Yuan History - Genshi

A chronicle-style history book dealing with the Mongol Empire and the Yuan Dynasty of China. It has 210 volumes. It was compiled twice, in 1369 and 1370, at the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. The 47 volumes of the "Annals" that record the reigns of successive Khans were compiled from the "Annals of the Thirteen Dynasties," the 53 volumes of the "Zhi" that record systems were compiled from the "Geshi Daenten," and the 97 volumes of the "Lied Biographies" that are biographies of individuals were compiled from inscriptions, collections of writings, etc. As a published version, the Hyakunobon version, which is a facsimile of the Hongwu edition, is the best. Perhaps because it was compiled in a short period of time, the biographies contain overlaps and omissions, and are criticized by Qing Dynasty scholars for their poor reviews, but they were compiled faithfully to the original sources and have great historical value. However, there are many limitations that reflect the bias of the original sources. For example, Arik Buha, the younger brother of Kublai Khan, who founded the Yuan Dynasty and competed with him for power, had a claim to the throne but is only recorded as a rebel.

[Kouichi Matsuda]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

モンゴル帝国および中国の元朝を扱った紀伝体歴史書。210巻。明(みん)朝初め、1369年、70年の二度編纂(へんさん)された。歴代のハンの治世を記す「本紀」47巻は『十三朝実録』、制度の記録「志」53巻は『経世大典(けいせいたいてん)』、個人の伝記「列伝」97巻は碑文、文集などによって作成された。刊本としては洪武(こうぶ)刻本を影印した百衲本(ひゃくのうぼん)がもっともよい。短時日で編纂されたためか、列伝には重複、疎漏があり、清(しん)代考証学者の悪評はあるが、原資料に忠実に作成され、史料価値は高い。ただ、たとえば、元朝を建てたフビライと政権を争った弟アリク・ブハは、帝位継承の名分があったが、反乱者として記録されるだけであるなど、原資料の偏りを反映した限界も多い。

［松田孝一］

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