Chen Shou

Chen Shou (233–297), courtesy name Chengzuo, was a native of Anhan County in Baxi Commandery (present-day Nanchong, Sichuan) and a historian of the Western Jin dynasty. As a young man he studied under Qiao Zhou and served in Shu Han as Libu Ling Shi; after Shu's fall he entered Jin service, holding posts including Zhuzuo Lang and Zhishu Shiyushi. After Jin conquered Wu in the first year of Taikang, he spent ten years completing the biographical-style history Records of the Three Kingdoms (Sanguozhi), which together with the Shiji, Hanshu and Hou Hanshu is known as one of the "Four Early Histories"; he also wrote the Yibu Qijiu Zhuan. Twenty-one of his works are held in this collection, mostly editions and divided volumes of the Sanguozhi, such as the Wei Shu, the Pei Songzhi annotated edition and the Sanguo Daquan. His narrative is concise and his selections judicious, excelling in character appraisal and the arrangement of historical events, laying the foundation for later narratives of Three Kingdoms history. Beyond historiography, his works here also fall under classical literature and historical reading, showing their wide influence.