Dōngguān Hànjì 東觀漢記
Records of Hàn from the Eastern Lodge by 劉珍 (compiler) — and many others
About the work
A composite history of the Eastern Hàn 東漢 dynasty, compiled in five overlapping editorial campaigns at the imperial Eastern Lodge (Dōngguān 東觀) book-depository between 62 and ca. 225 CE. The earliest such compilation undertaken after the Shǐjì, the Dōngguān Hànjì established the model of the guóshǐ 國史 (“History of the Current Dynasty”) and was for five centuries one of the Sānshǐ 三史 — together with the Shǐjì and the Hànshū — until it was displaced by Fàn Yè 范曄’s HòuHànshū in the early Táng. By the Yuán it had effectively been lost. The present 24-juǎn recension is a Sìkù-era reconstruction, assembled by the editors from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, from Liú Zhāo 劉昭’s commentary on the XùHànshū treatises, from the Lǐ Xián 李賢 commentary on the HòuHànshū, and from the great Táng lèishū (Yú Shìnán’s Běitáng shūchāo, Ōuyáng Xún’s Yìwén lèijù, and Xú Jiān’s Chūxué jì), building on Yáo Zhīyīn 姚之駰’s earlier 8-juǎn recovery (see KR2d0022).
Tiyao
Submitted by your servants, etc. The Dōngguān Hànjì in twenty-four juǎn. The Suíshū jīngjí zhì names “Liú Zhēn 劉珍, Chángshuǐ Colonel 長水校尉, et al.” as compilers. But examination of Fàn Yè’s HòuHànshū shows that Liú Zhēn was never Chángshuǐ Colonel; furthermore the work was begun in the reign of Mǐngdì 明帝, and so cannot be attributed to “Liú Zhēn et al.” as if Liú headed the project. The HòuHànshū biography of Bān Gù records that Mǐngdì first commanded Bān Gù, together with Chén Zōng 陳宗 (magistrate of Suīyáng 睢陽), Yǐn Mǐn 尹敏 (magistrate of Chánglíng 長陵), and Mèng Jì 孟冀 (Aide to the Director of Retainers 司隸從事), to complete the basic annals of Shìzǔ (Guāngwǔ) and to compose biographies and zàijì of his meritorious officials, the Pínglín 平林 and Xīnshì 新市 generals, and Gōngsūn Shù 公孫述 — twenty-eight piān in all: this was the inception of the Hànjì. Liú Zhījī’s Shǐtōng, in the Gǔjīn zhèngshǐ chapter, notes that under Hàn Āndì 安帝 the imperial historians Yèzhě púyè 謁者僕射 Liú Zhēn 劉珍 and Counsellor 諫議大夫 Lǐ Yóu 李尤 jointly composed annals, tables, and biographies of “Famous Ministers, Knights of Principle, Rúlín, and Imperial In-laws” from Jiànwǔ down to Yǒngchū 永初 (114 CE) — and the HòuHànshū biography of Liú Zhēn likewise records that Empress Dowager Dèng commanded Liú Zhēn and Liú Tāotú 劉騊駼 to compose biographies of “noted ministers since Jiànwǔ”; this was the first continuation of the Hànjì. The Shǐtōng further records that, after the death of Liú Zhēn and his colleagues, Attendant Fú Wújì 伏無忌 and Counsellor Huáng Jǐng 黃景 were commanded to compose tables of princes and royal sons, of meritorious officials, and of marquises by imperial favour, plus monographs on the Southern Chányú 南單于 and the Western Qiāng 西羌 and a Geographical Treatise. In Yuánjiā 元嘉 1 (151) the imperial counsellor Biān Sháo 邊韶, the Aide-Officer of the Grand Camp 大軍營司馬 Cuī Shí 崔寔, and the Counsellors Zhū Mù 朱穆 and Cáo Shòu 曹壽 were further commanded to compose biographies of Emperors Xiàomù 孝穆 and Chóng 崇, plus those of Empresses Shùnliè 順烈 and Ānsī 安思, expanded the in-laws-section, and added Cuī Zhuàn 崔篆 and others to the Rúlín section; Cuī and Cáo with the Counsellor Yán Dǔ 延篤 also composed tables of officials and biographies of