New Book of Tang
| New Book of Tang | |||||||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 新唐書 | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simplified Chinese | 新唐书 | ||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xīn Tángshū |
| Wade–Giles | Hsin T'angshu |
| Southern Min | |
| Hokkien POJ | Sin Tông-su |
The New Book of Tang (simplified Chinese: 新唐书; traditional Chinese: 新唐書; pinyin: Xīn Tángshū; Wade–Giles: Hsin T'angshu), generally translated as “New History of the Tang,” or “New Tang History,” is a work of official history covering the Tang dynasty in ten volumes and 225 chapters. The work was compiled by a team of scholars of the Song dynasty, led by Ouyang Xiu and Song Qi.
It was originally simply called the Tangshu (Book of Tang) until the 18th century.
In Chinese history, it was customary for dynasties to compile histories of the dynasty preceding them as a means of cementing their own legitimacy. As a result, during the Later Jin dynasty of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period, a history of the preceding Tang dynasty, the Old Book of Tang (唐書) had already been compiled.
In 1044, however, Emperor Renzong of Song ordered a new compilation of Tang history, based on his belief that the original Old Book of Tang was wanting in organisation and comprehensiveness. The process took 17 years, being finally presented in 1060.
The New Book of Tang differed dramatically in its organisation and contents from the older version, in part due to the literary and philosophical inclinations of its chief compilers. Ouyang Xiu frequently invoked the principle of reason in evaluating historical accounts, and purged all accounts containing elements of myth or superstition, thereby dramatically shortening many of the biographies of emperors and major figures.
In contrast, the New Book of Tang included several new sections of more practical interest to Tang history. These included a much expanded series of Treatises (志), including topics on the horse trade with Tibet and military affairs, and a table of the bureaucratic hierarchy of the Tang administration which was missing from the old Old Book of Tang. Another feature which was revived was the use of Tables (表), annalistic tables of events and successions which included not just the emperors themselves but also chancellors and jiedushi.
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