With the flames of war still raging, the rise and fall of the Northern Zhou dynasty unfolds across the pages of history. The Book of Zhou was compiled under imperial decree by Linghu Defen, a court historian in the early Tang. Completed during the Zhenguan era, it comprises fifty volumes and uses the standard annal-biography format to chronicle the period from the founding of Western Wei after the Northern Wei split to the fall of Northern Zhou, just before the Sui dynasty unified the realm.
The book's imperial annals record the lives and major affairs of the Western Wei and Northern Zhou rulers, while its biographies detail the achievements and personalities of princes, ministers, generals, and strategists, including Yuwen Tai, Dugu Xin, Yuchi Jiong, and Yang Zhong. It covers the course of wars, political institutions, ritual and music, and assessments of historical figures, in plain prose backed by substantial historical records.
The Book of Zhou preserves a wealth of important historical facts from the late Northern Dynasties. It also reflects the early Tang historians' continuation of the tradition established by Records of the Grand Historian and Book of Han, emphasizing moral judgment and lessons drawn from the rise and fall of dynasties. Alongside Book of Northern Qi, Book of Sui, Book of Southern Dynasties, and Book of Northern Dynasties, it is an important historical source for studying politics, military affairs, and culture from the late Northern and Southern Dynasties through the early Sui.
