Generalities on History

王嘉川Mar 2022

Rating 4.5

Word count: 156 words
Chapters: 21

Summary

Shitong (Generalities on History) consists of twenty volumes, originally fifty-two chapters, of which forty-nine survive today. The main text runs to more than 83,000 characters, with more than 9,000 characters of original annotations, totaling over 90,000 characters, divided into inner and outer chapters. The inner chapters are primary, the outer chapters supplementary.

Broadly speaking, the "inner chapters" mainly discuss historical compilation and constitute the main content and chief contribution of Shitong. The chapters are closely connected and form an organic system internally. The "outer chapters" mainly discuss the evolution of official historians and historical works, and offer miscellaneous evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of past histories. The chapters are unrelated and unsystematic, resembling miscellaneous discussions.

Editor's review

Shitong (Generalities on History) is a famous work on ancient Chinese historiographical theory written by Liu Zhiji of the Tang dynasty, with arrangement or introduction by Wang Jiachuan. The book has twenty volumes, with forty-nine chapters surviving today, divided into inner and outer chapters. The inner chapters mainly discuss historical compilation; the chapters are closely connected and form an organic system, and they constitute the main content and contribution of the book. The outer chapters mainly discuss the evolution of official historians and historical works and offer miscellaneous evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of past histories; the chapters are relatively independent. The book offers systematic discussion of historiographical conventions, the selection of historical sources, the cultivation of historians, and other issues, and is a landmark work in the history of Chinese historiography. Reading this book allows one to gain a deep understanding of the methodology and critical spirit of traditional historiography, and it is highly beneficial to historians and enthusiasts of literature and history alike. Editorial note: this is a theoretical work, and readers need some background knowledge in historiography to appreciate its subtleties.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Undergraduate and graduate students majoring in history, and researchers in historiographical theory
Readers interested in the history of ancient Chinese historiography and philology
Literature and history professionals who need to understand the compilation conventions of traditional historical works

Not a good fit for

Readers with no historical background seeking popular historical stories
Ordinary enthusiasts unaccustomed to theoretical speculation and ancient literary Chinese

Reading tips

Read first the inner chapters on compilation conventions to grasp the main framework of the book, then read selected outer chapters
Read alongside a textbook on the history of Chinese historiography to understand the specific background of Liu Zhiji's criticisms
Make summaries of chapters of interest and sort out their historiographical views and argumentative logic

导读
一、刘知幾生平
二、《史通》的撰述宗旨与表述方式
三、《史通》的学术思想与历史价值
四、《史通》的版本与本书编写说明
史通
《史通》原序
内篇卷一
六家第一
内篇卷二
二体第二
载言第三
本纪第四
世家第五
列传第六
内篇卷三
表历第七
书志第八
内篇卷四
论赞第九
序例第十

FAQ

What is the difference between the inner and outer chapters of Shitong?

The inner chapters mainly discuss historical compilation; the chapters are closely connected and form an organic system, and they are the main body of the book. The outer chapters mainly discuss the evolution of official historians and historical works and offer miscellaneous evaluations of the strengths and weaknesses of histories; the chapters are relatively independent.

What preparatory knowledge is needed to read Shitong?

It is best to first understand the major historical works and the development of historiography before the Tang dynasty, have basic ability to read literary Chinese, and know the historiographical background of Liu Zhiji's time.

What value does Shitong still have today?

It systematically summarizes the compilation methods and critical principles of traditional historiography and remains instructive for understanding the tradition of ancient Chinese historiography and reflecting on the use of historical sources and the duties of historians.

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About the author

王嘉川 Author

Wang Jiachuan is an author for whom limited public information is available; only two works can currently be confirmed, both in the field of classical Chinese scholarship and textual research. Shitong is the famous work on historical theory by Liu Zhiji of the Tang dynasty, and Wang Jiachuan's related work presumably centers on this classic, possibly involving editing, collation, annotation, or scholarly discussion. The Concise Chronological Biography of Hu Yinglin focuses on the life and writings of the Ming scholar Hu Yinglin, tracing his activities and scholarly development in annalistic form. These two works suggest that his writing emphasizes textual criticism and foundational compilation in historical documents, with topics concentrated on traditional bibliography, historical criticism, and the careers of scholars, aimed mainly at researchers in ancient Chinese history and philology. Because biographical information is lacking, his overall scholarly style cannot be fully assessed; existing classifications place his work under Eastern philosophy and general biography, broadly reflecting its combination of thought and personal biography.