Veritable Records are historical records compiled by government (court) historians of
Chinese dynasties since the 6th century, and later in
Korea,
Japan
Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
and
Vietnam which adopted the Chinese bureaucratic system and the writing system of
Classical Chinese. Typically they were compiled immediately following the death of a monarch (preparations sometimes began while he was still alive) and follow a strictly prescribed format. Veritable Records are highly detailed and contain a wealth of political, economical, military, and biographical information.
[
Famous examples include (all written in Classical Chinese):
* China: '' Ming Shilu'' (Veritable Records of Ming), ''Qing Shilu'' (Veritable Records of ]Qing
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-speaki ...
)
* Japan: '' Nihon Sandai Jitsuroku'' (Veritable Records of Three Reigns of Japan)
* Korea: '' Joseon Wangjo Sillok'' (Veritable Records of the Joseon Dynasty)
* Vietnam: '' Đại Nam thực lục'' (Veritable Records of Great Nam)
During the Yuan and Qing
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-speaki ...
dynasties of China, Veritable Records were also written in Mongol and Manchu
The Manchus (; ) are a Tungusic East Asian ethnic group native to Manchuria in Northeast Asia. They are an officially recognized ethnic minority in China and the people from whom Manchuria derives its name. The Later Jin (1616–1636) and ...
respectively.
Origin
The earliest Veritable Records were those compiled under the direction of Zhou Xingsi (周興嗣, 469–521) for the reign of the Emperor Wu of Liang (r. 502–549),
Examples
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
Imperial China
{{Vietnam-hist-stub