Book of Chen

Chen Shu consists of 36 volumes, including 6 volumes of biographies of emperors and 30 volumes of other biographies. In addition to the national history of the Chen dynasty and the old draft compiled by Yao's father and son, the historical sources of Chen Shu include eight volumes of Yongding Residence Note (《永定起居注》), twenty-three volumes of Tianjia Residence Note (《天嘉起居注》), ten volumes of Tiankang Everbright Residence Note (《天康光大起居注》), fifty-six volumes of Taijian Residence Note (《太建起居注》), four volumes of Zhide Residence Note (《至德起居注》) and other historical materials and books written by others. The Chen dynasty revitalized the economy of Southern China, making it a metropolis for traders and Buddhists from as far as India and Southeast Asia. Although the Book of Chen is brief compared to the Book of Liang or the Book of Sui, much of the Chen dynasty history is also included in other books like the Book of Sui. Moreover, the Chen royal family continued to hold high political office, prestige, and power within the subsequent Tang dynasty of China, for example with officials such as Chen Shuda and Xuanzang (Chen Yi) holding high favor with Tang emperors and many other Chen family members being married into the Tang royal family. Xuanzang is known for his pilgrimage to India and features in China's epic novel Journey to the West. Xuanzang / Chen Yi was also the "sworn brother" (义兄) of Emperor Taizong of Tang and was bestowed the name Tang Sanzang. Thus, much of the history of the Chen royal family continued after the Chen dynasty and featured in China's subsequent dynasties and golden ages. ==Sources==

Yao Cha (533–606), born in Wu Kang, Xing Wu (now Deqing County, Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province), was a historian of the Southern dynasties. Yao Silian (557 ~ 637), whose real name is Jian, was born in Yongzhou Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) during the Chen dynasty. During the Chen dynasty, he was an official minister and writer. During the Sui dynasty, he was a secretary and was ordered by the Sui emperors to continue writing the histories of the Liang and Chen dynasties. History has called Yao Silian an esteemed Confucian scholar who had seen the accomplishments of three generations of China (Chen, Sui, Tang). In 606, Yao Cha died, and Silian continued writing these books. After the Tang destroyed the Sui, Yao Silian was appointed as a writer of the Hongwen Museum (弘文馆学). In 629, under imperial edict, Yao worked to finish the Book of Liang and Book of Chen, which was completed in 636. Although Yao Cha and Yao Silian are historians, they both have profound literacy in writing. In terms of writing history, their writing is concise and simple, and they are forbidden to pursue the magnificence and superficiality of rhetoric. They inherit the style and style of writing of Sima Qian and Ban Gu, and their writing is valuable in the history of the Southern dynasties. As for when Yao Silian wrote the essay, Liu Zhiji's "Shi Tong" refers to the beginning of Zhenguan, when Silian was written into two histories by imperial edict, which lasted for nine years before he finished his work. Ceng Gong's Preface to Collation refers to Yao's investigation of Liang and Chen's affairs, but his book is not finished, which belongs to Zi Silian's inheritance. == Brief chronology ==

In 557 AD, the Liang dynasty was succeeded by the Chen dynasty. By 589 AD, the Chen dynasty, Northern Zhou, and Northern Qi were succeeded by the Sui dynasty. In 618 AD, the Sui dynasty was destroyed by the Tang dynasty, which would rule China for around three centuries. It was in 636 AD, during the Tang dynasty, under the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang that Yao Silian, a former Chen dynasty official, wrote the Book of Chen. ==Contents==

Annals (紀) Biographies (列傳) == Evaluation ==

Among Yao Cha's old manuscripts left to Yao Silian, there were fewer that could be used for writing the history of Chen than for the history of the Liang. When Yao Silian wrote Chen Shu, he mainly referred to the writings by Lu Qiong, Gu Yewang, Fu Ying and others. Attention should be paid to the general remarks written by Wei Zhi for Liang Shu and Chen Shu. When Emperor Taizong wrote a letter to repair the history of Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou, Sui and Five Dynasties, Fang Xuanling and Wei Zhi were the directors, and all the history summaries were made by Wei Zheng. The general introduction of Liang Shu is at the end of Volume 6, Emperor Ji. The general introduction of Chen Shu is also at the end of Volume 6 Emperor Ji, and in addition, at the end of Volume 7 Biography of Empress, he added historical facts to the romantic life between of Chen Shubao, Zhang Guifei and others. Reading the general remarks written by Wei Zhi can be used as a reference for grasping and analyzing the history of the Liang and Chen dynasties from a macro perspective. Generally speaking, Wei Zhi's (魏徵) knew more about Chen dynasty politics than Yao Cha and Yao Silian, which is largely due to the fact that the former commented on history from the perspective of politicians. However, in terms of style, Wei Zhi's historical theory still follows the parallel prose of the six dynasties (Liang, Chen, North Zhou, North Qi, Sui, Tang). However, Yao Silian and especially Yao Cha used prose (散文) in historical theory in the era when parallel prose (骈体文) is popular, which is the place where their style of writing exceeds that of Wei Zhi, and it also had an impact on the rise of ancient prose movement in the middle Tang dynasty. Moreover, there are many facts that were glossed over in the Chen Shu, either out of being afraid to add them or other reasons. A typical example is the biography of Liu Shizhi (刘师知), which makes no mention of Liu Shizhi helping Chen Baxian rise to power. Such facts have been included in the History of the Southern Dynasties (《南史》). As for the laws and governance of the Chen dynasty, these are included in the annals of Sui Shu. In general, the Book of Sui wrote about the evolution of the laws and regulations of the five dynasties of Liang, Chen, Qi, Zhou and Sui, which has been essential to historians in understanding the history of these five dynasties. == See also ==