Book of Han

The Book of Han (), finished in 111 CE, is one of the Twenty-Four Histories and covers the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), an Eastern Han court official, with the help of his sister Ban Zhao, continuing the work of their father, Ban Biao. They modelled their work on the Records of the Grand Historian (), a cross-dynastic general history, but theirs was the first in this annals-biography form to cover a single dynasty. It is the best source, sometimes the only one, for many topics such as literature in this period. The Book of Han is also called the Book of the Former Han () to distinguish it from the Book of the Later Han () which covers the Eastern Han period (25–220 CE), and was composed in the fifth century by Fan Ye (398–445 CE).

Contents

This history developed from a continuation of Sima Qian's Records of the Grand Historian, initiated by Ban Gu's father, Ban Biao, at the beginning of the Later Han dynasty. This work is usually referred to as Later Traditions (), which indicates that the elder Ban's work was meant to be a continuation. Other scholars of the time, including Liu Xin and Yang Xiong also worked on continuations of Sima's history. After Ban Biao's death, his eldest son Ban Gu was dissatisfied with what his father had completed, and he began a new history that started with the beginning of the Han dynasty. This distinguished it from Sima Qian's history, which had begun with China's earliest legendary rulers. In this way, Ban Gu initiated the Jizhuanti () format for dynastic histories that was to remain the model for the official histories until modern times.

For the periods where they overlapped, Ban Gu adopted nearly verbatim much of Sima Qian's material, though in some cases he also expanded it. He also incorporated at least some of what his father had written, though it is difficult to know how much. The completed work ran to a total of 100 fascicles (), and included essays on law, science, geography, and literature. Ban Gu's younger sister Ban Zhao finished writing the book in 111, 19 years after Ban Gu had died in prison. An outstanding scholar in her own right, she is thought to have written volumes 13–20 (eight chronological tables) and 26 (treatise on astronomy), the latter with the help of Ma Xu. As with the Records of the Grand Historian, Zhang Qian, a notable Chinese general who travelled to the west, was a key source for the cultural and socio-economic data on the Western Regions contained in the 96th fascicle. The "Annals" section and the three chapters covering the reign of Wang Mang were translated into English by Homer H. Dubs.Homer H. Dubs. (trans.) The History of the Former Han Dynasty. 3 vols. Baltimore: Waverly, 1938–55. Other chapters have been rendered into English by A. F. P. Hulsewé, Clyde B. Sargent, Nancy Lee Swann, and Burton Watson.

The text includes a description of the Triple Concordance Calendar System () developed by Liu Xin in fascicle 21. This is translated to English by Cullen.

Ban Gu's history set the standard for the writings of later Chinese dynasties, and today it is a reference used to study the Han period. It is regarded as one of the "Four Histories" () of the Twenty-Four Histories canon, together with the Records of the Grand Historian, Records of the Three Kingdoms and History of the Later Han.

Annals

Ji (, annal), 12 volumes. Emperors' biographies in strict annal form, which offer a chronological overview of the most important occurrences, as seen from the imperial court. Number Title (Chinese) Title (English) Volume 1 (Part 1), Volume 1 (Part 2) Annals of Emperor Gaozu, 206–195 BCE Volume 2 Annals of Emperor Hui, 194–188 BCE Volume 3 Annals of Empress Lü Zhi, 188–180 BCE Volume 4 Annals of Emperor Wen, 179–157 BCE Volume 5 Annals of Emperor Jing, 156–141 BCE Volume 6 Annals of Emperor Wu, 140–87 BCE Volume 7 Annals of Emperor Zhao, 86–74 BCE Volume 8 Annals of Emperor Xuan, 73–49 BCE Volume 9 Annals of Emperor Yuan, 48–33 BCE Volume 10 Annals of Emperor Cheng, 32–7 BCE Volume 11 Annals of Emperor Ai, 6–1 BCE Volume 12 Annals of Emperor Ping, 1 BCE – 5 CE

Chronological tables Biao (, tables), 8 volumes. Chronological tables of important people.

Number Title (Chinese) Title (English) Volume 13 Table of nobles not related to the imperial clan Volume 14 Table of nobles related to the imperial clan Volume 15 Table of sons of nobles Volume 16 Table of meritorious officials during the reigns of (Emperors) Gao, Hui, Wen and Empress Gao Volume 17 Table of meritorious officials during the reigns of (Emperors) Jing, Wu, Zhao, Xuan, Yuan and Cheng Volume 18 Table of nobles from families of the imperial consorts Volume 19 Table of nobility ranks and government offices Volume 20 Prominent people from the past until the present

Treatises Zhi (, memoirs), 10 volumes. Each treatise describes an area of effort of the state.

