Cai Dongfan's History of China: The Later Han

Cai Dongfan's History of China is a vernacular version of his popular historical romances about the successive dynasties, and a sweeping, accessible history of China. Spanning more than a thousand chapters, it covers the rise and fall of dynasties from the First Emperor of Qin through 1920, recounting 2,166 years of history across 11 volumes. Its vast timespan, huge cast of figures, and monumental scope make it arguably the greatest historical romance of its kind. Cai Dongfan was hailed as "a great historian of his age, a masterful writer for all time."

In selecting and using historical sources, Cai Dongfan relied primarily on official histories while also drawing on unofficial accounts and anecdotes. As he put it, "I use official histories as my framework, striving for accuracy, and anecdotes as my threads, without favoring falsehood." He treated unofficial histories and anecdotes with great caution, often subjecting them to repeated scrutiny.

His distinctive style emphasizes "using righteousness to record events and using the Way to convey emotion." He wrote the main text, annotations, and commentary himself.