Book of the Later Han Dynasty

"Book of the Later Han" is a chronicle and chronological history that records the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty. It is one of the "Twenty-Four Histories". It was compiled by Fan Ye, a historian from the Southern Song Dynasty. The book has a total of 120 volumes, including 10 volumes of this chronicle and 80 volumes of biographies. It mainly records a total of 195 years of history from the first year of Jianwu of Emperor Guangwu of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 AD) to the 25th year of Jian'an of Emperor Xian of the Han Dynasty (220 AD). In the compilation, Fan Ye absorbed the achievements of various history books since the Eastern Han Dynasty, and systematically organized and tailored them, and finally formed a family's statement. In addition, the thirty volumes of "Zhi" in the current "Book of the Later Han" are part of the "Continuation of the Book of Han" written by Sima Biao of the Jin Dynasty, and were added to the joint edition by later generations. "Book of the Later Han" is of great value in both history and literature. Its narrative is concise and detailed, its structure is rigorous, and it contains a large number of precious historical materials reflecting the social, political, economic and cultural conditions at that time. Fan Ye created new biographies such as "Biography of Women", which expanded the scope of historical records. The book is written fluently and has incisive and profound commentaries. It is highly praised by later generations. It is called the "First Four Histories" together with "Historical Records", "Hanshu" and "Three Kingdoms". It is the core classic work for studying and understanding the history of the Eastern Han Dynasty.