Romance of the Former Han (1)
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Summary
This book is one of the series of full-length historical novels written by Cai Dongfan in the Republican era under the guiding idea of "using historical fiction to save the nation." It covers the period from the contending warlords at the end of the Qin dynasty and Liu Bang's founding of the Han to Wang Mang's usurpation. Readers who love history should not miss it. It is a monumental work of historical fiction that takes the official histories as its warp and anecdotes as its weft, with a distinctive format and the author's own commentary and annotations. The writing is warm and natural, accessible and easy to understand. Both plot and style are excellent, making it highly readable. The work values authenticity: through the techniques of historical fiction it gives history a strong narrative drive and faithfully recreates the sweeping history of the Qin and Western Han dynasties, portraying one grand epic after another of heroes and their times.
Editor's review
The first volume of Cai Dongfan's Former Han Romance covers the period from the contending warlords at the end of the Qin dynasty through Liu Bang's founding of the Han to Wang Mang's usurpation. It is a historical novel written in the spirit of "using fiction to save the nation": it takes the official histories as its warp and anecdotes as its weft, with the author's own commentary and annotations in a distinctive format. Its strength lies in being "warm and natural, accessible and easy to understand," turning the sweeping upheavals of the Qin and Western Han into a story with a beginning and an end, with heroes and circumstances taking turns on stage; the plot moves with the grip of historical fiction while never abandoning its attention to historical fact. The author's self-commentary and annotations are the book's highlight: readers can follow the story and also see the author's judgments on figures and events, making it well suited to readers who like to think as they read. When reading, one may treat the "romance" as the entry point and "the official histories as the warp" as the skeleton: first follow the plot, then return to the annotations, and finally check against the broad sequence of major events to form one's own historical framework. For readers who enjoy historical stories but fear that official histories are dry, this book is a relatively friendly starting point; for readers seeking purely academic textual research, additional source materials will be needed.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers who enjoy historical fiction and want an easy entry into the history of the late Qin and early Han
- Story-oriented readers interested in the period of upheaval from Liu Bang's founding of the Han to Wang Mang's usurpation
- History enthusiasts willing to read self-commentary and annotations, following both the story and the author's evaluations
- Writers and students who need material on historical subjects and prefer accessible narrative
Not a good fit for
- Historians who require rigorous academic textual research and item-by-item verification against primary sources
- Readers who prefer purely vernacular modern fiction and do not accept the classical flavor of historical fiction
- Readers who only want brief historical summaries and are unwilling to follow a long plot
Reading tips
- Read through the plot first, then return to the self-commentary and annotations to appreciate the author's judgments on figures and events.
- Prepare a timeline of major events and mark key turning points as you read, to avoid confusing the many characters.
- When you encounter fictionalized episodes, note them first, then check against the official historical sequence to judge which are anecdotal embellishments.
- Read a fixed number of chapters or sections each day, and after each session summarize the shifts in the situation in two or three sentences.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 自序
- 第一回 移花接木计献美姬 用李代桃欢承淫后
- 第二回 诛假父纳言迎母 称皇帝立法愚民
- 第三回 封泰岱下山避雨 过湘江中渡惊风
- 第四回 误椎击逃生遇异士 见图谶遣将造长城
- 第五回 信佞臣尽毁诗书 筑阿房大兴土木
- 第六回 阬深谷诸儒毙命 得原璧暴主惊心
- 第七回 寻生路徐市垦荒 从逆谋李斯矫诏
- 第八回 葬始皇骊山成巨冢 戮宗室豻狱构奇冤
FAQ
How is this book different from an ordinary historical novel?
It is a historical novel that takes the official histories as its warp and anecdotes as its weft, and it includes the author's own commentary and annotations. It has both the plot of historical fiction and an emphasis on authenticity, and the author states judgments in the annotations, so it offers an extra layer of "reading history plus reading commentary" that ordinary historical novels lack.
Can I read the first volume directly without having read a previous one?
Yes. The first volume begins with the contending warlords at the end of the Qin dynasty, which is the starting point of this history, and does not depend on an earlier work. As long as you have a rough impression of the basic figures and events of the late Qin and early Han, following the plot should not be too difficult.
Do the self-commentary and annotations interrupt the reading?
It depends on how you read. If you only want to follow the story, you can skip the annotations and read the plot through; if you want to understand the author's judgments on historical events, go back and read the annotations carefully. It is best to focus on the plot the first time and on the annotations the second time, so you neither break the rhythm nor waste the format's highlight.
Is the language accessible, or is it a struggle to read?
The material describes the writing as warm, natural, accessible, and easy to understand, but it is a work of historical fiction from the Republican era and still carries some classical flavor. Readers used to modern vernacular fiction may need a few pages to adjust; the overall barrier is not high, and reading with a timeline will make it smoother.
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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.
