Yan Shigu () (581–645), formal name Yan Zhou (), but went by the

courtesy name A courtesy name ( zh, s=字, p=zì, l=character), also known as a style name, is an additional name bestowed upon individuals at adulthood, complementing their given name. This tradition is prevalent in the East Asian cultural sphere, particula ...

of Shigu, was a famous Chinese historian,

linguist Linguistics is the scientific study of language. The areas of linguistic analysis are syntax (rules governing the structure of sentences), semantics (meaning), Morphology (linguistics), morphology (structure of words), phonetics (speech sounds ...

, politician, and writer of the

Tang dynasty The Tang dynasty (, ; zh, c=唐朝), or the Tang Empire, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 618 to 907, with an Wu Zhou, interregnum between 690 and 705. It was preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed ...

Biography

Yan was born in Wannian (, in modern Xi'an, Shaanxi). His ancestors were originally from Langya (modern-day Linyi, Shandong). Yan's grandfather Yan Zhitui was an official under the Northern Qi. After the fall of Northern Qi, Zhitui became an official of the

Northern Zhou Zhou (), known in historiography as the Northern Zhou (), was a Xianbei-led Dynasties in Chinese history, dynasty of China that lasted from 557 to 581. One of the Northern and Southern dynasties#Northern dynasties, Northern dynasties of China's ...

, and moved his family to

Guanzhong Guanzhong (, formerly romanization of Chinese, romanised as Kwanchung) region, also known as the Guanzhong Basin, Wei River Basin, or uncommonly as the Shaanzhong region, is a historical region of China corresponding to the crescentic graben str ...

. His son Yan Silu, Yan's father, was also an official, and served in the residence of Li Shimin, future Emperor Taizong. Yan was well-read during his youth and was familiar with philology. Recommended by Li Gang (), he was given a post at Anyang county (now Xiangyang, Hubei) during the reign of

Emperor Wen of Sui Emperor Wen of Sui (; 21 July 541 – 13 August 604), personal name Yang Jian (), Xianbei name Puliuru Jian (), was the founding Emperor of China, emperor of the Chinese Sui dynasty. As a Buddhist, he encouraged the spread of Buddhism through ...

. One of his father's old friends, Xue Daoheng (), was impressed by Yan's talent, and often asked for his comments on his new works. For some reason, Yan Shigu was later dismissed, and took up residence at

Chang'an Chang'an (; zh, t=長安, s=长安, p=Cháng'ān, first=t) is the traditional name of the city now named Xi'an and was the capital of several Chinese dynasties, ranging from 202 BCE to 907 CE. The site has been inhabited since Neolithic time ...

. During the next ten years, he lived in poverty and taught for a living. He was later granted several important official posts during the

. Yan was promoted when Li Shimin ascended the throne, but resumed his duty after his mother's funeral. After years of struggle, Yan was then demoted, but was subsequently ordered to revise the '' Five Classics'' in the imperial library. He wrote commentaries on several Chinese classic texts such as the ''

Shiji 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 cen ...

'' and the '' Book of Han''. According to the '' New Book of Tang'', he died on the road during an expedition to

Goguryeo Goguryeo (37 BC – 668 AD) (; ; Old Korean: Guryeo) also later known as Goryeo (; ; Middle Korean: 고ᇢ롕〮, ''kwòwlyéy''), was a Korean kingdom which was located on the northern and central parts of the Korea, Korean Peninsula an ...

in 645.

Ancestors and descendants

Yan Zhitui's father was Yan Xie (颜协; 498 - 539According to Yan Xie's biography in ''Book of Liang'', he was 42 (by East Asian reckoning) when he died. (大同五年，卒，时年四十二。) ''Liang Shu'', vol.50. Thus by calculation, his birth year should be 498.). Yan Xie's father was Yan Jianyuan. Yan Yuansun (顏元孫, the author of '' Ganlu Zishu''), Yan Zhenqing and Yan Gaoqing (颜杲卿, official of Tang dynasty and cousin of Yan Zhenqing) were Yan Shigu's descendant.

References

* ''

Old Book of Tang The ''Old Book of Tang'', or simply the ''Book of Tang'', is the first classic historical work about the Tang dynasty, comprising 200 chapters, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories. Originally compiled during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdo ...

'', vol. 7

* '' New Book of Tang'', vol. 19

External links

Author List for Yan Shigu
at The Ricca Institute Library * {{DEFAULTSORT:Yan, Shigu 581 births 645 deaths Chinese Confucianists Historians from Shaanxi Linguists from China Medieval linguists Politicians from Xi'an Tang dynasty historians Writers from Xi'an Chinese classicists