Sūn Chéng 孫程, Guō Yuàn 郭願, Zhèng Zhòng 鄭眾, and Cài Lún 蔡倫 — 114 piān all told, by then officially called the Hànjì. The HòuHànshū biographies of Fú Zhàn 伏湛 and Yán Dǔ confirm this: the second continuation. By this point the historiographical fabric was solidly in place and the title Hànjì had emerged. The Shǐtōng further records that in Xīpíng 熹平 (172–178), the Counsellor of Light 光祿大夫 Mǎ Rìdī 馬日磾, the Counsellors Cài Yōng 蔡邕 and Yáng Biāo 楊彪 took up the work in the Eastern Lodge, completing the basic-annals and biographies that could be brought to a close. Cài Yōng 蔡邕 separately composed the Cháohuì zhì 朝會志 and the Chēfú zhì 車服志; later, after suffering exile to Shuòfāng 朔方 for political offence, he submitted a memorial begging to return and complete the ten zhì (treatises). When Dǒng Zhuó 董卓 wrought havoc, the old documents were dispersed; later in Xǔdū 許都, Yáng Biāo did much to preserve the records. The HòuHànshū biography of Cài Yōng records that in the Eastern Lodge he with Lú Zhí 盧植 and Hán Shuō 韓說 supplemented the HòuHàn jì, composing the basic annals of Língdì 靈紀 and the ten zhì and supplementing forty-two lièzhuàn, much of which was lost in the Lǐ Jué 李傕 disturbances. Lú Zhí’s biography also notes that in Xīpíng he with Cài Yōng and Hán Shuō was at the Eastern Lodge continuing the Hànjì. Liú Zhāo’s supplementary commentary on Sīmǎ Biāo’s treatises cites Yuán Shānsōng 袁山松’s history that Liú Hóng 劉洪 with Cài Yōng composed the Lǜlì zhì 律歷志; cites Xiè Chéng 謝承’s history that Hú Guǎng 胡廣 broadly synthesised the old yí and Cài Yōng turned them into a treatise; and cites Xiè Shěn 謝沈’s history that Cài Yōng cited “what had been compiled since the Restoration” as the Sìzhì 祭祀志. The HòuHànshū Lǐ Xián note records that Cài Yōng memorialised, “your servant has organised the treatises: of those to be cut, one; of those to be continued, four; of those that should be added because not in the previous treatises, five.” This was the third continuation. As to the title “Eastern Lodge” — the Lǐ Xián note to the basic annals of Hàn Āndì cites the Luòyáng gōngdiàn míng 雒陽宫殿名 to the effect that the South Palace contains the Eastern Lodge; the biography of Dòu Zhāng 竇章 says that in Yǒngchū scholars styled the Eastern Lodge “the Repository of Lǎozǐ, Mt. Pénglái of the Daoists.” For at the start of the Eastern Hàn the historiographical work had been done in the Lántái 蘭臺, but from ZhāngHé 章和 onwards the books proliferated in the Eastern Lodge and the historians worked there — hence the title. The Suí monograph credits the work with 143 juǎn; the old and new Tángshū monographs count 126, plus a one-juǎn index — clearly there were already losses by Táng times. The Suí monograph says the work runs from Guāngwǔ down to Língdì; today’s lièzhuàn occasionally treat events from the Xiàndì period — clearly added by Yáng Biāo. Under the Jìn this work, with the Shǐjì and Hànshū, formed the Sānshǐ 三史; many studied it, and Six-Dynasties and early-Táng scholars cited it constantly. Once Crown Prince Zhānghuái 章懷太子 Lǐ Xián 李賢 commissioned the Confucian gloss to Fàn Yè’s history, that work prevailed and this one fell out of currency. In the Northern Sòng there were still residual recensions of forty-three juǎn; the Dúshū fùzhì of Zhào Xībiàn 趙希弁 and the Wénjiàn hòulù of Shào Bó 邵博 both