Historical Romance of the Five Dynasties (8)

Cai DongfanJul 2024

Rating 4.4

Word count: 46K words
Chapters: 10

Summary

A popular history masterpiece celebrated at home and abroad, Romance of the Five Dynasties takes official histories as its warp and anecdotes as its weft. With its chapter-by-chapter structure, accessible prose, and witty commentary, it vividly recreates the sweeping course of Chinese civilizational history. The Five Dynasties lasted fifty-three years, saw eight surnames and thirteen emperors, and changed the dynastic name five times—Liang, Tang, Jin, Han, and Zhou. Because historians had used these names for earlier dynasties, each is prefixed with "Later," giving Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou. In addition, there were polities that sometimes allied with and sometimes broke from the five dynasties and were not under their jurisdiction; these are called the Ten Kingdoms—Wu, Chu, Min, Southern Tang, Former Shu, Later Shu, Southern Han, Northern Han, Wuyue, and Jingnan. The work depicts the customs and livelihood of the people amid the turnover of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, and reveals the survival wisdom within battlefield bloodshed, court intrigue, and the rise and fall of the ages. Based primarily on trustworthy histories and supplemented by unofficial accounts, the work selects its material prudently, maintains balanced views, offers rich content, narrates methodically, uses refined and lucid language, and combines self-commentary and self-annotation with both reason and interest—a true classic of popular history writing.

Editor's review

This volume continues Cai Dongfan's chapter-style narrative of The Romance of the Five Dynasties, centering on the later period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms as regimes rose and fell, placing the chain of rise and decline among the Later Liang, Later Tang, Later Jin, Later Han, and Later Zhou, together with the divisions and mergers of the Ten Kingdoms, within a single narrative frame. The author relies chiefly on credible histories and draws selectively on unofficial accounts, sourcing with care and writing in polished, refined language; in his own commentary and notes he often offers plain-spoken judgments on the merits and failings of figures and on the direction of political affairs, so that readers do not merely watch the excitement but also grasp the wisdom of survival and the lessons of order and chaos in a time of turmoil. Compared with a bare chronicle of great events, this volume gives more attention to the actions of figures and to details of court and battlefield, making it suitable as the concluding read of the whole romance. Reading it together with the preceding and following volumes is recommended, with attention to how the same event is narrated differently from the perspective of different regimes; for campaigns or institutional threads of particular interest, consult the standard histories for further reading, and avoid equating the romance's narrative art with the unvarnished historical record.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who have read the earlier volumes and wish to follow the later trajectory of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms
Readers of history and literature interested in the transition from the Later Zhou to the early Song
General readers who enjoy chapter-style romances and value continuity of characters and plot
Professionals and managers who wish to understand the gains and losses of order and chaos in a time of turmoil through story

Not a good fit for

Research-oriented readers who need precise chronology and item-by-item verification against historical sources
Beginning readers impatient with chapter headings and a mix of classical and vernacular language
Readers who want only a single standalone story and are unwilling to follow the plot across volumes

Reading tips

Read in sequence with the previous volume: first review the main regimes and the relationships among figures, then proceed to this volume.
Pay particular attention to the author's own commentary and notes, sorting out his judgments on rise and fall and comparing them with the main text.
After finishing, organize the succession of the Five Dynasties and the divisions and mergers of the Ten Kingdoms in a simple table to test your grasp of the overall trajectory.
For campaigns or figures of interest, consult the relevant chapters of the standard histories for further reading.

版权信息
自序
第五十三回宠徐娘赋诗惊变俘蜀帅得地报功
第五十四回李重进涉水扫千军赵匡胤斩关擒二将
第五十五回唐孙晟奉使效忠李景达丧师奔命
第五十六回督租课严夫人归里尽臣节唐司空就刑
第五十七回破山寨君臣耀武失州城夫妇尽忠
第五十八回楚北鏖兵阖城殉节淮南纳土奉表投诚
第五十九回惩奸党唐主施刑正乐悬周臣明律
第六十回得辽关因病返跸殉周将禅位终篇

FAQ

What period of history does this volume mainly cover?

This volume is one installment of The Romance of the Five Dynasties and follows the chapter order of the whole work, narrating the later period of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms, the rise and fall of regimes, and related figures and events. The exact range of chapters covered is subject to the table of contents in the book; reading consecutively with the preceding and following volumes is recommended to grasp the complete trajectory.

Is the author's commentary worth reading closely?

Yes. Cai Dongfan's own commentary and notes are an important feature of his romance; the commentary mostly offers plain judgments on the merits and failings of figures and the direction of political affairs, in concise language. Close reading of the commentary helps in understanding the author's view of history and can raise the reading from the level of story to reflection on the lessons of rise and fall.

Is this book suitable for use as a history textbook?

Not directly. It is a popular historical romance; although based on standard histories, it contains literary elaboration and selections from unofficial accounts, and its details cannot be equated with historical fact. It can serve as supplementary extension material for history teaching, but when used it must be explained in comparison with standard histories or textbooks.

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About the author

Cai Dongfan Author · China · 1877–1945

Cai Dongfan (1877–1945) was a native of Xiaoshan, Zhejiang, and a modern Chinese writer of historical romances. Beginning in 1916, he spent ten years completing the 11-volume, 1,040-chapter Popular Romances of Successive Dynasties, which recounts the rise and fall of dynasties in an accessible style; he also wrote Romances of Empress Dowager Cixi. Drawing on historical sources and adapting them into simple classical Chinese and the chapter-based vernacular form, his works balance historical fact with narrative interest, allowing ordinary readers to follow the broad course of a dynasty through its chapter headings. The collection holds 381 of his works, including dynastic romances on the Jin, Ming, Tang, Later Han and Republican periods, as well as series such as the Six Histories and the Popular Romances of Successive Dynasties, commonly classified as history reading and classical literature. Regarded as a representative figure in Chinese historical romance writing, Cai Dongfan's series have had a lasting influence in popularizing historical knowledge and continuing the romance tradition, and remain accessible introductions to Chinese history for readers today.