Book of Jin
# Book of Jin

The Book of Jin is an official Chinese historical text covering the history of the Jin dynasty from 266 to 420. It was compiled in 648 by a number of officials commissioned by the imperial court of the Tang dynasty, with chancellor Fang Xuanling as the lead editor, drawing mostly from official documents left from earlier archives. A few essays in volumes 1, 3, 54 and 80 were composed by the Tang dynasty's Emperor Taizong himself. However, the contents of the Book of Jin included not only the history of the Jin dynasty, but also that of the Sixteen Kingdoms period, which was contemporaneous with the Eastern Jin dynasty.

## Compilation

Over 20 histories of the Jin had been written during the Northern and Southern dynasties, of which 18 were still extant at the beginning of the Tang dynasty. Yet Emperor Taizong deemed them all to be deficient and ordered the compilation of a new standard history for the period, as part of a wider six-history project to fill in the gaps between the Records of the Three Kingdoms, the Book of Song, the Book of Qi, the Book of Wei and the Emperor's own time. As part of this ambition, its treatises cover not only the Jin but also the preceding Three Kingdoms, making up for the lack of such a section in the Records of the Three Kingdoms.

The book was hastily compiled between 646 CE and 648, by a committee of 21 people led by editor-in-chief Fang Xuanling. As some chapters were written by Emperor Taizong of Tang, the work is sometimes given the honorific "imperially authored".

The Book of Jin had the longest gestation period of any official history, not seeing the light of day until 229 years after the end of the dynasty it describes.

## Contents

### Annals (紀)

| # | Title | Translation | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Volume 1 | 帝紀第1 宣帝 | Emperor Xuan | Sima Yi (Western Jin) |
| Volume 2 | 帝紀第2 景帝 文帝 | Emperor Jing; Emperor Wen | Sima Shi, Sima Zhao |
| Volume 3 | 帝紀第3 武帝 | Emperor Wu | Sima Yan |
| Volume 4 | 帝紀第4 惠帝 | Emperor Hui | Sima Zhong |
| Volume 5 | 帝紀第5 懷帝 愍帝 | Emperor Huai; Emperor Min | Sima Chi, Sima Ye |
| Volume 6 | 帝紀第6 元帝 明帝 | Emperor Yuan; Emperor Ming | Sima Rui, Sima Shao (Eastern Jin) |
| Volume 7 | 帝紀第7 成帝 康帝 | Emperor Cheng; Emperor Kang | Sima Yan, Sima Yue |
| Volume 8 | 帝紀第8 穆帝 哀帝 海西公 | Emperor Mu; Emperor Ai; Duke of Haixi | Sima Dan, Sima Pi, Sima Yi |
| Volume 9 | 帝紀第9 簡文帝 孝武帝 | Emperor Jianwen; Emperor Xiaowu | Sima Yu, Sima Yao |
| Volume 10 | 帝紀第10 安帝 恭帝 | Emperor An; Emperor Gong | Sima Dezong, Sima Dewen |

### Treatises (志)

| # | Title | Translation |
| - | - | - |
| Volume 11 | 志第1 天文上 | Astronomy Part One |
| Volume 12 | 志第2 天文中 | Astronomy Part Two |
| Volume 13 | 志第3 天文下 | Astronomy Part Three |
| Volume 14 | 志第4 地理上 | Geography Part One |
| Volume 15 | 志第5 地理下 | Geography Part Two |
| Volume 16 | 志第6 律歷上 | Rhythm and the Calendar Part One |
| Volume 17 | 志第7 律歷中 | Rhythm and the Calendar Part Two |
| Volume 18 | 志第8 律歷下 | Rhythm and the Calendar Part Three |
| Volume 19 | 志第9 禮上 | Rites Part One |
| Volume 20 | 志第10 禮中 | Rites Part Two |
| Volume 21 | 志第11 禮下 | Rites Part Three |
| Volume 22 | 志第12 樂上 | Music Part One |
| Volume 23 | 志第13 樂下 | Music Part Two |
| Volume 24 | 志第14 職官 | Government Service |
| Volume 25 | 志第15 輿服 | Travel and Dress |
| Volume 26 | 志第16 食貨 | Food and Commodities |
| Volume 27 | 志第17 5行上 | Five Elements Part One |
| Volume 28 | 志第18 5行中 | Five Elements Part Two |
| Volume 29 | 志第19 5行下 | Five Elements Part Three |
| Volume 30 | 志第20 刑法 | Punishment and Law |

