the written record is heavily edited, as the standard descriptions of how the History Office, first established in the Tang dynasty (618–907), reveal. Every day, two court historians drew up records of the emperor’s actions (“The Diary of Activity and Repose,” qijuzhu), which they then revised into monthly summaries. Combining these summaries with records from other offices and biographical records of high officials, the History Office produced a daily calendar of events, which they then edited into a single Veritable Record, a chronological record of all the events that occurred in a given emperor’s reign (5–6).Hartman devotes a chapter to each of four major sources—The Recovered Draft of the Song State Compendium (Song huiyao jigao), The Long Draft Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror That Aids Administration (Xu zizhi tongjian changbian), The Chronological Record of Important Events since 1127 (Jianyan yilai xinian yaolu), and The Song History (Songshi). Carefully combining what is known about each book with a rigorous examination of the text, he reconstructs the stratigraphy, or different layers, of each book. This “archaeology” of texts is the book’s primary use of interdisciplinary method. An oft-cited anecdote tells how Song Taizu (reigned 960–976), the founder of the Song dynasty, persuaded his generals to cede their military power to the emperor and his civil administrators. Eight pages of textual archaeology demonstrate that the anecdote had no basis in contemporaneous sources and explain how historians reworded the anecdote to reflect the concerns of each generation (303–311). Throughout the book, Hartman’s reasoning is complex and detailed and his exposition clear and convincing.His findings are most surprising for The Song State Compendium, the source that has the appearance of being the closest to archival materials because it retains the precise formatting and feel of original entries—the very reason why Song historians have relied so heavily on this source. Hartman’s investigations show that the Compendium does not contain an equal number of entries for each year that it covers between 960 and 1224 (43, Figure 1.2). In this extraordinary discovery, Hartman identifies periods of more extensive and less extensive coverage, concluding that all diachronic comparisons are risky. Song historians are well aware that the Compendium was edited at regular intervals, but Hartman identifies some of the historians—including Li Tao (1115–1184), the author of The Long Draft Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror—who performed the editing. He also explains the nature of their interventions. This chapter alone makes Hartman’s book indispensable reading for anyone working with Song-dynasty sources.Three periods mattered to thirteenth-century historians because they subscribed to a moral narrative of Song dynasty history in which Song Taizu played an important role in creating the dynasty’s institutions (although little information about his reign survives). The second period, the rule of Emperor Renzong between 1041 and 1063, marked the high point of Song governance. In the third period, the machinations of various nefarious ministers (jianchen), starting with Wang Anshi (1021–1086) in the 1060s, led to the dynasty’s ultimate decline (244).By identifying these three tropes, Hartman alerts readers to the topics on which extant sources are least reliable. The question arises, What will the new version of Song history—the one that reads surviving sources against the moral narrative that Hartman has identified—be like? We are very fortunate that Hartman’s next book, entitled Structures of Governance in Song Dynasty China, 960–1279 CE, is already completed and should appear soon.

Research on the Translation of Official Titles of Zizhi Tongjian with Computer Aid

With the application of computer technology in the field of translation, Chinese classic translation has become one of the focuses of translation research. The cultural information of official titles in ancient my country is very rich, which is of great significance to the study of official titles’ translation. Zizhi Tongjian is an outstanding work in Chinese history, with historical significance and high historical value. This article is based on computer technology, based on the “fusion of horizons”, “expected horizons” and “aesthetic distance” in the theory of reception aesthetics, and studies the English translation of official titles in the two translations of “Zi Zhi Tong Jian”. The official title translation methods used by different translators.

