An Zuozhang (; 10 January 1927 – 20 February 2019) was a Chinese historian who specialized in ancient Chinese history and the regional history of

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

. A lifelong professor of Shandong Normal University, he was considered in China as a leading expert in the history of Qin and Han dynasties.

Biography

An was born on 10 January 1927 in Cao County,

, Republic of China. After graduating from the Department of History of Cheeloo University in 1951, he served as a faculty member in the history department of Shandong Normal University until his death. From 1985 to 1989 he also served as director of the university's Research Institute of Ancient Documents. In 1954, two of his papers, on the military colonies and agricultural officials of the

Western Han The Han dynasty was an 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) and a warring int ...

dynasty, respectively, were published in the influential national newspaper ''

Guangming Daily The ''Guangming Daily'', also known as the ''Enlightenment Daily'', is a national Chinese-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China. It was established in 1949 as the official paper of the China Democratic League. S ...

'', a rare feat for a 27-year-old historian. An published more than 100 academic papers and more than 30 books. A number of them, including ''A Draft History of Qin and Han Officialdom'' (), ''Biography of Liu Bang'' (), ''A Cultural History of Canals in China'' (), ''General History of Shandong'' (), ''General Cultural History of Shandong'' (), and ''General History of Chinese Acrobatic Art'' (), were awarded the Shandong Provincial Social Science Research Prize (First Class). An was considered in China as a leading expert in the history of the Qin and Han dynasties. In his view, the governing principle of the

(or Xi Han) dynasty was "doing nothing against nature" and ensuring "a peaceful environment to develop the economy". He was recognized by the Government of Shandong as a "top provincial expert", and was awarded a special pension by the

State Council of China The State Council of the People's Republic of China, also known as the Central People's Government, is the chief administrative authority and national cabinet. It is constitutionally the highest administrative organ of the country and the e ...

. He was elected a delegate to the

13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party The 13th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party was held in the Great Hall of the People in Beijing from 25 October to 1 November 1987. It was preceded by the 12th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party and was succeeded by t ...

. On 20 February 2019, An died of a heart attack at the age of 92.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:An, Zuozhang 1927 births 2019 deaths 20th-century Chinese historians 21st-century Chinese historians Historians of China Cheeloo University alumni Academic staff of Shandong Normal University Writers from Heze Historians from Shandong History of Shandong Educators from Shandong