### Biographies (列傳)

| # | Title | Translation | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| Volume 31 | 列傳第1 后妃上 | Empresses and Consorts Part One | |
| Volume 32 | 列傳第2 后妃下 | Empresses and Consorts Part Two | |
| Volume 33 | 列傳第3 王祥 鄭沖 何曾 石苞 | Wang Xiang; Zheng Chong; He Zeng; Shi Bao | |
| Volume 34 | 列傳第4 羊祜 杜預 | Yang Hu; Du Yu | |
| Volume 35 | 列傳第5 陳騫 裴秀 | Chen Qian; Pei Xiu | |
| Volume 36 | 列傳第6 衛瓘 張華 | Wei Guan; Zhang Hua | |
| Volume 37 | 列傳第7 宗室 | Imperial Clan | Sima Fu, Sima Quan, Sima Tai, Sima Sui, Sima Sui, Sima Xun, Sima Mu, Sima Ling, and their sons |
| Volume 38 | 列傳第8 宣5王 文6王 | Five Princes of Xuan; Six Princes of Wen | Sima Gan, Sima Zhou, Sima Jing, Sima Jun, Sima Rong (sons of Sima Yi); Sima You, Sima Zhao, Sima Dingguo, Sima Guangde, Sima Jian, Sima Yanzuo (sons of Sima Zhao) |
| Volume 39 | 列傳第9 王沈 荀顗 荀勖 馮紞 | Wang Chen; Xun Yi; Xun Xu; Feng Dan | |
| Volume 40 | 列傳第10 賈充 郭彰 楊駿 | Jia Chong; Guo Zhang; Yang Jun | |
| Volume 41 | 列傳第11 魏舒 李憙 劉寔 高光 | Wei Shu; Li Xi; Liu Shi; Gao Guang | |
| Volume 42 | 列傳第12 王渾 王濬 唐彬 | Wang Hun; Wang Jun; Tang Bin | |
| Volume 43 | 列傳第13 山濤 王戎 郭舒 樂廣 | Shan Tao; Wang Rong; Guo Shu; Yue Guang | |
| Volume 44 | 列傳第14 鄭袤 李胤 盧欽 華表 石鑒 溫羨 | Zheng Mao; Li Yin; Lu Qin; Hua Biao; Shi Jian; Wen Xian | |
| Volume 45 | 列傳第15 劉毅 程衛 和嶠 武陔 任愷 崔洪 郭奕 侯史光 何攀 | Liu Yi; Cheng Wei; He Jiao; Wu Gai; Ren Kai; Cui Hong; Guo Yi; Hou Shiguang; He Pan | |
| Volume 46 | 列傳第16 劉頌 李重 | Liu Song; Li Zhong | |
| Volume 47 | 列傳第17 傅玄 | Fu Xuan | |
| Volume 48 | 列傳第18 向雄 段灼 閻纘 | Xiang Xiong; Duan Zhuo; Yan Zuan | |
| Volume 49 | 列傳第19 阮籍 嵇康 向秀 劉伶 謝鯤 胡毋輔之 畢卓 王尼 羊曼 光逸 | Ruan Ji; Ji Kang; Xiang Xiu; Liu Ling; Xie Kun; Huwu Fuzhi; Bi Zhuo; Wang Ni; Yang Man; Guang Yi | |
| Volume 50 | 列傳第20 曹志 庾峻 郭象 庾純 秦秀 | Cao Zhi; Yu Jun; Guo Xiang; Yu Chun; Qin Xiu | |
| Volume 51 | 列傳第21 皇甫謐 摯虞 束皙 王接 | Huangfu Mi; Zhi Yu; Shu Xi; Wang Jie | |