科勒等值理论视角下《资治通鉴》中类比语篇的英译分析

科勒等值理论视角下《资治通鉴》中类比语篇的英译分析

“One-Eyed Dragon” Li Keyong in the Historical and Fictional Literature of China in the Song Era (X—XIII Centuries)

The features of the reflection of the ruler of the Turks Shatuo Li Keyong (856—908, ruler in 887—908) activities in the Chinese literature of the Song era (X—XIII centuries) are examined in the article. It is shown that the deeds of Li Keyong found a detailed reflection in the historical chronicles and treatises dedicated to the period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907—979), primarily “Jiu Wu-dai shi” and “Zizhi tongjian”. It is noted that the author of the most famous art-historical work “The newly compiled pinghua on the history of the Five Dynasties” describes in detail the activities of Li Keyong: he shows the Shatuo Turks as a people supporting Chinese cultural and political traditions and in many respects defending the Chinese traditional statehood. It is indicated that Li Keyong actually became the founder of the Turkic-Chinese empire of the Late Tang and was considered in the historical and fiction literature as a consistent defender of the Chinese statehood. It is proved that Li Keiong was perceived by the author of pinghua, following the authors of the historical work “Zizhi tongjian”, as a defender of Chinese statehood and Chinese political tradition, and not as a stranger, despite his Turkic origin.

《资治通鉴》英译中哲学概念术语的概念重构

《资治通鉴》英译中哲学概念术语的概念重构

Some Preliminary Observations on Chen Jian’s Thought Regarding Statecraft in Huangming Tongji

Abstract This paper attempts to examine the writing style, writing purpose, and philosophy of Chen Jian 陳建’s Huangming tongji 皇明通紀 (Comprehensive Annals of the Imperial Ming, HMTJ).* The paper has two main sections. The first points out that although this book imitates the Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑 (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government), it differs from that book’s top-down approach to positive governance. The second section inquires into the ultimate purpose of HMTJ and into the reasons behind the order of publication of Chen’s three books. HMTJ had an extremely enlightening role in arousing the contemporary layperson’s awareness of current affairs, and this role added the basis of public opinion to further consolidate Chen’s complete statecraft thought.

Fire and Ice: Li Cunxu and the Founding of the Later Tang by Richard L. Davis

Reviewed by: Fire and Ice: Li Cunxu and the Founding of the Later Tang by Richard L. Davis Naomi Standen Richard L. Davis. Fire and Ice: Li Cunxu and the Founding of the Later Tang. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2016. Pp. xv + 237, 5 color plates. $60 (cloth). ISBN 978-9-8882-0897-5. Despite the great strides made in the last generation in Middle Period scholarship, there has been relatively little research in the Five Dynasties. It may be discouraging that work on this period has to be so reliant on official histories and other compiled historical works that have been widely regarded as combinations of formulaic recountings of the merely factual and partisan representations of heroes and villains, with problematic routes of transmission to boot. Happily, as evidenced by the second Middle Period Conference in Leiden in September 2017, there is currently an upsurge of interest in text-critical methods for work on the histories, including intimate textual comparison, narratology, and rigorous contextualization, with attention paid not only to transmission histories and general circumstances of production, but also to the texts' structuring as narratives and their rhetorical effects.1 These [End Page 236] approaches are long overdue and begin to bring us to a methodological par with our colleagues working on the history of medieval Europe. Most of this Middle-Period text-critical work on the histories has focused on the texts themselves and the way they tell their stories, and has increased recognition of the constructed nature of historical writing, making these materials even more problematic as sources for doing actual history. Despite the headaches, the fresh perspectives provided by narrative-aware approaches offer methods for empirical analysis that are particularly valuable for under-studied and under-evidenced periods like the Five Dynasties, along with opportunities to question the received knowledge of the texts and to venture conceptual or even theoretical contributions as well. Richard Davis made a foray into unpacking authorial intentions regarding Five Dynasties political history in the introduction to his translation of Ouyang Xiu's Historical Records of the Five Dynasties.2 Here Davis publishes the second of two volumes that come back to such newly difficult historical materials as sources for historical events.3 Davis's subject is Li Cunxu 李存勗 (885–926), who became the emperor known to us as Zhuangzong 莊宗 of the Later Tang 後唐 (r. 923–926).4 Cunxu was the founding ruler of the Later Tang dynasty (923–936): the second of the Five Dynasties, the first of three led by ruling houses ascribed with Shatuo Türk origins, and with a name and reign era names claiming the regime as a revival—indeed a continuation—of the great Tang dynasty (618–907) itself. Davis's brief preface explains that the book's goal is to advance student understanding by presenting a portrait that recovers Cunxu's "positive characteristics" from a hostile official record, without shying away from the complexities of his difficult personality (pp. x–xi). There is great promise here for using Li Cunxu as a case study to discuss topics such as military leadership, rulership in turbulent times, the everyday workings of sociopolitics, how leaders emerged, [End Page 237] relations between the ruler and his senior followers in various combinations, court-regional relations in a post-Tang and Tang revival context, the ideas and practices people used or invented to try to achieve their ends, what those goals might have been, where the money came from and went to, relations with neighbors and others in the region, and the salience of Cunxu's ascription as Shatuo. The histories for the Five Dynasties are good sources for such topics because these works are, above all, accounts of politics, although they are frequently less than transparent about motives, intentions, and agendas. Davis's method of tackling this is to go through the dynastic history annals, supplemented by the Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑, encyclopedic works like the Cefu yuangui 冊 府元龜, and sometimes by dynastic history biographies or other material, and to read between the lines in search of what was really going on. This requires the sinologist's intimate knowledge of the texts and of cultural/historical contexts, since the notoriously laconic...

