Foundational to the study of early China, the Shijing 詩經 (Book of Odes), Zuozhuan 左傳 (Zuo Tradition), Shiji 史記 ([Grand] Scribe's Records), and Hanshu 漢書 (History of the [Former] Han) lay the bedrock for research in the field. Of these classic works, the Hanshu has received relatively little attention in the last century. Though its ten treatises—such as the “Lüli zhi” 律曆志 (Treatise on Harmonics and Astronomy), “Xingfa zhi” 刑法志 (Treatise on Penal Law), “Shihuo zhi” 食貨志 (Treatise on Financial Administration), “Dili zhi” 地理志 (Treatise on Administrative Geography), and “Yiwen zhi” 藝文志 (Bibliographic Treatise)—have remained important discussion topics, Hanshu has largely been approached as historical reference material, rather than as an object of direct study.1 Chen Jun's Runse hongye 潤色鴻業 (Embellishing the Imperial Order) is the first academic work to comprehensively investigate the Hanshu and its early history.
The book is divided into two parts. Part 1 comprises the...