Number Title (Chinese) Title (English) Volume 21 Treatise on Rhythm and the Calendar Volume 22 Treatise on Rites and Music Volume 23 Treatise on Punishment and Law Volume 24 (Part 1), Volume 24 (Part 2) Treatise on Foodstuffs Volume 25 (Part 1), Volume 25 (Part 2) Treatise on Sacrifices Volume 26 Treatise on Astronomy Volume 27 (Part 1), Volume 27 (Part 2), Volume 27 (Part 3), Volume 27 (Part 4), Volume 27 (Part 5) Treatise on the Five Elements Volume 28 (Part 1), Volume 28 (Part 2) Treatise on Geography Volume 29 Treatise on Rivers and Canals Volume 30 Treatise on Literature

Biographies Zhuan (, exemplary traditions, usually translated as biographies), 70 volumes. Biographies of important people. The biographies confine themselves to the description of events that clearly show the exemplary character of the person. Two or more people are treated in one main article, as they belong to the same class of people. The last articles describe the relations between China and the various peoples at and beyond the frontiers, including the contested areas of Ba in present-day Yunnan; Nanyue in present-day Guangdong, Guangxi, and Vietnam; and Minyue in present-day Fujian.

Number Title (Chinese) Title (English) Volume 31 Chen Sheng and Xiang Yu Volume 32 Zhang Er and Chen Yu Volume 33 Wei Bao, Tian Dan and Hán Xin (King of Han) Volume 34 Han, Peng, Ying, Lu and Wu – Han Xin, Peng Yue, Ying Bu, Lu Wan and Wu Rui () Volume 35 the Princes of Jing, Yan and Wu Volume 36 Prince Yuan of Chu – Liu Xiang and Liu Xin Volume 37 Ji Bu, Luan Bu and Tian Shu Volume 38 the five sons of Emperor Gao Volume 39 Xiao He and Cao Shen Volume 40 Zhang, Chen, Wang and Zhou – Zhang Liang, Chen Ping, Wang Ling () and Zhou Bo Volume 41 Fan, Li, Teng, Guan, Fu, Jin and Zhou – Fan Kuai, Li Shang (), Xiahou Ying, Guan Ying (), Fu Kuan, Jin She () and Zhou Xue () Volume 42 Zhang, Zhou, Zhao, Ren and Shentu – Zhang Cang (), Zhou Chang (), Zhao Yao (), Ren Ao () and Shentu Jia () Volume 43 Li, Lu, Zhu, Liu and Shusun – Li Yiji (), Lu Gu (), Zhu Jian (), Lou Jing () and Shusun Tong () Volume 44 the kings of Huainan, Hengshan and Jibei Volume 45 Kuai, Wu, Jiang and Xifu – Kuai Tong (), Wu Bei (), Jiang Chong () and Xifu Gong () Volume 46 the lords of Wan, Wei, Zhi, Zhou and Zhang – Shi Fen (), Wei Wan (), Zhi Buyi (), Zhou Ren () and Zhang Ou () Volume 47 the three sons of Emperor Wen Volume 48 Jia Yi Volume 49 Yuan Ang and Chao Cuo Volume 50 Zhang, Feng, Ji and Zheng – Zhang Shizhi (), Feng Tang (), Ji An () and Zheng Dangshi () Volume 51 Jia, Zou, Mei and Lu – Jia Shan (, Zou Yang (), Mei Cheng () and Lu Wenshu () Volume 52 Dou, Tian, Guan and Han – Dou Ying (), Tian Fen (), Guan Fu () and Han Anguo () Volume 53 the thirteen sons of Emperor Jing Volume 54 Li Guang and Su Jian Volume 55 Wei Qing and Huo Qubing Volume 56 Dong Zhongshu Volume 57 (Part 1), Volume 57 (Part 2) Sima Xiangru Volume 58 Gongsun Hong, Bu Shi and Er Kuan Volume 59 Zhang Tang Volume 60 Du Zhou Volume 61 Zhang Qian and Li Guangli Volume 62 Sima Qian Volume 63 the five sons of Emperor Wu Volume 64 (Part 1), Volume 64 (Part 2) Yan, Zhu, Wuqiu, Zhufu, Xu, Yan, Zhong, Wang and Jia – Yan Zhu (), Zhu Maichen (), Wuqiu Shouwang (), Zhufu Yan (), Xu Yue (), Yan An (), Zhong Jun (), Wang Bao () and Jia Juanzhi (); two parts Volume 65 Dongfang Shuo Volume 66 