On the Side of the Couch: Zhao Kuangyin, Li Yu and Their Era

If you want to understand the history of regime change and unification from the Five Dynasties to the Song Dynasty, you can take a look. There are many things in this history that are highly controversial. The author may have tried to be as fair as possible, but like most people who narrate history, I still quoted controversial "historical books" such as Moji; Emotions can always be glimpsed through the gaps in the text. Just like the records of various dynasties and dynasties, the author has his own preferences, which is inevitable. It can be seen that the author has some regrets about Li Yu's life and posthumous reputation. Song Taizong had almost no achievements and relied entirely on the legacy of Taizu.

The content is detailed and the historical analysis is in place. However, it is more of a popular science work. The version disputes of some historical materials are not noted, and some interesting historical details are also ignored. Overall it's ok. If you are interested in the history from the Five Dynasties to the early Song Dynasty, it is best to combine academic works such as "History of the Southern Tang Dynasty" by Ren Shuang, as well as circulating historical materials such as "Records of Taizu" and "Zizhi Tongjian" for an in-depth understanding.

I came here for the CP of Silver Fish. If you have the same purpose as me, you can start reading from Chapter 4.

There are overlaps with the story described in the popular TV series Taiping Year. It can supplement the historical background, character relationships, etc. That are not very clear in the TV series. The book describes it more clearly.

Finished reading at 22:39 on February 27, 2026 [OK]

Finally, I can learn more about the history of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms.

It coincides with the plot of Taiping Year, and I'm now starting to listen to the book again.

Teacher Zhang Mingyang's books are as good as ever and worth reading

The article is sharply written and the historical materials are basically true and reliable, restoring the true situation from the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms to the Northern Song Dynasty.

A very nice book with lifelike characters and remarkable content, a bit like "A History of China that is addictive once you read it"

From the halcyon years. This is a book with great historical interest and sentiment. The historical research is quite rigorous and it successfully portrays complex characters such as Zhao Kuangyin and Li Yu.

Suitable for history novices, the relationships between the characters are clear

Not bad, very, very, very beautiful