Zizhi Tongjian
Chinese historical record from 403 BC to 959 AD, published in 1084 / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Zizhi Tongjian (Chinese: 資治通鑑; pinyin: Zīzhì Tōngjiàn; Wade–Giles: Tzŭ1-chih4 t'ung1-chien4; lit. 'Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance'[lower-alpha 1]) is a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography, published in 1084 AD during the Northern Song dynasty in the form of a chronicle recording Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years.[1] The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls (juan Chinese: 卷, equivalent to a chapter) totaling about 3 million Chinese characters.
Author | Sima Guang et al. |
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Original title | 資治通鑑 |
Language | Classical Chinese |
Subject | History of China |
Publication date | 1084 |
Media type | Scrolls |
Original text | 資治通鑑 at Chinese Wikisource |
Zizhi Tongjian | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Traditional Chinese | 資治通鑑 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Simplified Chinese | 资治通鉴 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Literal meaning | "Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance"[lower-alpha 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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In 1065 AD, Emperor Yingzong of Song commissioned his official, Sima Guang (1019–1086 AD), to lead a project to compile a universal history of China, and granted him funding and the authority to appoint his own staff. His team took 19 years to complete the work[1] and in 1084 AD it was presented to Emperor Yingzong's successor Emperor Shenzong of Song. It was well-received and has proved to be immensely influential among both scholars and the general public. Endymion Wilkinson regards it as reference quality: "It had an enormous influence on later Chinese historical writing, either directly or through its many abbreviations, continuations, and adaptations. It remains an extraordinarily useful first reference for a quick and reliable coverage of events at a particular time",[2] while Achilles Fang wrote "[Zizhi Tongjian], and its numerous re-arrangements, abridgments, and continuations, were practically the only general histories with which most of the reading public of pre-Republican China were famililar."[3]