Annals of the Han

荀悦Jul 2024

4.7

Word count: 212K words
Chapters: 15

Summary

Also known as the Former Han Ji. Its author, Xun Yue, was a renowned scholar of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period who, together with his younger cousin Xun Yu, served Cao Cao. Emperor Xian, controlled by Cao Cao and excluded from state affairs, devoted himself to other pursuits, and Xun Yue therefore frequently entered the palace to lecture on the classics. Deeming Ban Gu's Hanshu too long, the emperor ordered Xun Yue to reorganize the history of the Han along the annalistic model of the Zuozhuan. Thus Xun Yue produced the Han Ji, concise in wording and refined in commentary; the emperor read it and praised it.

Editor's review

The Han Ji is Xun Yue's annalistic history of the Western Han, commissioned by Emperor Xian and reworked from Ban Gu's Hanshu; concise in wording and refined in commentary, it combines a clear historical account with a political-essay character. Its value lies in presenting the rise and fall of the Western Han through a tighter annalistic thread while preserving Xun Yue's judgments on order and disorder, gain and loss—so that the reader has both a history to follow and arguments to ponder. For readers accustomed to the biographical (jizhuan) format who find the Hanshu cumbersome, it offers a lighter path in; for students of Han historiography and political thought, it is a precious text for observing how a late-Han scholar reorganized the history of the preceding dynasty. When reading, it is advisable to consult the relevant chapters of the Hanshu to appreciate the differences between the annalistic and biographical formats.

Who it's for

A good fit for

General readers interested in Western Han history who wish to survey it quickly through an annalistic format
History students or researchers who need to understand Han-era historiography and Xun Yue's historical judgments
Readers who enjoy annalistic narrative in the style of the Zizhi Tongjian and wish to trace its antecedents

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting popular, story-driven narrative who lack the patience for classical Chinese
Readers who only wish to look up details about individual historical figures and need the convenience of biographical-format indexing

Reading tips

Begin with the opening and the commentary at the end of each volume to grasp Xun Yue's view of history, then return to read the annalistic main text in full.
Keep a copy of the Hanshu at hand for comparison; when encountering important events, compare the choices and emphases of the two formats.
Read in sections by reign; after each section, sort out the thread of order and disorder and the key turning points of that period.

版权信息
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

FAQ

What is the relationship between the Han Ji and the Hanshu?

The Han Ji is an annalistic history of the Western Han that Xun Yue, at Emperor Xian's command, reorganized from Ban Gu's Hanshu following the annalistic model of the Zuozhuan. It draws its material from the Hanshu but changes the organizational method of the biographical format and adds Xun Yue's own commentary; the two works are therefore related in content but different in format.

What classical Chinese foundation is needed to read the Han Ji?

The book is written in classical Chinese, but Xun Yue's wording is concise, making it on the whole less difficult than many major historical works. Readers with basic classical Chinese reading ability and familiarity with common historical events can read it through; those with weaker foundations are advised to use an annotated edition or first read a vernacular selection to become familiar with the content.

Why did Emperor Xian order Xun Yue to recompile the history of the Han?

According to the sources, the emperor considered Ban Gu's Hanshu too long and inconvenient to read, and so ordered Xun Yue to reorganize the history of the Han in annalistic form. When the work was completed, its wording was concise and its commentary refined, and the emperor read it and praised it. This also shows that the Han Ji was intended from the outset to be concise and easy to read.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

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.