Staging the Silk Road Journey Abroad: The Case of Dunhuang Performative Arts

Staging the Silk Road Journey Abroad: The Case of Dunhuang Performative Arts

Eighteen Histories in Brief and its influence in Japan

ABSTRACTEighteen Histories in Brief (Shiba shilue 十八史略) was a concise general history text created in the Yuan dynasty, which developed into many editions and achieved widespread popularity by the Ming dynasty. After being introduced to Japan, Eighteen Histories in Brief became as well known as historical classics such as the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji 史记) and the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government (Zizhi tongjian 资治通鉴). During the Meiji Restoration period, a demand for abbreviated histories arose in Japan. This was seen in the large-scale publication of many new editions of Eighteen Histories in Brief. Continuations to the book, as well as histories in brief of Japanese and Western history were also widely published. This had a profound impact on Japanese society, culture, and historiography, with a legacy extending into the contemporary period.

A study on the basic original text of the Middle Ancient Period records of the Samguksagi Sillabongi and it’s completion

Most Middle Ancient Period records of the Sillabongi are estimated to be quoted from the Old Samkugsa. However, among the Middle Ancient Period records, there are several cases that records from the Samguksai Yeoljeon(Biographies), Jabji(Miscellanies), and Baekjebongi are original. It is also ascertained that the editor of the Samguksagi extracted some documents about the dispatch of envoys and the records about emissary, and some records from the Middle Ancient Period texts that indicate interchange between Shilla and Chinese dynasties from the Cefu yuanchi and Zizhi tongjian. The Editor of the Samguksagi did not reproduce records from the Old Samkugsa. The Editor modified and edited it appropriately and organized the frame of the Middle Ancient Period records of the Samguksagi Sillabongi, and added various excerpts from internal and external records to complement the roughness of the Old Samkugsa. The editor also presented references of certain events or article that needed additional explanations and gave description of some transmission materials that was not dated accurately in a lump to the date of the king’s later years. The editor properly presented references of certain events if it existed or if there were any variations among various records, and expressed author’s opinion or made comments about historical events based on the author’s view of hisory through supplementary note. In this respect, the author of the Samguksagi can be evaluated to overcome the stance and perception of history of the editor of the Old Samkugsa and to make efforts to organize Shilla’s history based on his own perspective and concept of history.

