Ban Gu (AD32–92) was a Chinese historian, poet, and politician best known for his part in compiling the ''

Book of Han The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'', the second of China's 24 dynastic histories. He also wrote a number of '' fu'', a major literary form, part prose and part poetry, which is particularly associated with the Han era. A number of Ban's ''fu'' were collected by

Xiao Tong Xiao Tong (, October 501 – 7 May 531), courtesy name Deshi (), formally Crown Prince Zhaoming (昭明太子, literally "Accomplished and Understanding Crown Prince"), was a crown prince of the Chinese Liang dynasty, posthumously honored as ...

in the ''

Wen Xuan The ''Wen Xuan'' (; ), usually translated ''Selections of Refined Literature'', is one of the earliest and most important anthologies of Chinese poetry and literature, and is one of the world's oldest literary anthologies to be arranged by top ...

''.

Family background

The Ban family was one of the most distinguished families of the Eastern Han dynasty. They lived in the

state of Chu Chu (, Old Chinese: ''*s-r̥aʔ'') was an Ancient Chinese states, ancient Chinese state during the Zhou dynasty. Their first ruler was King Wu of Chu in the early 8th century BC. Chu was located in the south of the Zhou heartland and lasted ...

during the

Warring States period The Warring States period in history of China, Chinese history (221 BC) comprises the final two and a half centuries of the Zhou dynasty (256 BC), which were characterized by frequent warfare, bureaucratic and military reforms, and ...

but, during the reign of the

First Emperor Qin Shi Huang (, ; February 25912 July 210 BC), born Ying Zheng () or Zhao Zheng (), was the founder of the Qin dynasty and the first emperor of China. He is widely regarded as the first ever supreme leader of a unitary dynasty in Chine ...

, a man named Ban Yi ( or ''Bān Yī'') fled north to the Loufan ( t s ''Lóufán'') near the

Yanmen Pass Yanmen Pass, also known by its Chinese name Yanmenguan and as Xixingguan, is a mountain pass which includes three fortified gatehouses along the Great Wall of China. The area was a strategic choke point in ancient and medieval China, con ...

in what is now northern

Shanxi Province Shanxi; formerly romanised as Shansi is a province in North China. Its capital and largest city of the province is Taiyuan, while its next most populated prefecture-level cities are Changzhi and Datong. Its one-character abbreviation is ( ...

. By the early Han Dynasty, Ban Gu's ancestors gained prominence on the northwestern frontier as herders of several thousand cattle, oxen, and horses, which they traded in a formidable business and encouraged other families to move to the frontier. Ban Biao later moved the family to Anling (near modern

Xianyang Xianyang ( zh, s=咸阳 , p=Xiányáng) is a prefecture-level city in central Shaanxi province, situated on the Wei River a few kilometers upstream (west) from the provincial capital of Xi'an. Once the capital of the Qin dynasty, it is now int ...

Shaanxi Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...

). Ban Gu's great-aunt

Consort Ban Consort Ban (), or Ban Jieyu (), also known as Lady Ban (Pan), was a imperial consort, Chinese scholar and Classical Chinese poetry, poet during the Western Han dynasty (206 BCE – 23 CE). Imperial Chinese harem system#Western Han, '' Jieyu'' (� ...

was a scholar and poet, and his father

Ban Biao Ban Biao (, 3–54 CE), courtesy name (), was a Chinese historian and politician born in what is now Xianyang, Shaanxi during the Han dynasty. He was the nephew of Consort Ban, a famous poet and concubine to Emperor Cheng. Ban Biao's mother w ...

was a prominent historian. He took over from his father responsibility for writing a history of the former

Han dynasty The Han dynasty was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China (202 BC9 AD, 25–220 AD) established by Liu Bang and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–206 BC ...

, a book known in modern times as the ''

Hanshu The ''Book of Han'' is a history of China finished in 111 CE, covering the Western, or Former Han dynasty from the first emperor in 206 BCE to the fall of Wang Mang in 23 CE. The work was composed by Ban Gu (32–92 CE), ...

