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The Wren Ode – Jiaoliao Fu
– By Zhang Hua (Western Jin Dynasty) The wren is but a tiny bird –Born among weeds and wild grasses,Raised beneath garden hedges.It flutters and gathers within ordinary spaces,Yet its needs for life are fully met.
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Zhou Chu’s Last Stand [Jin & Southern-Northern Dynasties]
This article tells the heroic tragedy of Zhou Chu. Once a local troublemaker, he reformed, slew the “three scourges,” and became a loyal Jin general. Sent to suppress a Di rebellion, he was betrayed by Prince Sima Rong – sent into battle with 5,000 men against 70,000. He fought to his last breath, a…
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Book of the Later Han – Hou Hanshu
A historical text compiled by Fan Ye (398–445 CE) during the Liu Song dynasty of the Southern Dynasties period. The work originally comprised 100 scrolls of Annals (Benji) and Biographies (Liezhuan), but the present standard edition contains 120 scrolls: 10 Annals, 80 Biographies, and 30 Treatises (Zhi).
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Book of Han – Hanshu
A foundational Chinese historical text compiled by Ban Gu (32–92 CE) of the Eastern Han dynasty.
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Records of the Three Kingdoms – Sanguo Zhi
A historical text compiled by Chen Shou (233–297 CE) during the Western Jin dynasty. It is a biographical state-by-state history chronicling the Three Kingdoms period – Wei, Shu, and Wu – and comprises 65 scrolls: Book of Wei (30 scrolls),Book of Shu (15 scrolls), and Book of Wu (20 scrolls).
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Records of the Grand Historian – Shiji
Originally titled Taishi Gong Shu (“Book of the Grand Historian”), the Shiji was compiled by Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE) during the Western Han dynasty. It is China’s first comprehensive biographical universal history (jizhuanti tongshi), covering approximately three millennia – from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han…