Book of Han (Vol. 1)

Name: Book of Han (Vol. 1)
ISBN: 9787806484852

Ban GuYanbian People's Publishing House · ChinaApr 2025

4.8

Word count: 72 words
Chapters: 13
ISBN: 9787806484852

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Summary

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Editor's review

The Book of Han (Hanshu) is a dynastic history in the annals-and-biography format compiled by Ban Gu, covering the Western Han dynasty. Its structure follows the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) but is more regularized, and it pioneered the concentrated "treatises" (zhi) on institutions and regulations, giving systematic treatment to the institutions, geography, economy, and scholarship of the era. This is the first volume, generally covering the basic annals and the earlier biographies, and serves as the entry point to the whole work. Compared with the looser, more discursive style of the Shiji, the Hanshu is more tightly organized and elegant in wording, and its evaluative stance is closer to the official position, making it well suited for readers to appreciate changes in how histories were compiled. For readers who wish to understand the political evolution, institutional framework, and collective portrait of figures of the Western Han, this first volume first establishes the chronological skeleton before unfolding further. When reading, one should slow down and pay attention to the correspondences between the "treatises" and the "biographies".

Who it's for

A good fit for

Lovers of history and literature who want a systematic understanding of the Western Han historical sequence
Readers who need to compare the structural differences between the Shiji and the Hanshu
Scholars who are interested in ancient institutions and geographical records
University students with some grounding in classical Chinese who wish to read the original text closely

Not a good fit for

Readers who expect light, story-driven narration and have no patience for classical Chinese
Readers who only want to learn about the Eastern Han or Three Kingdoms and have clearly defined interests
Beginners who need a vernacular translation to replace the original text

Reading tips

First read the table of contents to clarify the arrangement of annals, tables, treatises, and biographies, then proceed in chronological order.
Treat the imperial annals as the main chronological thread and the biographies as supplements on individuals; reading them crosswise makes things clearer.
When encountering institutional terms, first make brief notes, then refer back to them when reading the "treatises".
Read alongside relevant chapters of the Shiji and note differences in narrative choices and wording.

About the publisher

Yanbian People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Yanbian People's Publishing House is a publisher known for traditional cultural classics. Its current library contains 55 titles, including the three-volume Records of the Three Kingdoms, the three-volume Book of Han, The Peony Pavilion, Romance of the Western Chamber and Peach Blossom Fan, Compendium of Materia Medica, and Guwen Guanzhi. Its representative authors include Chen Shou, Ban Gu, Li Shizhen, Tang Xianzu, Wu Chucai, Liu Xiang, and Zeng Guofan, whose works form an important part of its author resources. Its publishing focus leans toward historical classics, classical drama, medical materia medica, and classical prose anthologies, with common categories covering Eastern philosophy, folk literature, and inspirational growth. Its overall feature lies in the systematic organization and popular presentation of traditional classics, with attention to complete sets and reading suitability. Due to limited public information, other publishing fields and series details cannot yet be confirmed.

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FAQ

What are the main differences between the Hanshu and the Shiji?

The Shiji is a general history, covering from remote antiquity to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, written in a looser, more discursive style and often expressing the author's sentiments; the Hanshu is a dynastic history devoted solely to the Western Han, more orderly in structure, and systematically sets out "treatises" recording institutions and regulations, with elegant wording and a stance closer to the official position. Reading the two together reveals changes in the methods of historical compilation.

Can I go straight to the second volume without finishing the first?

You can, but it is not advisable. The first volume usually first establishes the chronological skeleton of the basic annals and the earlier figures, while the second volume continues with later biographies and part of the content; skipping ahead makes it easy to lose the chronological thread. If time is limited, at least read through the basic annals first before moving on to the biographies in the second volume, and understanding will be much smoother.

Should the "treatises" (zhi) section be read with special attention?

It is worth reading with special attention. The "treatises" concentrate on institutions, geography, economy, and scholarship, and are an important contribution of the Hanshu's structure as well as a key to understanding how the Western Han state operated. If one reads only the biographical sections, it is easy to see history as personal quarrels; only by reading alongside the "treatises" can one see the institutional background.

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About the author

Ban Gu Author · Chinese

Ban Gu (32–92), courtesy name Mengjian, was a native of Anling in Fufeng (present-day Xianyang, Shaanxi) and a historian and man of letters of the Eastern Han dynasty. Continuing the unfinished work of his father Ban Biao, he spent more than twenty years completing the Hanshu (Book of Han), China's first dynastic history in the biographical (jizhuan) style. Covering the period from Emperor Gaozu of Han to Wang Mang, it is noted for its rigorous structure and rich historical material, and later ages ranked Ban Gu together with Sima Qian as "Ban and Ma." Beyond history, Ban Gu was an accomplished writer of fu; his "Liangdu Fu" (Rhapsody on the Two Capitals) describes the geography and ritual order of the capitals in a grand and expansive manner. The Baihu Tongyi, compiled under his name, gathers the results of the White Tiger Hall discussions on the classics and is an important source for the thought and institutions of the Han. His works combine the precision of historiography with the elegance of literature and have deeply influenced later historical compilation and fu writing.