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Research dossier · Arts & Letters

Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian

Chinese history book by Li Tao (1114–1183)

Manuscripts, fine bindings, an engraving plate and preserved performance ephemera
Arts and lettersInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionAug 31, 2026
Entity authorityQ843855 ↗
Source-derived summary

The Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian ("Extended Continuation to Zizhi Tongjian") is an 1183 Chinese history book by Li Tao which chronicles the history of Northern Song Dynasty (960–1127). The book took Li Tao about 40 years to complete and was finally published in 1183 with 980 chapters (excluding 68 chapters of summary, 5 chapters of general catalogue, and 10 chapters of compilation accounts). However, only 520 chapters are extant. As the sequel to Sima Guang's landmark work Zizhi Tongjian ("Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government"), it follows the same format, but is not as concise and refined.

Editorial summary

“Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian” enters the record as chinese history book by Li Tao (1114–1183). Crown Archives preserves that source wording while asking what Zizhi, Tongjian and Changbian can confirm, complicate or overturn.

Editorial reviewBest approached as a cultural-object dossier: authorship and date matter, but circulation and reception often explain the wider significance. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1183, 1127—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1183. Its strongest next move is a source search built around Zizhi, Tongjian and Changbian.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

“Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian” is worth following because a concise public description often conceals a longer documentary argument. Here, Zizhi, Tongjian and Changbian provides the most credible route into that argument.

Evidence profile

Reception evidence should be dated and situated: later canonical status may differ sharply from the work’s initial circulation. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 31, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q843855. None of the 1 selected statements returned an explicit reference. The first chronological checks are 1183 and 1127.

Critical limits

Titles can refer to several editions, objects or performances, making precise identification essential before interpretation. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Separate the work, its editions or performances, and its later reception. Catalogue records, publication histories and object files often preserve different parts of that story.

Best used for
  • Identifying works and editions
  • Tracing reception history
  • Finding collection records
Verify next

The original object or edition, catalogue raisonné, performance record, rights file and holding institution.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian primary sources, Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian archive and Zizhi research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian”?
  2. Where is authorship, date or provenance documented?
  3. How did later circulation or interpretation alter the work’s reception?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Xu Zizhi Tongjian Changbian” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.