report that the book had been “presented by Korea” — already a rarity. The Southern-Sòng Zhōngxīng shūmù preserves only nine biographies — Dèng Yǔ 鄧禹, Wú Hàn 吳漢, Jiǎ Fù 賈復, Gěng Yǎn 耿弇, Kòu Xún 寇恂, Féng Yì 馮異, Jì Zūn 祭遵, Jǐng Dān 景丹, and Gài Yán 蓋延 — in eight juǎn. At that time a Shǔ exemplar circulated, but it was too corrupt to read; Shàngcài 上蔡 Rén Yú 任[KR0008]字 took up the Imperial Library copy and collated it; Luó Yuàn 羅願 wrote the preface and it was printed at Jiāngxià 江夏. Chén Zhènsūn 陳振孫 in his Shūlù jiětí says the version he saw amounted to twelve juǎn with juǎn 7 and 8 missing, but in fact only nine biographies — agreeing with the Shūmù. Since Yuán the work has been long lost; under the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn the rhyme-headings 鄧, 吳, 賈, 耿 contain not one phrase from the Hànjì, so the nine biographies were already gone by early Míng. — In the present dynasty Yáo Zhīyīn 姚之駰 in his HòuHànshū bǔyì (see KR2d0022) gathered surviving fragments and split them into eight juǎn. But what he gathered came only from Liú Zhāo’s commentary on Sīmǎ Biāo’s zhì, Lǐ Xián’s HòuHànshū notes, Yú Shìnán’s Běitáng shūchāo, Ōuyáng Xún’s Yìwén lèijù, and Xú Jiān’s Chūxué jì — five works in all — and even there he often did not exhaust them; the omissions are very numerous. We have now used Yáo’s text as our basis, drew further on the various rhyme-headings of the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, cross-checked against many other works, and supplied the gaps; the addition is roughly six-tenths beyond Yáo. Long without a printed exemplar, the work was much corrupted in transmission; Yáo’s text copied things in as he found them and his errors were countless. Even though the Dōngguān Hànjì’s mùlù is lost, the general structure — basic annals, tables, treatises, biographies, zàijì — is still recoverable from the Shǐtōng and other testimonies. Yáo’s text did no such investigation; he labelled passages at random and dismembered them. We have now properly rectified all this, dividing the work into Basic Annals 3 juǎn, Tables 1 juǎn, Treatises 1 juǎn, Biographies 17 juǎn, Zàijì 1 juǎn; for those passages whose original chapter cannot be identified, a separate “Remnant Texts” juǎn; with discrepancies between the Hànjì and Fàn Yè’s history appended at the end. Even though the residue is broken and incomplete, the antique grain shines through: every fragment is a treasure. In this book, for example, the imperial decree of Zhāngdì for expanding the various sacrifices, Dù Lín 杜林’s discussion of the suburban sacrifice, and Prince Cāng of Dōngpíng 東平王蒼’s discussion of the temple-dance — all these are major dynastic protocols which Fàn Yè does not record in detail. Other matters (Zhāng Shùn 張順’s anticipation of the uprising, Wáng Cháng 王常’s advocacy of the Kūnyáng 昆陽 strategy, Yáng Zhèng 楊正’s strict rectitude, Zhào Qín 趙勤’s pure honesty) Fàn Yè also passes over — a serious deficiency. Yet thanks to this fragmentary basket, the reader of histories still has something to follow; its value as supplementary evidence is far from slight. Most respectfully, it must not fail to be brought to light. Tenth month, Qiánlóng 49 (1784). Chief compilers: your servants Jǐ Yún 紀昀, Lù Xīxióng 陸錫熊, Sūn Shìyì 孫士毅. General editor: your servant Lù Fèichí 陸費墀.
