The Veritable Record of the T'ang Emperor Shun-tsung (February 28, 805–August 31, 805) Trans. Bernard S. Solomon. Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies, XIII. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955. xxxi, 82. Appendix, Bibliography, Index. $3.00.

Abstract

The Veritable Record of the T'ang Emperor Shuntsung (February 28, 805-August 31, 805) Trans. BERNARD S. SOLOMON. Harvard-Yenching Institute Studies, XIII. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1955. xxxi, 82. Appendix, Bibliography, Index. $3.00. Bernard S. Solomon has ably translated and annotated the "veritable record" of T'ang Emperor Shun-tsung, whose brief reign extended from February to August, 805. He states that the record is " . . . notable not only as the earliest surviving work of its genre, but also as the only T'ang dynasty example extant." This statement might be qualified, for in the Tzu-chih t'ung-chien k'ao-i, Ssu-ma Kuang quotes verbatim considerable portions of the "veritable record" of earlier T'ang emperors such as Hsiian-tsung (713-755) and Su-tsung (756-763). The term "veritable record" is misleading in this case, for Han Yii, the compiler of this chronicle of events in 805, was partial in his sympathies to one of the rival court cliques then struggling for bureaucratic supremacy. Since Han was an avowed critic of the faction led by Wang Shu-wen' and Wang P'ei, one should therefore treat his statements concerning them with considerable reserve. Dr. Solomon, however, transmits Han's prejudices concerning these two men, writing in his introduction (p. xi) that Wang P'ei was one "whose provincial dialect and ugliness made him appear something of a fool. . . . The other was Wang Shu-wen, a 'chess' expert and political dilettante who took himself rather seriously." The significant information divulged about Wang P'ei by Han Yu is not that he was "something of a fool," but rather that he "had a southern accent" (p. 55). Wang P'ei's confederate, Wang Shu-wen, was from Yueh Prefecture (Chiu T'ang shu [Po-na] 135.13a), located in modern Kuang-tung Province. Thus, the Wangs were both southerners, and the court conflict may have been between the "nouveau" literati in the growing population area of the south and the older-established northern literati of the capital region. This conflict might have merited some consideration in the Introduction.