Veritable Records
Veritable Records are historical records compiled by government (court) historians in imperial Chinese dynasties since the 6th century, and later in Korea, Japan and Vietnam which adopted the Chinese bureaucratic system and the writing system of Classical Chinese. Typically they were compiled immediately following the death of a monarch (preparations sometimes began while he was still alive[1]) and follow a strictly prescribed format. Veritable Records are highly detailed and contain a wealth of political, economical, military, and biographical information.[2]
| Veritable Records | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chinese name | |||||||||
| Traditional Chinese | 實錄 | ||||||||
| Simplified Chinese | 实录 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Vietnamese name | |||||||||
| Vietnamese | Thực lục | ||||||||
| Chữ Hán | 寔錄 | ||||||||
| Korean name | |||||||||
| Hangul | 실록 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
| Japanese name | |||||||||
| Hiragana | じつろく | ||||||||
| Shinjitai | 実録 | ||||||||
| |||||||||
Some examples include (all written in classical Chinese):
- China: Ming Shilu (Veritable Records of Ming), Qing Shilu (Veritable Records of Qing)
- Japan: Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku (Veritable Records of Three Reigns of Japan)
- Korea: Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty
- Vietnam: Đại Nam thực lục (Veritable Records of Great Nam)
In the Yuan and Qing dynasties, many were written in Mongol or Manchu.
Origin
The earliest Veritable Records were those compiled under the direction of Zhou Xingsi (周興嗣, 469–521) for the reign of Emperor Wu of Liang (r. 502–549),[2] but the practice of writing Veritable Records didn't became standardized until the reign of Emperor Taizong of Tang (r. 626–649), who was obsessed with his historical legacy.[3]
References
Citations
- Twitchett, p. 40.
- Theobald, Ulrich (2010-07-11). "shilu 實錄, veritable records". Chinaknowledge.
- Wechsler, p. 216.
Sources
- Twitchett, Denis (1979). "Introduction". In Twitchett, Denis; Fairbank, John K. (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 3, Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 1–47. ISBN 978-0-521-21446-9.
- Wechsler, Howard J. (1979). "T'ai-tsung (reign 626–49) the Consolidator". In Twitchett, Denis; Fairbank, John K. (eds.). The Cambridge History of China, Volume 3, Sui and T'ang China, 589–906, Part 1. Cambridge University Press. pp. 188–241. ISBN 978-0-521-21446-9.