Yáo Chá 姚察
Zì Bóshěn 伯審. Native of Wúxīng 吳興 (modern Húzhōu, Zhèjiāng), founder of the Wúxīng Yáo 吳興姚氏 historical lineage. Father of 姚思廉 (Yáo Sīlián). Lifedates 533–606.
Career across three dynasties — Liáng, Chén, Suí. Under the Liáng he held minor posts at the court of Liáng Wǔdì 梁武帝 and Jiǎnwéndì 簡文帝. After the dynasty’s destruction in the Hóu Jǐng zhī luàn (548–552), he served the successor Chén dynasty under Chén Wéndì 陳文帝 and Chén Xuāndì 陳宣帝, rising to Lìbù shàngshū 吏部尚書 (Minister of Personnel). On the Suí conquest of Chén in 589 he was carried captive to the north and entered Suí service; eventually held Mìshū chéng 秘書丞 in the imperial library. Died in 606 at age 73.
His scholarly project was a Liáng dynastic history begun under the Chén court, continued in Suí captivity, but unfinished at his death. The unfinished manuscripts passed to his son 姚思廉, who completed the Liáng shū (KR2a0018) and Chén shū (KR2a0019) under Tang imperial commission, presenting them in Zhēnguān 10 (636). Twenty-six juǎn of the two works carry Yáo Chá’s authorial signature in the end-note (“Chén Lìbù shàngshū Yáo Chá”), on the model of Bān Biāo’s signed contributions to the Hàn shū.
His biography is in Chénshū 27 (KR2a0019) and Nán shǐ 69 (KR2a0024).