Abstract
The Dōngguān Hànjì was the first imperially commissioned dynastic history of the Eastern Hàn, and the earliest official compilation of guóshǐ in the jìzhuàn 紀傳 form. Wilkinson (Chinese History, §59.5) summarises the standard view: it began as a project under Hàn Mǐngdì in 62 CE to write annals of his father Guāngwǔ and biographies of his founding officials, and was extended in five recognized editorial campaigns: under Mǐngdì himself (62–ca. 72; Bān Gù 班固 et al., 28 piān); under Āndì (109; Liú Zhēn 劉珍, Liú Tāotú 劉騊駼, Lǐ Yóu 李尤); under Shùndì (Fú Wújì 伏無忌, Huáng Jǐng 黃景); in 151 under Huándì (Biān Sháo 邊韶, Cuī Shí 崔寔, Zhū Mù 朱穆, Cáo Shòu 曹壽, Yán Dǔ 延篤; the work first formally titled Hànjì); and in Xīpíng (172–178) under Língdì (Mǎ Rìdī 馬日磾, Cài Yōng 蔡邕, Yáng Biāo 楊彪, Lú Zhí 盧植, Hán Shuō 韓說; expansion to ten treatises and forty-two further biographies). Yáng Biāo continued some of this work into the chaos of the Xiàndì reign at Xǔdū. The work modeled the fivefold structure of the Shǐjì but innovated by replacing the shìjiā 世家 (hereditary houses) with zàijì 載記 (annals of nonlegitimate regimes; cf. Wilkinson, §49.3) — a device later picked up only by the Jìnshū. Recorded in the Suíshū jīngjí zhì at 143 juǎn and in the Jiù Tángshū at 127 juǎn, the work began to lose ground after Lǐ Xián’s commentary to the HòuHànshū (676 CE) and was effectively gone as an integral text by the early Míng. The Sìkù editors reconstructed the present 24-juǎn version from the Yǒnglè dàdiǎn, Liú Zhāo’s XùHànshū commentary, Lǐ Xián, and the major Táng lèishū, supplementing Yáo Zhīyīn’s earlier 8-juǎn recovery with roughly six-tenths additional material. The modern standard is Wú Shùpíng 吳樹平’s collated edition (Zhōngzhōu gǔjí, 1987, 21 juǎn).
Translations and research
- Wú Shùpíng 吳樹平, ed. 1987. Dōngguān Hànjì jiàozhù 東觀漢記校注. 2 vols. Zhèngzhōu: Zhōngzhōu gǔjí. The standard modern critical edition (collated and annotated).
- Bielenstein, Hans. 1953–1979. The Restoration of the Han Dynasty. 4 vols. Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities. Uses the Dōngguān Hànjì extensively as a source for Eastern Hàn historiography.
- de Crespigny, Rafe. 1969–1990. The Last of the Han: Being the chronicle of the years 181–220 A.D. as recorded in chapters 58–68 of the Tzu-chih t’ung-chien of Ssu-ma Kuang. Australian National University. Uses the reconstructed Dōngguān Hànjì in tandem with other Eastern-Hàn sources.
- Mansvelt-Beck, B. J. 1990. The Treatises of Later Han: Their Author, Sources, Contents, and Place in Chinese Historiography. Leiden: Brill. Detailed analysis of the textual relationships among the Later-Hàn historiographical works, including the Dōngguān Hànjì and its survival in Sīmǎ Biāo’s treatises.
- Wú Shùpíng 吳樹平. 1988. Qín-Hàn wénxiàn yánjiū 秦漢文獻研究. Jǐnán: Qí-Lǔ. Collected research articles by the modern editor of the Dōngguān Hànjì.
Other points of interest
The Dōngguān Hànjì’s zàijì 載記 section, which dealt with regimes regarded as illegitimate (notably Wáng Mǎng 王莽’s Xīn 新 and Gōngsūn Shù 公孫述’s Chéng 成 in Shǔ), set the precedent later picked up by the Jìnshū for the Sixteen Kingdoms (Wilkinson §49.3). The Báiláng gē 白狼歌 — the three “songs of the Bailang king,” 176 syllables transcribed in Hàn characters and our oldest substantial sample of an undeciphered Tibeto-Burman language — survives only in juǎn 22.4 of the Dōngguān Hànjì and at HòuHànshū 86 (Wilkinson §13.10).