Yuan Shi

The History of Yuan (Yuán Shǐ), also known as the Yuanshi, is one of the official Chinese historical works known as the Twenty-Four Histories of China. Commissioned by the court of the Ming dynasty, in accordance to political tradition, the text was composed in 1370 by the official Bureau of History of the Ming dynasty, under direction of Song Lian (1310–1381). The compilation formalized the official history of the preceding Yuan dynasty. Under the guidance of Song Lian, the official dynastic history broke with the old Confucian historiographical tradition, establishing a new historical framework asserting that the influence of history was equal in influence to the great Confucian classics in determining the course of human affairs. The historical work consists of 210 chapters chronicling the history of the Yuan dynasty from the time of Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) to the flight of the last Yuan emperor, Toghon Temür ("Emperor Huizong", 1333–1370), from Khanbaliq in 1368. The chapters are, in turn, subdivided into the following: 47 Imperial biographies (本紀), detailing the lives of the Yuan emperors, including the pre-Yuan Mongol khans Genghis, Ögedei, Güyük and Möngke 58 Treatises (志), detailing socio-economic history, laws and rituals 8 Chronological tables (表) 97 Biographies (列傳), detailing important non-imperial people of the era The Treatises include the Geography (地理) section, which spans volumes 58–63. This describes the regional Administrative divisions of the Yuan dynasty, organized by province (行省). The Selection of Officials (選舉) section spans volumes 81–84, describing the education and examination system. Volume 81 contains an imperial edit issued in 1291 regulating the establishment of schools and academies. Lao provides a description of some of the key terminology used in this section of the History of Yuan and how it relates the issues of the time. The section Official Posts (百官), which spans volumes 85–92, describes the agencies and positions within them that made up the Yuan imperial government.