| Volume 52 | 列傳第22 郤詵 阮種 華譚 袁甫 | Xi Shen; Ruan Zhong; Hua Tan; Yuan Fu | |
| Volume 53 | 列傳第23 愍懷太子 | Crown Prince Minhuai | |
| Volume 54 | 列傳第24 陸機 | Lu Ji | |
| Volume 55 | 列傳第25 夏侯湛 潘岳 張載 | Xiahou Zhan; Pan Yue; Zhang Zai | |
| Volume 56 | 列傳第26 江統 孫楚 | Jiang Tong; Sun Chu | |
| Volume 57 | 列傳第27 羅憲 滕修 馬隆 胡奮 陶璜 吾彥 張光 趙誘 | Luo Xian; Teng Xiu; Ma Long; Hu Fen; Tao Huang; Wu Yan; Zhang Guang; Zhao You | |
| Volume 58 | 列傳第28 周處 周訪 | Zhou Chu; Zhou Fang | |
| Volume 59 | 列傳第29 汝南文成王亮 楚隱王瑋 趙王倫 齊王冏 長沙王乂 成都王穎 河間王顒 東海孝獻王越 | Liang, Prince Wencheng of Ru'nan; Wei, Prince Yin of Chu; Lun, Prince of Zhao; Jiong, Prince of Qi; Ai, Prince of Changsha; Ying, Prince of Chengdu; Yong, Prince of Hejian; Yue, Prince Xiaoxian of Donghai | |
| Volume 60 | 列傳第30 解系 孫旂 孟觀 牽秀 繆播 皇甫重 張輔 李含 張方 閻鼎 索靖 賈疋 | Xie Xi; Sun Qi; Meng Guan; Qian Xiu; Miao Bo; Zhang Fu; Li Han; Zhang Fang; Yan Ding; Suo Jing; Jia Ya | |
| Volume 61 | 列傳第31 周浚 成公簡 苟晞 華軼 劉喬 | Zhou Jun; Cheng Gongjian; Gou Xi; Hua Die; Liu Qiao | |
| Volume 62 | 列傳第32 劉琨 祖逖 | Liu Kun; Zu Ti | |
| Volume 63 | 列傳第33 邵續 李矩 段匹磾 魏浚 郭默 | Shao Xu; Li Ju; Duan Pidi; Wei Jun; Guo Mo | |
| Volume 64 | 列傳第34 武13王 元4王 簡文3子 | Thirteen Princes of Wu; Four Princes of Yuan; Three Sons of Jianwen | |
| Volume 65 | 列傳第35 王導 | Wang Dao | |
| Volume 66 | 列傳第36 劉弘 陶侃 | Liu Hong; Tao Kan | |
| Volume 67 | 列傳第37 溫嶠 郗鑒 | Wen Jiao; Chi Jian | |
| Volume 68 | 列傳第38 顧榮 紀瞻 賀循 楊方 薛兼 | Gu Rong; Ji Zhan; He Xun; Yang Fang; Xue Jian | |
| Volume 69 | 列傳第39 劉隗 刁協 戴若思 周顗 | Liu Wei; Diao Xie; Dai Ruosi; Zhou Yi | |
| Volume 70 | 列傳第40 應詹 甘卓 鄧騫 卞壼 | Ying Zhan; Gan Zhuo; Deng Qian; Bian Kun | |
| Volume 71 | 列傳第41 孫惠 熊遠 王鑒 陳頵 高崧 | Sun Hui; Xiong Yuan; Wang Jian; Chen Yun; Gao Song | |
| Volume 72 | 列傳第42 郭璞 葛洪 | Guo Pu; Ge Hong | |
| Volume 73 | 列傳第43 庾亮 | Yu Liang | |
| Volume 74 | 列傳第44 桓彝 | Huan Yi | |
| Volume 75 | 列傳第45 王湛 荀崧 范汪 劉惔 | Wang Zhan; Xun Song; Fan Wang; Liu Tan | |
