Chinese mythology, folktales, and literature
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Zizhi Tongjian (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government) is a monumental chronological universal history of China, compiled under the leadership of Sima Guang (1019–1086), a prominent statesman and scholar of the Northern Song dynasty. The main text comprises 294 scrolls, supplemented by two auxiliary works: Kaoyi (Textual Criticism and Discrepancies) and Rilu (Daily Records),…
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By the late Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), centuries of warfare had annihilated dozens of small states, while larger ones like Jin (centered in modern Shanxi) grew internally fragmented. Power no longer resided with the ducal house but with hereditary ministerial clans – aristocrats who controlled vast territories, commanded private armies, and governed…