Like Sima Guang, the great Song Dynasty neo-confucian philosopher Zhu Xi (1130-1200) saw the taciturn chronicle Spring and Autumn and its parallel or "commentary" Zuozhuan as a shining example of excellent historiography. Living a century later than Sima Guang, the creator of the universal history Zizhi tongjian "Comprehensive mirror for aid in government", he believed this eminent work not yet worthy enough to be an adequate successor of the Spring and Autumn annals. Zhu Xi therefore invented the pattern of gang (drawing rope of a fisher's net) and mu (meshes of the net) to create a kind of historiography that was quite similar to the twin classics of the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Zuozhuan. The drawing rope is the basic guideline for the history, like the short enigmatic sentences in the Spring and Autumn Annals. The meshes serve to fill out this basic frame with detailed accounts of the historical events. Although Zhu Xi adopted the text of Sima Guang's Zizhi tongjian, he used a special terminology to make a judgement of acting persons and their behavior. He followed the old custom of praise and blame for the ruling persons, a moral estimation instead of a neutral account. Like the proto-neo-confucian scholar Ouyang Xiu, Zhu Xi tried to reorganize and to rewrite already existing histories to create a new book that fitted the imaginations of his philosophy. With the victory of neo-confucianism after the Song Dynasty, the historiographical type of gangmu became even more popular than its forerunner, the Zizhi tongjian. Furthermore, not only historians used this type, but also scholars of other literary and scientific fields, like Li Shizhen's Bencao gangmu, a pharmacological work. Here the most important books of the gangmu type, written even in modern times and outside of China. The Tongjian gangmu was the first history of China the Europeans read and translated, like de Mailla's Histoire générale de la Chine, and Henri Cordier's Histoire générale. Tongjian xubian 資治通鑒續編 by Chen Jing (mid 14th cent.) Gangmu xubian 綱目續編 by Shang Lu 商輅 (1414-1486) Gangmu qianbian 綱目前編 by Nan Xuan 南軒 (mid 16th cent.) Gangmu sanbian 綱目散編 by Shen Deqian 沈德潛 (1673-1769) Honcho tsugan 本朝通鑒 by the Japanese historiographer Hayshi Razan 林羅山 (end 16th cent.) Viêt su' thông giám cuong muc 越史通鑒綱目, a history of Vietnam from the second third of 19th cent. An extract of the Tongjian gangmu is Wu Chucai's 吳楚材 (Qing) Gangjian yizhilu 綱鑑易知錄	Chapters of the Tongjian gangmu
	Exemplarious translation: Records of Eastern Han. Guiderope: Winter, 10th month. CAO CAO marching to the southeast. SUN QUAN sending ZHOU YU and LU SU to jointly attack CAO CAO at the Red Cliff. Great defeat of CAO CAO, withdrawing. Network: [...] ZHUGE LIANG said: "Although our armies of Yuzhou have been defeated at Changbang, the people returning together with GUAN YU's naval army are ten thousand well equipped man, and there are not less than ten thousand soldiers who fought at Jiangxia under LIU QI. On the other side, CAO CAO's men are tired and exhausted, pursuing the Yuzhou army, their light cavalry did not have a rest for one day and one night on a distance of more than 300 miles. [...] And, the northern people are not accustomed with water ways. CAO CAO's followers in the area of Jingzhou do not serve him with their heart and feelings. Uniting the armies of the fierce generals, counting several ten thousand men, and join their forces with our Yuzhou army, we will definitely beat CAO CAO. He cannout but withdraw to the north, and the areas of Jingzhou and Wu will be strong, shaping China to a three legged pot - symbolizing three kingdoms. The chance to beat CAO CAO has come!" SUN QUAN was very pleased. [...] They advanced and met with CAO CAO at the Red Cliff. At this time, the army of CAO CAO was already weakened by a pestilence, and during the first clashes, CAO CAO suffered a defeat and withdrew his troops to the north of the Yangtse. ZHOU YU and the others camped at the southern bank. YU's division general HUANG GAI said, "The troops of the thieves (of CAO CAO) are numerous, but we are left alone; it would be difficult to hold our position for longer time. CAO CAO has tied his war-ships together. If bow and stern are firmly bound together, it is easy to burn all the ships and make him run away." HUANG made use of ten big war-ships, filled them with fire wood and dry reeds, soaked with oil and stuffed with fabrics. On the top he erected his flags, and provided also ships to push these burning ships forward, binding them at the stern of the latter. He had written a letter to CAO CAO, pretending to go over to him. At this time, a fierce wind came from the south-east, and HUANG GAI moved forward with his war ships, the burning ships forward. In the middle of the Yangtse stream, he hoisted up the sails. The other fighting ships followed them. The soldiers of CAO CAO's army all left the camp to gaze at the incoming ships of HUANG GAI who had pretented to desert. When the distance to CAO CAO's camp was two miles, they incended the ships. In the fierce wind, the ships immediately kept fire and rushed forward like arrows. The fire burned down CAO CAO's whole northern flot and immediately spread to the camp where the flames reaches high up to the sky. Masses of people and horses died in the flames. ZHOU YU commanded his troops, and with the sound of thunder drums, they marched forward. The northern army was scattered in all directions, and CAO CAO could not but withdraw to the north. On land and water, LIU BEI and ZHOU YU marched forward and reached the prefecture Nanjun. Of CAO CAO's army, more than half had died. Translated by Ulrich Theobald.