Jìn Bā Wáng Gùshì 晉八王故事
Stories of the Eight Princes of Jin by 盧綝
About the work
Jìn Bā Wáng Gùshì 晉八王故事 (also titled Lú Chēn Jìn Bā Wáng Gùshì 盧綝晉八王故事) is a jíyìběn reconstruction of a collection of anecdotes concerning the eight Jin princes whose power struggles triggered the devastating War of the Eight Princes (Bā Wáng zhī Luàn 八王之亂, 291–306 CE). Compiled by Lú Chēn 盧綝, a contemporary observer, it provides a vivid eyewitness (or near-eyewitness) record of one of the pivotal civil conflicts in Chinese history.
Tiyao
No tiyao found in source. This is a jíyìběn reconstruction.
Abstract
Lú Chēn 盧綝 was a Western Jin official from Fànyáng 范陽 who served during the period of the Eight Princes’ conflict. His Bā Wáng Gùshì recorded anecdotal material about the eight princely contenders — Sīmǎ Liàng 司馬亮, Sīmǎ Wěi 司馬瑋, Sīmǎ Lún 司馬倫, Sīmǎ Jiǒng 司馬冏, Sīmǎ Yǐng 司馬穎, Sīmǎ Yóng 司馬顒, Sīmǎ Yǐng 司馬穎, and Sīmǎ Yuè 司馬越 — whose internecine warfare destabilized the Western Jin and opened the door for the non-Chinese regimes of the Sixteen Kingdoms. The title genre gùshì 故事 (“former affairs” or “precedents”) was a standard category for anecdotal collections recording court incidents, protocols, and informal events not suitable for formal annalistic history.
The Suí Shū 隋書 bibliography lists the Jìn Bā Wáng Gùshì in 12 juǎn. The jíyìběn preserves substantially fewer fragments, but they include vivid episodes from the coup attempts, assassinations, and court intrigues of the 290s–300s. Lú Chēn also compiled the related Jìn Sì Wáng Yíshì 晉四王遺事 (see KR4k0369). Both works were lost after the Táng.
Translations and research
No substantial secondary literature located.