On the Southern Tang Imperial Genealogy


 
 
 The present essay deals with the fabrication of the imperial genealogy of the Southern Tang state (937–976). A means of linking the Southern Tang founder Li Bian (r. 937–943) to the Tang, it helped establish Southern Tang claims to the Tang heritage. Though no original fabricated genealogy survives, variant forms have been handed down through a number of texts starting in the early Northern Song period. These are discussed in terms of their plausibility, marking the Jiang- nan lu (979) by Xu Xuan (916–991) as the officially accepted description and the Zizhi tongjian (1184) version as the most “believable” of all fake Southern Tang genealogies.
 
 

Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ed. by Peter Lorge (review)

Reviewed by: Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms ed. by Peter Lorge Nicolas Tackett Peter Lorge, editor. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong, 2011. $52.00 (cloth). ISBN 978-962-996-418-4. This edited volume is a welcome contribution to the burgeoning field of Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms studies. The book begins with an “Introduction” by the editor, who argues forcefully for treating the tenth century as more than a mere blip between two great dynasties. The century was marked by [End Page 377] important developments that had a lasting impact on the politics, culture, and intellectual trends of the subsequent Song dynasty. Moreover, the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period is interesting as a “heuristic unit” (p. 5), partly by revealing why “having a center did matter” (p. 10), and why the decline of a hegemonic center could spur regionalism and innovation alike. The “Introduction” is followed by seven articles, all written by specialists of the Middle Period (including the two authors of the “Five Dynasties” and “Southern Kingdoms” chapters of the recent Volume 5, Part One, of the Cambridge History of China). Naomi Standen’s article provides an excellent case example in support of a thesis she first proposed in her monograph Unbounded Loyalty—that the transition from the Five Dynasties to the Song involved a transformation in notions of loyalty, from one based on reciprocal and conditional master-servant relationships to one based on “single-master loyalty.” Standen focuses on a detailed analysis of the career of Zhao Dejun 趙德鈞, who served under a series of regime leaders before turning against the Later Tang on the eve of its overthrow by Zhao’s rival, the Later Jin founder Shi Jingtang 石敬瑭. By comparing accounts of Zhao’s career in the earlier tenth-century history Jiu Wudai shi 舊五代史 with accounts in the eleventh-century chronicle Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑑, Standen provides good evidence that changing ideas of loyalty led to a later revisionist critique of Zhao’s apparent disloyalty. The next piece, by Hugh Clark, explores the “rogues” and “scoundrels” who founded the new regimes emerging in the post-Huang Chao era. Clark is especially interested in assessing these men and their activities from the perspective of classic theories of peasant rebellions, by Eric Hobsbawm and others. He pays particular attention to Qian Liu 錢鏐, Yang Xingmi 楊行密, Wang Jian 王建, Wang Chao 王潮, and Liu Yin 劉隱, founders of five of the southern kingdoms. Most of such men were “outlaws” in the sense that their bases of power lay entirely outside both the regular bureaucracy of the Tang and the provincial jiedushi 節度使 governments. To what extent were such men “primitive rebels”? To what extent were they mere predators? Johannes Kurz then gives us a new biography of Han Xizai 韓熙載, one of the more important officials of the Southern Tang state and the subject of an infamous painting depicting his night revels. Rather than focusing exclusively on his decadent private life, for which Han Xizai remains well-known to this day in popular culture, Kurz also provides an overview of Han’s early life and of his career. He suggests that Han may have been unfairly criticized—Han’s [End Page 378] hedonism may have constituted a stratagem for avoiding office; moreover, scandalous evening gatherings were not at all atypical of Southern Tang literati culture. De-nin Lee, in her piece, seeks to complicate existing accounts of the development of painting during the Tang-Song interregnum by looking beyond the established canon centered on the courts of Shu and Southern Tang. Lee’s focus is on the stunning early Liao murals from Baoshan 寶山 Tomb 2, excavated in Inner Mongolia in the early 1990s. On the basis of poems inscribed onto the tomb wall, she interprets the more prominent painting—of several elegant ladies in an exotic garden setting—as representing the story of the loyal wife Su Hui 蘇蕙 (of the Jin dynasty). This mural suggests the need both to appreciate the heterogeneity of tenth-century painting, and to recognize that Shu and Southern Tang were neither the only bastions of Tang culture, nor the primary sites of artistic innovation. Ruth Mostern’s article assesses the ways in which the...

