Review
Richard Davis's wonderfully fluent translation makes available in English one of the most important histories of the period between the Tang and Song dynasties. In recent years historians have come to realize just how important this fifty years was to China's overall development for many of the innovations that the Song pioneered actually dated to this time. This translation provides entree for anyone interested in this period, whether a starting student or an advanced scholar.
Book Description
Until now, no historical text from China's middle period has ever been translated into English, except in fragments. Here at last is the first major Chinese historical work from the Song dynasty. Written by an intellectual giant of the eleventh century, Ouyang Xiu, this is a history of the preceding century, the Five Dynasties. Richard Davis, a preeminent scholar of Chinese history, has provided a thorough introduction. Roughly two-thirds of the Chinese original has been rendered into English, and sections critical to understanding the politics and personality of the time appear in full. Biographical clusters based on moral categories also appear in full, helping readers to appreciate the Confucian agenda that informs the work.
