Liao shi ji shi ben mo ?????? [Beginnings and Ends of Recorded Events in the History of the Liao] [with]: Jin shi li shi ben mo ?????? [Beginnings and Ends of Recorded Events in the History of the Jin]

LI, Youtang ???

Beschreibung

Lithographically printed. Ten vols. Small 8vo, orig. wrappers, orig. stitching. [Shanghai]: Tongwen shuju ????, 1893. A set of rare historical works on the Khitan and Jurchen empires. The Khitan empire, or the Liao dynasty in Chinese parlance, ruled much of Inner Asia and northernmost China between 916 and 1125 CE. The Jurchen Jin empire drove the Liao out of north China in 1115 and ruled the area as the Jin dynasty until 1234. These hybrid sedentary-steppe empires existed during a period characterized as "China among equals"; rather than one Chinese state dominating all of continental East Asia, the Chinese Song dynasty had to contend with a succession of very powerful neighbors, the Khitan and Jurchen among them. Yet, because of the existence of the Song to their south, the Mongolic-speaking Khitans and Jurchen Jin were by many historians considered to lie outside the mainstream of dynastic history. In the mid- to late Qing period, however, the Liao and Jin started to receive more attention, as part of a general pivot toward things Inner Asian within Chinese learned circles, following the subjugation of the region by the Qing armies. Our set was part of this intellectual trend. "The first to undertake a systematic study of the Liao was Li E (1692-1752) who compiled a Liao shih shih i in which he brought together additional material culled from almost four hundred Sung and Yuan works. His book was supplemented by Yang Fu-Chi (1747-1820) in his Liao shih shi i pu. Both Ch ien Ta-hsin (1782-1804) and Chao I (1727-1814) wrote extensive notes on the Liao period. In the late 19th century Li Yu-t ang [Li Youtang] (1843-1902) rearranged the materials collected by Li E and Yang Fu-chi under a scheme of topical headings, in his [Liao shi ji shi ben mo]" (Twitchett & Franke, "Bibliographical Essays," 668). The author of our book, Li Youtang (1837-1905) of Jiangxi, when serving as prefectural sub-director of schools in Xiajiang in his home province, read Yuan Shu s ?? (1131-1205) Tong jian ji shi ben mo ?????? [Beginnings and Ends of Recorded Events in the "Comprehensive Mirror (of Aid in Government)," 1174] and had the idea to write a comparable work for the history of the Liao. Books in the style of Yuan s were "topical narrative[s]," divided into "topical categories within which events were arranged chronologically to form a consistent, focused narrative" (Hartman, "Chinese Historiography in the Age of Maturity," 40, 55). To our knowledge, Li s book was the first book in this genre compiled for the Liao. He later complemented it with a similar work on the history of the Jin. The two books were printed as a set, with the title Liao Jin shi ji shi ben mo ??????? [Beginnings and Ends of Recorded Events in the History of the Liao and Jin] in seal script on the title-page. The book on the Liao is a reprint, while the book on the Jin, is a first printing. This "new edition" (xin kan ??) is preceded by a Preface dated 1893 (Guangxu 19) by Li Youtang s younger brother, Li Youfen ??? (1842-1907), printed in clerical script calligraphy. Our copy (WorldCat 48490795) is a lithographic printing published by Tongwen shuju in Shanghai in 1893. This publisher was "renowned for the excellent quality of its editions" (Xu & Xu, Lingxiao Yishi suibi, 469). It reprinted several of the great encyclopedias and reference works of imperial China. Fine set, preserved in two hantao. References Hartman, Charles. "Chinese Historiography in the Age of Maturity." In The Oxford History of Historical Writing: Vol. 2: 400-1400. Edited by Sarah Foot & Chase F. Robinson. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2012. Rossabi, Morris, ed. China Among Equals: The Middle Kingdom and Its Neighbors, 10th-14th Centuries. 1983. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2020. Twitchett, Denis & Herbert Franke. "Bibliographical Essays." In The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 665-726. Edited by Denis Twitchett & Herbert Franke. Cambridge: Cambridge. Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers 9638

Bibliografische Details

Titel: Liao shi ji shi ben mo ?????? [Beginnings ...

Einband: Softcover