李燾《六朝通鑑博議》的和戰思想

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 南宋史家李燾對史學發展貢獻良多，得到“宋儒史學第一”的稱譽。他在仕宦生涯中縱然未能擔負軍政重任，但關心時局，一生念念不忘要爲國效力。宋室在靖康之難後只能偏安一隅，戰與和遂成爲國是爭論的所在，這位史學大家如何看待和戰問題實在是饒富意義的課題。然而，李燾的詩文已多所散佚，他又鮮有在其鉅著《續資治通鑑長編》中發表議論，要瞭解其對時局的看法殊非易事。幸好他撰寫的《六朝通鑑博議》仍然存世，該書内容以《資治通鑑》中的六朝史事爲骨幹，李燾在史事後附上評論，以求宋室君臣能夠“監彼之失而求吾之所以得”。由於這些史論是李燾按當日的情勢而發，故此透過深入研究這部史書，我們可以一窺李燾的和戰思想，而這正爲本文撰寫之旨。Song regime lost the control of northern China after the Jing-kang Incident and was confronted with Jin and Mongols. There had been a huge controversy over the Southern Song’s policy on whether to fight or to negotiate peace. Being one of the greatest historians in Song Dynasty, Li Tao’s view on the situation of the Song is worthwhile to be studied. It is difficult to understand Li’s thought as most of his literatures were lost and he also seldomly revealed his comments in the Xu Zizhi tongjian changpian. Fortunately in his Liuchao tongjian boyi that still exists, Li had accompanied his commentaries on the history of Six Dynasties in the Zizhi tongjian, aiming to persuade the Emperor of Song to learn from the history. Since his commentaries was made based on the actual circumstances of Song, studying the Liuchao tongjian boyi enables us to understand more on Li’s thought. This article provides in-depth study on the Liuchao tongjian boyi, aiming to comprehend Li Tao’s perspective on Song’s situation at that period.

蔡上翔《王荆公年譜考略》詩文繋年正誤

LANGUAGE NOTE | Document text in Chinese; abstract also in English.
 《王荆公年譜考略》是歷來研究王安石的學者們不可不讀的經典之作。然《考略》的重點在於辨解和批駁，而忽略了李燾《續資治通鑒長編》的有關記載及相關史實，再加上對王安石詩文的文本分析及寫作背景探求不夠，故全書對相關詩文的繫年產生了不少疏誤。本文對其繫年疏誤者均按原著寫作順序依次揭出，並依據史料，逐一辨正。希望能借此進一步實現先生的學術初衷，提高《考略》的參考價值。本文涉及到的詩文共有四十六則。A Brief Study of the Chronology of Wang Jinggong by Cai Shangxiang (Jinshi 1761) has long been regarded as seminal reading for scholars of Wang Anshi (1021-1086). However, this book primarily focuses on serving as an exculpation of Wang’s charges and refutation against Wang’s enemies. The author neglected relevant historical facts recorded in Li Tao’s (1115-1184) Xu Zizhi tongjian changbian and he did not do enough analysis and research into the works and their backgrounds. As a result, there are many errors in the dating of some of Wang’s poetry and prose. The present essay aims to correct these mistakes in the chronology of some of his compositions. These works are listed in the sequence found in primary sources and their dates of composition are reconstructed according to relevant historical records. The present study is a means to restore and achieve the original goal of Cai Shangxiang in order to enhance the book’s practical use in academic research. The total number of poems and prose pieces for examination is forty-six.