| Volume 76 | 列傳第46 王舒 王廙 虞潭 顧眾 張闓 | Wang Shu; Wang Yi; Yu Tan; Gu Zhong; Zhang Kai | |
| Volume 77 | 列傳第47 陸曄 何充 褚翜 蔡謨 諸葛恢 殷浩 | Lu Ye; He Chong; Chu Se; Cai Mo; Zhuge Hui; Yin Hao | |
| Volume 78 | 列傳第48 孔愉 丁潭 張茂 陶回 | Kong Yu; Ding Tan; Zhang Mao; Tao Hui | |
| Volume 79 | 列傳第49 謝尚 謝安 | Xie Shang; Xie An | |
| Volume 80 | 列傳第50 王羲之 | Wang Xizhi | |
| Volume 81 | 列傳第51 王遜 蔡豹 羊鑒 劉胤 桓宣 硃伺 毛寶 劉遐 鄧岳 朱序 | Wang Xun; Cai Bao; Yang Jian; Liu Yin; Huan Xuan; Zhu Si; Mao Bao; Liu Xia; Deng Yue; Zhu Xu | |
| Volume 82 | 列傳第52 陳壽 王長文 虞溥 司馬彪 王隱 虞預 孫盛 干寶 鄧粲 謝沉 習鑿齒 徐廣 | Chen Shou; Wang Changwen; Yu Pu; Sima Biao; Wang Yin; Yu Yu; Sun Sheng; Gan Bao; Deng Can; Xie Chen; Xi Zuochi; Xu Guang | |
| Volume 83 | 列傳第53 顧和 袁瑰 江逌 車胤 殷顗 王雅 | Gu He; Yuan Mei; Jiang You; Che Yin; Yin Yi; Wang Ya | |
| Volume 84 | 列傳第54 王恭 庾楷 劉牢之 殷仲堪 楊佺期 | Wang Gong; Yu Kai; Liu Laozhi; Yin Zhongkan; Yang Quanqi | |
| Volume 85 | 列傳第55 劉毅 諸葛長民 何無忌 檀憑之 魏詠之 | Liu Yi; Zhuge Changmin; He Wuji; Tan Pingzhi; Wei Yongzhi | |
| Volume 86 | 列傳第56 張軌 | Zhang Gui | |
| Volume 87 | 列傳第57 涼武昭王李玄盛 | Li Xuansheng, Prince Wuzhao of Liang | |
| Volume 88 | 列傳第58 孝友 | Filial Piety | |
| Volume 89 | 列傳第59 忠義 | Loyalty and Righteousness | |
| Volume 90 | 列傳第60 良吏 | Good Officials | |
| Volume 91 | 列傳第61 儒林 | Confucian Scholars | |
| Volume 92 | 列傳第62 文苑 | Writers | |
| Volume 93 | 列傳第63 外戚 | Imperial Affines | |
| Volume 94 | 列傳第64 隱逸 | Hermits and Recluses | |
| Volume 95 | 列傳第65 藝術 | Arts | |
| Volume 96 | 列傳第66 列女 | Exemplary Women | |
| Volume 97 | 列傳第67 4夷 | Four Barbarian Tribes | |
| Volume 98 | 列傳第68 王敦 桓溫 | Wang Dun; Huan Wen | |
| Volume 99 | 列傳第69 桓玄 卞范之 殷仲文 | Huan Xuan; Bian Fanzhi; Yin Zhongwen | |
| Volume 100 | 列傳第70 王彌 張昌 陳敏 王如 杜曾 杜弢 王機 祖約 蘇峻 孫恩 盧循 譙縱 | Wang Mi; Zhang Chang; Chen Min; Wang Ru; Du Zeng; Du Tao; Wang Ji; Zu Yue; Su Jun; Sun En; Lu Xun; Qiao Zong | |