'' or ''

''. However, his work was interrupted by political problems, as his association with the family of Empress Dowager Dou led to his imprisonment and death (either by execution or torture). A few volumes of his book in 13–20th (eight chronological charts) and 26th (astronomical biography), however, was completed by his younger sister,

Ban Zhao Ban Zhao (; 45 or 49 – c. 117/120 CE), courtesy name Huiban (), was a Chinese historian, philosopher, and politician. She was the first known female Chinese historian and, along with Pamphile of Epidaurus, one of the first known female h ...

, and became a model for many other works about later dynasties. Ban Gu's grandmother on the paternal side was

Xiongnu The Xiongnu (, ) were a tribal confederation of Nomad, nomadic peoples who, according to ancient Chinese historiography, Chinese sources, inhabited the eastern Eurasian Steppe from the 3rd century BC to the late 1st century AD. Modu Chanyu, t ...

and was a descendant of the Xiongnu king

Xiutu Xiutu ( zh, c=休屠王, p=Xiūtú Wáng, also romanized as Hsiu-t'u, lit. "The one who puts an end to massacres") was a king in the Hexi Corridor of the Gansu region, west of Wuwei, during the 2nd century BCE. "Xiutu" (休屠) is also an early C ...

. The partly Xiongnu origins of Ban Gu might help explain his skills in matters related to China's history and foreign relations. Ban's twin brother

Ban Chao Ban Chao (; 32–102 CE), courtesy name Zhongsheng, was a Chinese diplomat, explorer, and military general of the Eastern Han dynasty. He was born in Fufeng (region), Fufeng, now Xianyang, Shaanxi. Three of his family members—father Ban Biao, ...

was a famous military leader and explorer of

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. His sister, Ban Zhao, was one of the most famous female scholars in Chinese history, and contributed to the ''Han Shu'', after Ban Gu's imprisonment and subsequent death.

Life

Ban's father, Ban Biao, died in AD54 when Ban was twenty-two. After his father's death, Ban spent a period of time pondering what path he should pursue in life, eventually composing a long ''fu'' on his situation entitled "''Fu'' on Communicating with the Hidden" (), which is famous as one of the earliest known ''fu'' used to discuss philosophical questions. Ban did not immediately begin an official career, but remained in the Ban family home in Anling to work on the completion of his father's historical sequel to

Sima Qian Sima Qian () was a Chinese historian during the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for the ''Shiji'' (sometimes translated into English as ''Records of the Grand Historian''), a general history of China cov ...

's ''

Records of the Grand Historian The ''Shiji'', also known as ''Records of the Grand Historian'' or ''The Grand Scribe's Records'', is a Chinese historical text that is the first of the Twenty-Four Histories of imperial China. It was written during the late 2nd and early 1st ce ...

''. Around AD60, rumors were reported to

Emperor Ming of Han Emperor Ming of Han (15June 28 – 5September 75 AD), born and also known as and as , was the second Emperor of the Han dynasty#Eastern Han, Eastern Han dynasty. He was the fourth son and second crown prince of Emperor Guangwu of Han, Empero ...

that Ban was "privately revising the national history", which caused the imperial court to become concerned about the type of account Ban would write of the fall of the Western Han and the rise of the Eastern Han. Ban was subsequently arrested and the Ban family library confiscated, though Ban's brother Ban Chao was able to intercede on his behalf and secure Ban's release. Ban was assigned to compile the annals of

Emperor Guangwu of Han Emperor Guangwu of Han (; 15 January 5 BC29 March AD 57), born Liu Xiu (), courtesy name Wenshu (), was a Chinese monarch. He served as an emperor of the Han dynasty by restoring the dynasty in AD 25, thus founding the Eastern Han dynasty. He ...

