Xiāo Zǐxiǎn Jìn Shǐ Cǎo 蕭子顯晉史草
Xiao Zixian’s Draft History of the Jin by 蕭子顯
About the work
Jìn Shǐ Cǎo 晉史草 is a jíyìběn reconstruction of fragments from 蕭子顯’s draft history of the Jin dynasty. Xiao Zixian (c. 489–537 CE) was a Liáng 梁 dynasty historian, best known as the compiler of the Nán Qí Shū 南齊書 (official history of the Southern Qi). The reconstruction consists of five fragmentary passages preserved in Táng and Sòng sources.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This is a jíyìběn reconstruction.
Abstract
Xiao Zixian compiled his draft Jin history as a supplement to the official Jin histories then in circulation; he was from a family of historians (his father and grandfather both served as court historians). The five surviving fragments cover: an astronomical omen sighted in 323 CE (a red vapour shaped like a banner, interpreted as a portent of the rebellions of Wáng Dūn and Sū Jùn); a vignette on the jealous wife of Wáng Dǎo 王導; a passage on Xiè Ān’s construction of a dike in 384 CE; a brief ethnographic note on the nomadic groups inside the frontier; and a defensive description of the Xiānbēi 鮮卑 custom of wearing the hair loose and the left lapel folded over. All are short extracts cited respectively in 《開元占經》, 《太平廣記》, 《御覽》, 《通鑑》注, and 《通典》.
Xiao Zixian’s Jin history was lost after the Táng; only these fragments survive. The reconstruction was likely made in the Qīng period as part of the broader jíyìběn movement to recover lost Wei-Jìn-Nán-Běi-Cháo histories.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.