The ''Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms'', also known by its Chinese title ''Shiliuguo Chunqiu'' () is a Chinese biographical historical work of the

Sixteen Kingdoms The Sixteen Kingdoms (), less commonly the Sixteen States, was a chaotic period in Chinese history from AD 304 to 439 when northern China fragmented into a series of short-lived dynastic states. The majority of these states were founded by ...

compiled by the

Northern Wei Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei (), Tuoba Wei (), Yuan Wei () and Later Wei (), was founded by the Tuoba (Tabgach) clan of the Xianbei. The first of the Northern dynasties, it ruled northern China from 386 to 535 during t ...

official

Cui Hong Cui or CUI may refer to: People * Cui (surname), a Chinese surname * Cui Shian (born 1957), governor of Macau * César Cui (1835–1918), Russian composer Education * Catholic University of Ireland * COMSATS University Islamabad * Concordia Uni ...

between 501 and 522. It became one of the chief sources for the compilation of the ''

Book of Wei The ''Book of Wei'', also known by its Chinese name as the ''Wei Shu'', is a classic Chinese historical text compiled by Wei Shou from 551 to 554, and is an important text describing the history of the Northern Wei and Eastern Wei from 386 to ...

'' and ''

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 ...

''. Parts of the book went missing from the early

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, t= ), or Tang Empire, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907 AD, with an Zhou dynasty (690–705), interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dyn ...

and did not survive intact. It originally contained 100 volumes, a preface and a chronological table. By the time of the early

Song dynasty The Song dynasty (; ; 960–1279) was an imperial dynasty of China that began in 960 and lasted until 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song following his usurpation of the throne of the Later Zhou. The Song conquered the res ...

, many of them were lost and only about 20 volumes remained, which were quoted extensively by

Sima Guang Sima Guang (17 November 1019 – 11 October 1086), courtesy name Junshi, was a Chinese historian, politician, and writer. He was a high-ranking Song dynasty scholar-official who authored the monumental history book ''Zizhi Tongjian''. Sima was ...

. There are two extant versions dating from the late

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty (), officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties in Chinese history, imperial dynasty of China, ruling from 1368 to 1644 following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming dynasty was the last ort ...

, the edition by Tu Qiaosun containing 100 volumes, and the one by He Tang containing 16 volumes, reprinted in the ''Hanwei Congshu'', a compilation of histories. Tu's edition was published for the third time in 1781. Also there is a 100 volumes edition together with a chronological table from the mid-

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

by Tang Qiu, taken from the edition by He Tang and from other materials.

References

* Zhou, Yiliang
"Shiliuguo Chunqiu" ("Spring and Autumn Annals of the Sixteen Kingdoms")
''

Encyclopedia of China The ''Encyclopedia of China'' () is the first large-entry modern encyclopedia in the Chinese language. The compilation began in 1978. Published by the Encyclopedia of China Publishing House, the encyclopedia was issued one volume at a time, begin ...

'', 1st ed. * Chen, Changqi and Zhou, Qun
''Shiliuguo Chunqiu Sanyi Kaolue (Studies on the Scatter and Disappearance of "Shiliuguo Chunqiu)''
Academic Research, 2005, No.7, p. 95-100. * Franke, Otto, ''Geschichte des chinesischen Reiches. Eine Darstellung seiner Entstehung, seines Wesens und seiner Entwicklung bis zur neuesten Zeit'', Berlin (Walter de Gruyter) 2001 (History of the Chinese realm. A representation of its emergence, its nature and its development up to the most recent time), Volume 3 ''Anmerkungen, Ergänzungen und Berichtigungen zu Band 1 und 2 Sach- und Namenverzeichnis'' (Remarks, Additions and Errata for volumes 1 and 2, indices on subjects and names), p. 224. . Chinese history texts 6th-century history books Sixteen Kingdoms Historiography of China History books about the Jin dynasty (266–420) {{china-hist-book-stub