The Old Tang Book

The Old Tang Book (旧唐书) is a comprehensive historical text completed in 945 CE during the Later Jin dynasty. The book consists of 200 chapters documenting the history of China's Tang dynasty from 618 to 907 CE. Liu Xu led a team of scholars to compile this official history, which includes biographies of emperors, political figures, and notable personalities, along with records of government institutions and foreign relations. The text preserves vital primary source materials about Tang dynasty culture, economics, and military affairs through its inclusion of original documents and contemporary accounts. The Old Tang Book represents one of China's Twenty-Four Histories and exemplifies the traditional Chinese historiographical style developed during the Han dynasty. The work balances chronological annals with treatises on specialized topics such as astronomy, geography, and literature. The text stands as both a foundational historical record and a window into how Later Jin scholars interpreted and presented Tang dynasty achievements and failures. Its influence on subsequent historical writing and understanding of the Tang period continues to resonate in modern scholarship.

Limited English-language reader reviews exist for The Old Tang Book (Jiu Tang Shu), as it remains primarily read by Chinese history scholars and researchers. Readers value: - Comprehensive documentation of Tang dynasty events and figures - Detailed biographical information about emperors and officials - Primary source material from the period - Inclusion of poetry and literature excerpts Common criticisms: - Dense, academic writing style challenges casual readers - Lacks modern annotations in most editions - Translation quality varies between versions - Some readers note bias in political accounts No ratings available on Goodreads or Amazon. Academic reviews in historical journals praise its historical significance but note its limitations as a historical source that required cross-referencing with other texts. Reader Feng Liu on a Chinese history forum notes: "The Old Tang Book provides unmatched detail about court politics, but requires extensive background knowledge to fully appreciate." Note: Reader sentiment analysis limited by lack of public reviews in English.

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The History of the Former Han by Ban Gu Details the rise and fall of the Western Han Dynasty through imperial records, tables, treatises, and biographical accounts.

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🔸 The Old Tang Book (舊唐書) was completed in 945 AD and remains one of the most comprehensive historical records of China's Tang Dynasty, containing 200 chapters spanning nearly 300 years of history. 🔸 Author Liu Xu began compiling this massive work under imperial orders from Emperor Zhuangzong of the Later Tang Dynasty, taking only 200 days to complete the initial manuscript. 🔸 The book includes detailed biographies of 2,883 individuals, including emperors, generals, poets, and scholars, making it an invaluable resource for understanding Tang Dynasty society. 🔸 Despite being called "Old," this book was actually written before the "New Tang Book" (新唐書) and contains unique historical details that were lost in later versions. 🔸 The work preserves many original Tang Dynasty documents that would have otherwise been lost, including government records, diplomatic correspondence, and census data that helps modern historians understand medieval Chinese civilization.