Gongsun, Liu, Tian, Wang, Yang, Cai, Chen and Zheng – Gongsun He (), Liu Quli (), Tian Qiuqian (), Wang Xin (), Yang Chang (), Cai Yi (), Chen Wannian () and Zheng Hong () Volume 67 Yang, Hu, Zhu, Mei and Yun – Yang Wangsun (), Hu Jian (), Zhu Yun (), Mei Fu () and Yun Chang () Volume 68 Huo Guang and Jin Midi Volume 69 Zhao Chongguo and Xin Qingji Volume 70 Fu, Chang, Zheng, Gan, Chen and Duan – Fu Jiezi, Chang Hui (), Zheng Ji, Gan Yannian (), Chen Tang and Duan Huizong () Volume 71 Jun, Shu, Yu, Xue, Ping and Peng – Jun Buyi (), Shu Guang () and Shu Shou (), Yu Dingguo (), Xue Guangde (), Ping Dang () and Peng Xuan () Volume 72 Wang, Gong, two Gongs and Bao – Wang Ji (), Gong Yu (), Gong Sheng () and Gong She () and Bao Xuan Volume 73 Wei Xian Volume 74 Wei Xiang and Bing Ji Volume 75 Sui, two Xiahous, Jing, Ji and Li – Sui Hong (), Xiahou Shichang () and Xiahou Sheng (), Jing Fang (), Ji Feng () and Li Xun () Volume 76 Zhao, Yin, Han, Zhang and two Wangs – Zhao Guanghan (), Yin Wenggui (), Han Yanshou (), Zhang Chang (), Wang Zun () and Wang Zhang () Volume 77 Gai, Zhuge, Liu, Zheng, Sun, Wujiang and He – Gai: Gai Kuanrao (), Zhuge: Zhuge Feng (), Liu: Liu Fu (), Zheng: Zheng Chong (), Sun: Sun Bao (), Wujiang: Wujiang Long (), He: He Bing () Volume 78 Xiao Wangzhi Volume 79 Feng Fengshi Volume 80 the six sons of Emperors Xuan and Yuan Volume 81 Kuang, Zhang, Kong and Ma – Kuang Heng (), Zhang Yu (), Kong Guang () and Ma Gong () Volume 82 Wang Shang, Shi Dan and Fu Xi Volume 83 Xue Xuan and Zhu Bo Volume 84 Zhai Fangjin Volume 85 Gu Yong and Du Ye Volume 86 He Wu, Wang Jia and Shi Dan Volume 87 (Part 1), Volume 87 (Part 2) Yang Xiong Volume 88 Confucian Scholars Volume 89 Upright Officials Volume 90 Cruel Officials Volume 91 Usurers Volume 92 Youxias Volume 93 Flatterers Volume 94 (Part 1), Volume 94 (Part 2) Traditions of the Xiongnu Volume 95 Traditions of the Yi of the southeast, the two Yues, and Joseon (Korea) – Nanyue and Min Yue Volume 96 (Part 1), Volume 96 (Part 2) Traditions of the Western Regions Volume 97 (Part 1), Volume 97 (Part 2) the Empresses and Imperial Affines Volume 98 Wang Zhengjun Volume 99 (Part 1), Volume 99 (Part 2), Volume 99 (Part 3) Wang Mang Volume 100 (Part 1), Volume 100 (Part 2) Afterword and Family History

Mention of Japan The people of Japan make their first unambiguous appearance in written history in this book (Book of Han, Volume 28, Treatise on Geography), in which it is recorded, "The people of Wo are located across the ocean from Lelang Commandery, are divided into more than one hundred tribes, and come to offer tribute from time to time." It is later recorded that in 57, the southern Wa kingdom of Na sent an emissary named Taifu to pay tribute to Emperor Guangwu and received a golden seal. The seal itself was discovered in northern Kyūshū in the 18th century. According to the Book of Wei, the most powerful kingdom on the archipelago in the third century was called Yamatai and was ruled by the legendary Queen Himiko.

Commentaries The comments of both Yan Shigu (581–645) and Su Lin are included in the Palace Edition. The Hanshu Buzhu () by Wang Xianqian (1842–1918) contains notes by a number commentators, including Wang himself. Hanshu Kuiguan () by Yang Shuda is a modern commentary.

See also

References Citations

Sources Works cited

Further reading