Annals of the Two Han Dynasties (2 Volumes)

荀悦 / 袁宏Sep 2024

4.5

Word count: 469K words
Chapters: 29

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Summary

This set consists of two volumes: Han Ji and Hou Han Ji.

It includes Xun Yue's Han Ji and Yuan Hong's Hou Han Ji. At the end of the Han dynasty, during the Three Kingdoms period, Emperor Xian, finding the Hanshu too complex, ordered Xun Yue to reorganize it into an annalistic history. With superior historical insight and editorial skill, Xun Yue abridged the Hanshu and interspersed his own commentary and judgments, creating a new work: the Han Ji. After the Hanshu pioneered the dynastic-history model of the biographical (jizhuan) genre, Xun Yue was the first to apply this approach to annalistic chronicling; the Han Ji is thus China's first dynastic annalistic history. From then on, the annalistic genre stood alongside the biographical, forming the rivalry of "the Ban and Xun styles, contending for supremacy." In the Eastern Jin, the scholar Yuan Hong, inspired by the Han Ji, resolved to write a Hou Han Ji to complete the history of the Han. Devoting ten years, he used time as the warp to trace the development of Eastern Han history, and figures and events as the weft to show how contemporaneous events interconnected and how individuals and events shaped the course of history—well proportioned and clearly organized. The final six juan are especially brilliant and detailed, covering the tripartite balance of power, the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's seizure of power, warlord fragmentation, the Battle of Red Cliffs, and up to the Cao Wei usurpation of Han.

Editor's review

This set brings together two annalistic histories of the Han that general readers often overlook; its value lies in showing how the historiographical rivalry of "the Ban and Xun styles, contending for supremacy" took shape. Ordered by Emperor Xian to abridge the Hanshu, Xun Yue reorganized it annalistically and interspersed commentary, making the Han Ji the first dynastic annalistic history. Inspired by it, Yuan Hong spent ten years on the Hou Han Ji, using time as the warp and figures and events as the weft to give the Eastern Han a clear, coherent thread. The highlight is the final six juan: the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Dong Zhuo's seizure of power, warlord fragmentation, the Battle of Red Cliffs, and up to the Cao Wei usurpation—well proportioned and easier to follow than the biographical histories for seeing the sequence of events and how the various parties acted together. It suits readers who want a systematic understanding of the history around the two Han dynasties and are not satisfied with fragmented stories, and also serves as a companion to the Hanshu and Hou Hanshu. You need not read straight through at a uniform pace: begin with the last six juan of the Hou Han Ji, then return to the commentary style of the Han Ji.

Who it's for

A good fit for

History and literature enthusiasts who want a systematic overview of the two Han dynasties
Readers who have read the Hanshu and Hou Hanshu and want to compare annalistic approaches
Students and researchers interested in the evolution of Chinese historical genres
Readers with a strong interest in the warlord fragmentation at the end of the Eastern Han

Not a good fit for

Readers who want only light historical storytelling and are unused to classical Chinese narrative
Beginners who need a modern vernacular translation or detailed annotations
Readers who find the annalistic time-ordered format difficult

Reading tips

Start with the last six juan of the Hou Han Ji to feel the tight narrative from the Yellow Turbans to the Cao Wei usurpation, then read through from the beginning.
Prepare a timeline of major events and mark their order as you read to appreciate the annalistic thread.
Slow down at Xun Yue's and Yuan Hong's commentary and jot marginal notes comparing your own judgments.

版权信息
汉纪
序
高祖皇帝纪
孝惠皇帝纪
高后纪
孝文皇帝纪
孝景皇帝纪
孝武皇帝纪
孝昭皇帝纪
孝宣皇帝纪
孝元皇帝纪
孝成皇帝纪
孝哀皇帝纪
孝平皇帝纪
述帝纪辞
后汉纪
序
光武皇帝纪
孝明皇帝纪
孝章皇帝纪
孝和皇帝纪
孝殇皇帝纪
孝安皇帝纪
孝顺皇帝纪
孝质皇帝纪
孝桓皇帝纪
孝灵皇帝纪
孝献皇帝纪

FAQ

What do the Han Ji and Hou Han Ji each cover?

The Han Ji is Xun Yue's annalistic history of the Western Han, abridged and adapted from the Hanshu by order of Emperor Xian, with interspersed commentary; the Hou Han Ji is Yuan Hong's annalistic history of the Eastern Han, written over ten years, using time as the warp and figures and events as the weft, with the final six juan detailing the Yellow Turban Rebellion through the Cao Wei usurpation.

Why is the Han Ji important in historiography?

After the Hanshu pioneered the dynastic biographical history, Xun Yue was the first to apply the dynastic approach to annalistic chronicling, making the Han Ji China's first dynastic annalistic history. From then on the annalistic genre stood alongside the biographical, forming the rivalry of "the Ban and Xun styles, contending for supremacy."

Can readers with no grounding in classical Chinese read this set?

Both works are in classical Chinese annalistic style with concise narration, requiring some ability to read classical Chinese. Without any grounding, it is advisable first to familiarize yourself with the format and figures through a modern annotated translation, then return to this original text; otherwise the density of events and frequent names may cause you to lose your way.

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About the author

荀悦 Author

Xun Yue was a historian and political thinker of the late Eastern Han period. Public records offer limited information about his dates and birthplace, yet his works survive: the Han Ji (also known as the Qian Han Ji) and the Shen Jian, with six titles held in this collection. The Han Ji is an annalistic history of the Western Han, condensing the Book of Han into a concise narrative that remains a valuable source for understanding the rise and fall of the Western Han. The Shen Jian is a political and philosophical work discussing statecraft and self-cultivation and examining names and realities, reflecting his Confucian stance and practical outlook. Editions such as the two-volume Liang Han Ji, modern-language versions, and an unannotated Qian Han Ji make these texts accessible to different readers. His writing combines a historian's rigor with a political thinker's concerns, offering reference value in history, Eastern philosophy, and literary appreciation.

袁宏 Author

Yuan Hong was a historian in ancient China. Concrete details of his life, official career, and birth and death years are currently limited in publicly available sources and are difficult to describe in full. Works attributed to Yuan Hong that survive today include the _Hou Han Ji_ (Annals of the Later Han) and the _Liang Han Ji_ (Annals of the Two Han Dynasties, 2 volumes), which collects his historical writings. In terms of subject matter, he concentrated on organizing and narrating the history of the Eastern Han dynasty, following the annalistic approach in traditional historiography; his works are commonly classed as historical reading. His text arranges events year by year and traces the rise and fall of an era, offering later generations a fairly systematic reader for understanding the politics and society of the Eastern Han. Because sources are limited, his teachers, official posts, and scholarly lineage cannot be given here; readers may begin with the narrative structure and selection of materials in the _Hou Han Ji_ to appreciate the rigor and restraint of his historical writing, and thereby to understand the common methods by which ancient historians organized the history of earlier ages.