Song Lian

Song Lian (景濂 , 1310 - 1381) was a literary and political advsier to the Ming dynasty founder, and one of the principal figures in the Yuan Chingizid Dynasty Jinhua school of Neo-Confucianism. As a head of the official "Bureau of History" of the Ming dynasty, Song Lian directed compilation of the official dynastic history of the preceding defunct Yuan Dynasty.

The compilation of "Yuanshi", commissioned by the court of the Ming Dynasty, was completed in 1370, it formalized the official history of the preceding Yuan Chingizid Dynasty. Under the guidance of Song Lian, the official dynastic history broke with the old Confucian historiographical tradition, and established a new historical paradigm professing that the influence of history was equal in influence to the great Confucian classics in directing the human affairs.

In the Asian historiography, "Yuanshi" became a major source for the Middle Age history of Chinese, Manchurian, Mongolian, and Turkic people.

References

*Kelly Boyd, "Encyclopedia of Historians and Historical Writing", Taylor & Francis, 1999, ISBN 1884964338

ee also

*Twenty-Four Histories

Persondata
NAME=Song Lian
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=景濂
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Chinese Ming dynasty historian
DATE OF BIRTH=1310
PLACE OF BIRTH=China
DATE OF DEATH=1381
PLACE OF DEATH=China