Jiāngnán Yěshǐ 江南野史
Unofficial History of Jiangnan by 龍袞
About the work
A ten-juàn unofficial dynastic history (yěshǐ 野史) of the Southern Tang 南唐 (937–975 CE) by 龍袞 Lóng Gǔn, a Southern Tang subject who survived into the Song dynasty. The work covers the three rulers of the Southern Tang — Lǐ Shēng 李昪 (founder, posthumously Emperor Liezu 烈祖), Lǐ Jǐng 李璟 (Emperor Yuánzōng 元宗), and Lǐ Yù 李煜 (last ruler, renowned as a poet, posthumously known as Hòuzhǔ 後主) — and their principal officials, generals, and cultural figures, organized in biographical form. The Kanripo catalog notes that supplementary materials (bǔyí 補遺) were added by the modern scholar Chén Shāngjūn 陳尚君.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source.
Abstract
龍袞 Lóng Gǔn (fl. late 10th–early 11th century; not in CBDB) was a Southern Tang official or literatus who survived the kingdom’s absorption by Song Taizu in 975 and composed the Jiāngnán Yěshǐ as a record of the dynasty he had served. His insider perspective lends the work distinctive authority, particularly for the reigns of Lǐ Jǐng and Lǐ Yù, the latter famous as one of China’s greatest lyric poets (cí 詞) and as an emblem of artistic refinement combined with political failure.
The Jiāngnán Yěshǐ is one of the principal primary sources for Southern Tang history, alongside the two Nán-Tángshū 南唐書 — by Mǎ Líng 馬令 (completed 1105) and Lù Yóu 陸游 (1184). Long Gun’s personal acquaintance with the Southern Tang court gives his account anecdotal immediacy that the later histories lack. The source file opens with a biographical account of the founding ruler Lǐ Shēng, beginning with his ancestry and rise to power.
Translations and research
- Mǎ Líng 馬令. Nán-Tángshū 南唐書. Completed 1105. The principal companion text.
- Lù Yóu 陸游. Nán-Tángshū 南唐書. 1184.
- Stephen Owen (tr.). Various writings of Lǐ Yù in Anthology of Chinese Literature and elsewhere.
- Idema, Wilt, and Beata Grant. The Red Brush: Writing Women of Imperial China. Harvard UP, 2004 — contextualizes the Southern Tang court culture.
Links
- Wikidata: no dedicated entry located