References

• 《四庫全書總目提要·卷47 史部·編年類》

Source: "The Complete History of the Song Dynasty" (宋史全文) is a thirty-six-volume historical text that does not bear the name of its author. The original title of this work is "Continuation of the Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government" (續通鑒長編), and it is prefaced by Li Tao's "Preface to the Long Compilation" (進長編表). This has led to the assumption that the work is by Li Tao. However, Li Tao completed his work during the reign of Emperor Xiaozong, and his records only cover the Northern Song period. The present work, however, documents the entire Southern Song period, making it clear that it was not authored by Li Tao. Upon examination, each volume of the work is labeled with the title "The Complete History of the Song Dynasty" (宋史全文). Additionally, the Yongle Encyclopedia (永樂大典) under the rhyme "Song" (宋) contains many entries from "The Complete History of the Song Dynasty," clearly distinguishing it from "The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government" (長編). The book's preface, titled "Original Title from the Workshop," claims that a good edition of "The Song Mirror" (宋鑒) was obtained from a renowned scholar and was popular in the Northern Song period, suggesting that it was reprinted. However, it is believed that this work was compiled by someone in the Yuan dynasty, and the publisher falsely attributed it to Li Tao, claiming it was widely read during the Northern Song. The Wenyuan Pavilion Catalogue (文淵閣書目), which lists all the books included in the Yongle Encyclopedia, contains multiple entries for "The Song Mirror" (宋鑒), but does not mention "The Complete History of the Song Dynasty" (宋史全文). This discrepancy might be due to an error in the cataloging process by Yang Shiqi and his team. In another version of the book, there is an afterword by Song Luo from Shangqiu, which states: "Li Tao of the Song dynasty wrote 'The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government' (通鑒長編) in 168 volumes, 'The Continuation of the Long Compilation' (續長編集要) in 68 volumes, and 'The Continuation of the Song Annals' (續宋編年) in 18 volumes. These works are highly sought after by collectors. The 36 volumes of this work are a Yuan dynasty compilation, with the author's name and the 'Great Yuan' (大元) inscription at the end removed. It is undoubtedly the work of Hu Hong from the Yuan dynasty." This is a speculative statement without concrete evidence. The text covers the period from the Jianlong era to the Xianchun era, using a chronological format. The sections before the Jingkang era are based on Li Tao's "The Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government" (長編), with significant abridgments. For the reigns of Emperor Gaozong and Emperor Xiaozong, it draws from Liu Zheng's "The Record of the Revival of the Sage Government" (中興聖政草). A comparison with the "Saintly Government Record" (聖政草) in the Yongle Encyclopedia shows that the texts are largely similar, with some differences. Liu Zheng and his colleagues' annotations are also frequently referenced. For the reigns of Emperor Guangzong and Emperor Ningzong, there were no existing sources to draw from, so the compiler had to create these sections themselves. The Yongle Encyclopedia also includes these sections under the entries for Emperor Guangzong and Emperor Ningzond, and the texts match. The work also includes a rich selection of commentaries from various scholars, such as Qiu Zhong's "Lectures," He Fei's "Turtle Mirror," Li Heng's "Discussion on the Taizu Annals" and "Discussion on National Strengthening," and the interpretations by Fu Bi, Lu Yuan, and others. Although these works are not entirely precise, they are valuable for reference, as many of the original texts have been lost. However, the original thirty-sixth volume, which covers the reigns of Emperor Duzong, the Young Emperor, and the Princes Yizhou and Guangzhou, contains only entries without any detailed text. The Yongle Encyclopedia does not include this section either. Therefore, this part remains incomplete. ==References== * 《四庫全書總目提要·卷47 史部·編年類》