Wǔdài Xīnshuō 五代新說
New Accounts of the Five Dynasties by 徐炫
About the work
A two-juàn bǐjì in thirty thematic sections (piān 篇), compiled by 徐炫 Xú Xuàn (fl. ca. 670 CE) during the early Xuánzōng era — or more precisely, in the Xiánhēng 咸亨 period (670–674 CE) when, as the preface states, the author was a court compiler (zhùzuò 著作). The “Five Dynasties” of the title refers to the five dynasties immediately preceding the Tang — the Liáng 梁, Chén 陳, Northern Qí 北齊, Northern Zhōu 北周, and Suí 隋 — not to the 10th-century Five Dynasties period. The work collects anecdotes about notable figures from these five dynasties based on the author’s reading of their records.
Note: This 徐炫 Xú Xuàn (CBDB ids 240454, 456081, or 496903, no dates) must not be confused with the far better-known 徐鉉 Xú Xuān (917–992 CE), the Song-dynasty lexicographer who edited the Shuōwén jiězì 說文解字. The names are pronounced identically but written differently; the present author is a separate Tang-dynasty figure.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
徐炫 Xú Xuàn’s preface states that while serving as a court compiler (著作東觀, literally “compiler in the Eastern Observatory”) in the Xiánhēng era (670–674), he had occasion to read through archival records of the five pre-Tang dynasties. Stimulated by discussions with colleagues, he began recording selected anecdotes. The resulting work is organized into thirty thematic sections, beginning with the Liáng dynasty. The opening narrative concerns Emperor Wu of Liang 梁武帝 (Xiāo Yǎn 蕭衍, 464–549), establishing the work’s focus on rulers and their notable advisers, literary figures, and military commanders.
The text is valuable as an early Tang source for the Nánběicháo-Suí period, compiled by someone with access to court archival materials before many such records were lost or consolidated into the official dynastic histories (the Five Histories, Wǔshǐ 五史, compiled 630s–650s). While the Wǔdài Xīnshuō has attracted less individual scholarly attention than the Shìshuō xīnyǔ 世說新語 tradition it partly emulates, it preserves anecdotes not available elsewhere.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature in English located. Discussed in surveys of Tang-era historical miscellanies.
Links
- Wikidata: no dedicated entry located