### Records (載記)

| # | Title | Translation |
| - | - | - |
| Volume 101 | 載記第1 劉元海 劉宣 | Liu Yuanhai; Liu Xuan |
| Volume 102 | 載記第2 劉聰 劉粲 陳元達 | Liu Cong; Liu Can; Chen Yuanda |
| Volume 103 | 載記第3 劉曜 | Liu Yao |
| Volume 104 | 載記第4 石勒上 | Shi Le Part One |
| Volume 105 | 載記第5 石勒下 石弘 張賓 | Shi Le Part Two; Shi Hong; Zhang Bin |
| Volume 106 | 載記第6 石季龍上 | Shi Jilong Part One |
| Volume 107 | 載記第7 石季龍下 石世 石遵 石鑒 冉閔 | Shi Jilong Part Two; Shi Shi; Shi Zun; Shi Jian; Ran Min |
| Volume 108 | 載記第8 慕容廆 裴嶷 高瞻 | Murong Hui; Pei Yi; Gao Zhan |
| Volume 109 | 載記第9 慕容皝 慕容翰 陽裕 | Murong Huang; Murong Han; Yang Yu |
| Volume 110 | 載記第10 慕容儁 韓恆 李產 | Murong Jun; Han Heng; Li Chan |
| Volume 111 | 載記第11 慕容暐 慕容恪 陽騖 皇甫真 | Murong Wei; Murong Ke; Yang Wu; Huangfu Zhen |
| Volume 112 | 載記第12 苻洪 苻健 苻生 苻雄 王墮 | Fu Hong; Fu Jian; Fu Sheng; Fu Xiong; Wang Duo |
| Volume 113 | 載記第13 苻堅上 | Fu Jian Part One |
| Volume 114 | 載記第14 苻堅下 王猛 苻融 苻朗 | Fu Jian Part Two; Wang Meng; Fu Rong; Fu Lang |
| Volume 115 | 載記第15 苻丕 苻登 索泮 徐嵩 | Fu Pi; Fu Deng; Suo Pan; Xu Song |
| Volume 116 | 載記第16 姚弋仲 姚襄 姚萇 | Yao Yizhong; Yao Xiang; Yao Chang |
| Volume 117 | 載記第17 姚興上 | Yao Xing Part One |
| Volume 118 | 載記第18 姚興下 尹緯 | Yao Xing Part Two; Yin Wei |
| Volume 119 | 載記第19 姚泓 | Yao Hong |
| Volume 120 | 載記第20 李特 李流 李庠 | Li Te; Li Liu; Li Xiang |
| Volume 121 | 載記第21 李雄 李班 李期 李壽 李勢 | Li Xiong; Li Ban; Li Qi; Li Shou; Li Shi |
| Volume 122 | 載記第22 呂光 呂纂 呂隆 | Lü Guang; Lü Zuan; Lü Long |
| Volume 123 | 載記第23 慕容垂 | Murong Chui |
| Volume 124 | 載記第24 慕容寶 慕容盛 慕容熙 慕容雲 | Murong Bao; Murong Sheng; Murong Xi; Murong Yun |
| Volume 125 | 載記第25 乞伏國仁 乞伏乾歸 乞伏熾磐 馮跋 | Qifu Guoren; Qifu Gangui; Qifu Chipan; Feng Ba |
| Volume 126 | 載記第26 禿髮烏孤 禿髮利鹿孤 禿髮傉檀 | Tufa Wugu; Tufa Lilugu; Tufa Rutan |
| Volume 127 | 載記第27 慕容德 | Murong De |
| Volume 128 | 載記第28 慕容超 慕容鍾 封孚 | Murong Chao; Murong Zhong; Feng Fu |
| Volume 129 | 載記第29 沮渠蒙遜 | Juqu Mengxun |
| Volume 130 | 載記第30 赫連勃勃 | Helian Bobo |

## Legacy

The book has been criticized for being more reflective of the court politics in the Tang dynasty that compiled it, rather than the realities of the Jin dynasty itself.

Despite Fang's team having at their disposal not only the pre-existing Jin histories, but also a large body of actual Jin primary sources, it appears that the book was primarily based on Zang Rongxu's (臧荣绪) identically-titled Jinshu from the Southern Qi, and further incorporates material from fictionalized novels. The Tang historian Liu Zhiji (661–721) accused the editors of generally selecting the sources that had the most vivid and compelling language, rather than the ones that were the most historically reliable.

The collaborative nature of the project coupled with the rushed production time unsurprisingly leaves the book with a number of internal contradictions and editorial errors; such as misspelled personal and place names, draft-like and unpolished language, and "cross-references" to non-existent chapters that were presumably planned but never finished in time for publication.

In spite of these shortcomings, the Book of Jin is recognized as the most important primary source for the Jin dynasty and Sixteen Kingdoms, because the pre-existing histories and other sources it was compiled from have all been lost – save for a few stray quotations in other works.

## Translations

No complete translations are known at this time. The astronomical chapters (11, 12 & 13) were translated by Ho Peng Yoke. Choo translates the biography of Huan Wen in volume 98 and the biography of Sun Chuo in volume 56. Knapp translates biographies of Liu Yin in volume 88 and Huangfu Mi in volume 51.

