| Twenty-Four Histories | |
| C: | 二十四史 |
| P: | Èrshísì Shǐ |
| J: | Ji6sap6sei3 Si2 |
The Twenty-Four Histories, also known as the Orthodox Histories, are the Chinese official dynastic histories covering from the earliest dynasty in 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty in the 17th century.
The Han dynasty official Sima Qian established many of the conventions of the genre, but the form was not fixed until much later. Starting with the Tang dynasty, each dynasty established an official office to write the history of its predecessor using official court records, partly in order to establish its own link to the earliest times. As fixed and edited in the Qing dynasty, the whole set contains 3,213 volumes and about 40 million words. It is considered one of the most important sources on Chinese history and culture.[1]
The title "Twenty-Four Histories" dates from 1775, which was the 40th year in the reign of the Qianlong Emperor. This was when the last volume, the History of Ming, was reworked and a complete set of the histories was produced.
| Title | Corresponding dynasty | Main author | Year of compilation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Records of the Grand Historian Chinese: 史記 | The period from the Yellow Emperor to the Emperor Wu of Han | Sima Qian | 91 BC | Part of the Early Four Historiographies (Chinese: 前四史) | |
| Book of Han Chinese: 漢書 | Western Han Xin dynasty | Ban Gu | AD 82 | Part of the Early Four Historiographies (Chinese: 前四史) | |
| Records of the Three Kingdoms Chinese: 三國志 | Cao Wei Shu Han Eastern Wu | Chen Shou | AD 289 | Part of the Early Four Historiographies (Chinese: 前四史). Greatly expanded by later annotation | |
| Book of the Later Han Chinese: 後漢書 | Eastern Han | Fan Ye | AD 445 | Part of the Early Four Historiographies (Chinese: 前四史)[2] | |
| Book of Song Chinese: 宋書 | Liu Song | Shen Yue | 488 | ||
| Book of Southern Qi Chinese: 南齊書 | Southern Qi | Xiao Zixian | 537 | ||
| Book of Wei Chinese: 魏書 | Northern Wei Eastern Wei | Wei Shou | 554 | ||
| Book of Liang Chinese: 梁書 | Liang dynasty | Yao Silian | 636 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Book of Chen Chinese: 陳書 | Chen dynasty | Yao Silian | 636 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Book of Northern Qi Chinese: 北齊書 | Northern Qi | Li Baiyao | 636 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Book of Zhou Chinese: 周書 | Western Wei Northern Zhou | Linghu Defen | 636 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Book of Sui Chinese: 隋書 | Sui dynasty | Wei Zheng | 636 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Book of Jin Chinese: 晉書 | Western Jin Eastern Jin | Fang Xuanling | 648 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| History of the Southern Dynasties Chinese: 南史 | Liu Song Southern Qi Liang dynasty Chen dynasty | Li Yanshou | 659 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| History of the Northern Dynasties Chinese: 北史 | Northern Wei Eastern Wei Western Wei Northern Qi Northern Zhou Sui dynasty | Li Yanshou | 659 | Part of the Eight Historiographies compiled in Tang dynasty (Chinese: 唐初八史) | |
| Old Book of Tang Chinese: 舊唐書 | Tang dynasty | Liu Xu | 945 | ||
| Old History of the Five Dynasties Chinese: 舊五代史 | Later Liang Later Tang Later Jin Later Han Later Zhou | Xue Juzheng | 974 | ||
| Historical Records of the Five Dynasties Chinese: 五代史記 | Later Liang Later Tang Later Jin Later Han Later Zhou | Ouyang Xiu | 1053 | Also called "New History of the Five Dynasties" (Chinese: 新五代史) | |
| New Book of Tang Chinese: 新唐書 | Tang dynasty | Ouyang Xiu | 1060 | ||
| History of Liao Chinese: 遼史 | Liao dynasty Western Liao | Toqto'a | 1343 | Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (Chinese: 元末三史)[3] | |
| History of Jin Chinese: 金史 | Jin dynasty | Toqto'a | 1345 | Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (Chinese: 元末三史) | |
| History of Song Chinese: 宋史 | Northern Song Southern Song | Toqto'a | 1345 | Part of the Three Historiographies compiled in Yuan dynasty (Chinese: 元末三史) | |
| History of Yuan Chinese: 元史 | Yuan dynasty | Song Lian | 1370 | ||
| History of Ming Chinese: 明史 | Ming dynasty | Zhang Tingyu | 1739 |
These works were begun by one historian and completed by an heir, usually of the next generation.
There were attempts at producing new traditional histories after the fall of the Qing dynasty, but they either never gained widespread acceptance as part of the official historical canon or they remain unfinished.
| Title | Corresponding dynasty | Main author | Year of compilation | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New History of Yuan Chinese: 新元史 | Yuan dynasty | Ke Shaomin | 1920 | Part of the Twenty-Five Histories (Chinese: 二十五史) | |
| Draft History of Qing Chinese: 清史稿 | Qing dynasty | Zhao Erxun | 1927 |
See main article: Draft History of Qing and History of Qing (People's Republic). In 1961, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the declaration of the Republic of China (ROC), the ROC government in Taiwan published the History of Qing, adding 21 supplementary chapters to the Draft History of Qing and revising many existing chapters to denounce the People's Republic of China (PRC) as an illegitimate, impostor regime. It also removed passages that were derogatory towards the Xinhai Revolution.[4] This edition has not been widely accepted as the official Qing history because it is recognized that it was a rushed job motivated by political objectives. It does not correct most of the errors known to exist in the Draft History of Qing.
An additional project, attempting to write a New History of Qing incorporating new materials and improvements in historiography, lasted from 1988 to 2000. Only 33 chapters out of the projected 500 were published.[5] This project was later abandoned following the rise of the Taiwanese nationalist Pan-Green Coalition, which argues that it is not the duty of Taiwan to compile the history of mainland China.
In 1961, the PRC also attempted to complete the Qing history, but historians were prevented from doing so against the backdrop of the Cultural Revolution.[6]
In 2002, the PRC once again announced that it would complete the History of Qing.[7] The project was approved in 2002,[8] and put under the leadership of historian Dai Yi.[9] Initially planned to be completed in 10 years,[10] the project suffered multiple delays, pushing completion of the first draft to 2016.[11] Chinese Social Sciences Today reported in April 2020 that the project's results were being reviewed.[12] However, in 2023, the manuscript was reportedly rejected,[13] and there are also rumors that the project has been indefinitely halted.[14]
In China, the Zhonghua Book Company (Zhonghua Shuju) have edited a number of these histories. They have been collated, edited, and punctuated by Chinese specialists.[15]
From 1991 to 2003, it was translated from Classical Chinese into modern written vernacular Chinese, by Xu Jialu and other scholars.[16]
One of the Twenty-Four Histories is in the process of being fully translated into English: Records of the Grand Historian by William Nienhauser, in nine volumes.[17]
In Korean and Vietnamese, only the Records has been translated. Most of the histories have been translated into Japanese.