, the first Eastern Han emperor, and in AD64 was assigned to the collation of books in the imperial library and promoted to the rank of gentleman. Emperor Ming was so impressed with the quality of Ban's work that in AD66 he gave him permission to resume his work on the history of the Western Han, which he worked on for the rest of his life. Ban continued to serve in the imperial library and at the imperial court throughout the second half of the 1st century AD. During the reign of

Emperor Zhang of Han Emperor Zhang of Han (; 56 – 9 April 88''renchen'' day of the 2nd month of the 2nd year of the ''Zhang'he'' era, per Emperor Zhang's biography in ''Book of the Later Han''. The biography also indicate that he was 33 (by East Asian reckoning) ...

, Ban was promoted to the position of "Marshal of the Black Warrior Gate". Ban later served as a high-ranking literary official under

Dou Xian Dou Xian (; - died 92 AD) was a Chinese general and consort kin of the Eastern Han dynasty, famous for destroying the Xiongnu nomadic empire. Early life A native of modern-day Xianyang, Shaanxi Province, he was part of the powerful Dou clan whi ...

, the brother of Emperor Zhang's empress. Although Dou won prestige for two successful campaigns against the

, in AD92 he was suspected by

Emperor He of Han Emperor He of Han (; 79 – 13 February 106) was an emperor of the Chinese Han dynasty who ruled from 88 to 106. He was the 4th emperor of the Eastern Han, and the 20th emperor of the Han dynasty. Emperor He was a son of Emperor Zhang and, th ...

of plotting a rebellion and forced to commit suicide. Immediately thereafter, Ban was dismissed from office and arrested by an old rival, Chong Jing, who was serving as the prefect of

Luoyang Luoyang ( zh, s=洛阳, t=洛陽, p=Luòyáng) is a city located in the confluence area of the Luo River and the Yellow River in the west of Henan province, China. Governed as a prefecture-level city, it borders the provincial capital of Zheng ...

. Ban died in prison that same year at 61 years old.

Legacy

The modern historian Hsu Mei-ling states that Ban Gu's written work in

geography Geography (from Ancient Greek ; combining 'Earth' and 'write', literally 'Earth writing') is the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. Geography is an all-encompassing discipline that seeks an understanding o ...

set the trend for the establishment of geographical sections of history texts, and most likely sparked the trend of the

gazetteer A gazetteer is a geographical dictionary or wikt:directory, directory used in conjunction with a map or atlas.Aurousseau, 61. It typically contains information concerning the geographical makeup, social statistics and physical features of a co ...

in ancient China.Hsu, 98. The tendency of both Chinese and Western scholars to view China's history in a dynastic framework is thought to be a direct result of Ban Gu's decision to write the Book of Han in the manner in which he did.Companion to Historiography. Chapter 1; The Evolution of Two Asian Historiographic Traditions. Ed. Michael Bentley. Routledge. 2002

Ban family

( 班彪; 3–54; father) ** Ban Gu ( 班固; 32–92; first son) **

( 班超; 32–102; second son) *** Ban Xiong ( 班雄; ?–after 107; Ban Chao's eldest son) **** Ban Shi ( 班始; ?–130; Ban Xiong's son) *** Ban Yong ( 班勇; ?–c. 128; youngest son of Ban Chao) **

( 班昭; c. 45 – c. 117; daughter)

References

Citations

Works cited

* Bielenstein, Hans. "Pan Ku's Accusations against Wang Mang." In ''Chinese Ideas about Nature and Society: Studies in Honour of Derk Bodde''. Ed. Charles Le Blanc and Susan Blader. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1987, 265–70. * Anthony E. Clark, ''Ban Gu's History of Early China'' (Amherst: Cambria Press, 2008)

* *Hsu, Mei-ling. "The Qin Maps: A Clue to Later Chinese Cartographic Development," ''Imago Mundi'' (Volume 45, 1993): 90–100. * * * Van der Sprenkel, O. B. ''Pan Piao, Pan Ku, and the Han History''. Centre for Oriental Studies Occasional Paper, no. 3. Canberra: Australian National University, 1964. * Yü, Ying-shih. (1967). ''Trade and Expansion in Han China: A Study in the Structure of Sino-Barbarian Economic Relations''. Berkeley: University of California Press.

External links

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