"Old Book of Tang", written by Liu Yu and others in the later Jin Dynasty, has a total of 200 volumes, including 20 volumes of imperial records, 30 volumes of chronicles, and 150 volumes of biographies. It records the history of nearly 300 years from the first year of Wude (618 AD), the emperor of the Tang Dynasty, to Li Jie, the fourth year of Emperor Ai of the Tang Dynasty (907 AD). It is the first historical book to systematically record the history of the Tang Dynasty. His book was originally called "Book of Tang", but was later renamed "Old Book of Tang" to distinguish it from "Book of Tang" written by Ouyang Xiu, Song Qi and others in the Song Dynasty. Since the "Old Book of Tang" was compiled very close to the Tang Dynasty, it has a relatively complete narrative of historical events from the early Tang Dynasty to Tang Daizong, and contains records of various dynasties from Tang Gaozu to Tang Wenzong, which has high historical value. The Zhonghua Book Company selected and revised the "Old Book of Tang", using the Yangzhou Censhi Ai Ying Zhai edition from the Daoguang period as the working edition. It also reviewed the residual Song Dynasty edition, Wen Ren Chuan's engraving edition, Wu Ying Dian edition, Zhejiang Book Company edition, and Hui Gu Tang edition, and followed the best. It also referred to books such as "Taiping Yulan" and "Cefu Yuangui", and absorbed a large number of previous research results. It is currently the most popular version of "Old Book of Tang".
Reader comments
Wow, this "Old Tang Book" records so many historical stories! I feel that Taizong Li Shimin is so powerful. He has been very smart since he was a child, and he also saved Emperor Yang of Sui. I think of the book "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", which also contains many stories about the Tang Dynasty. However, "Old Book of Tang" is official history and should be more realistic. Moreover, it also has high historical value, allowing us to better understand the history of the Tang Dynasty. What do you think?
Wow, this "Old Tang Book" records so many historical stories! I feel that Taizong Li Shimin is so powerful. He has been very smart since he was a child, and he also saved Emperor Yang of Sui. I think of the book "Romance of the Sui and Tang Dynasties", which also contains many stories about the Tang Dynasty. However, "Old Book of Tang" is official history and should be more realistic. Moreover, it also has high historical value, allowing us to better understand the history of the Tang Dynasty. What do you think?