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Jihanshu 季漢書

Feb 15, 2016 © Ulrich Theobald

Jihanshu 季漢書 "The book of the successors of the Han" is an alternative history of the end of the Later Han dynasty 後漢 (25-220 CE), the Three Empires period 三國 (220-280) and the early decades of the Jin period 晉 (265-420). It was written by Xie Bi 謝陛 xxx, courtesy name Shaolian 少連, who hailed from Shexian 歙縣, Anhui.

His 56-juan long book is divided into six parts, first imperial annals (benji 本紀), then "inner biographies" of the imperial consorts (neizhuan 內傳), "outer biographies" of the ministers and officials (waizhuan 外傳), regional chronicles (zaiji 載紀), miscellaneous biographies (zazhuan 雜傳), and finally tables (biao 表). The book begins with five short chapters of theoretical discussions (zhenglun 正論), 22 answers to questions (dawen 答問) and 44 principles of composition (fanli 凡例).

Unfortunately the text itself is overloaded and confuse, and in some points also wrong, and the book therefore remained largely neglected. Xie Bi also wrote the books Dushu lun 讀書論, Huacheng 花乘 and Huashan zongji 黃山總記.

Sources:
Li Xueqin 李學勤, Lü Wenyu 呂文鬰 (ed. 1996), Siku da cidian 四庫大辭典 (Changchun: Jilin daxue chubanshe), Vol. 1, p. 929.
Wu Feng 吳楓, ed. (1987). Jianming Zhongguo guji cidian 簡明中國古籍辭典 (Changchun: Jilin wenshi chubanshe), 520.