Historiography and narratives of the later Tang (923-936) and later Jin (936-947) dynasties in tenth- to eleventh-century sources

Barenghi, Maddalena (2014): Historiography and narratives of the later Tang (923-936) and later Jin (936-947) dynasties in tenth- to eleventh-century sources. Dissertation, LMU München: Faculty of Cultural Studies

Abstract

This thesis deals with historical narratives of two of the Northern regimes of the tenth-century Five Dynasties period. By focusing on the history writing project commissioned by the Later Tang (923-936) court, it first aims at questioning how early-tenth-century contemporaries narrated some of the major events as they unfolded after the fall of the Tang (618-907). Second, it shows how both late-tenth-century historiographical agencies and eleventh-century historians perceived and enhanced these historical narratives. Through an analysis of selected cases the thesis attempts to show how, using the same source material, later historians enhanced early-tenth-century narratives in order to tell different stories. The five cases examined offer fertile ground for inquiry into how the different sources dealt with narratives on the rise and fall of the Shatuo Later Tang and Later Jin (936-947). It will be argued that divergent narrative details are employed both to depict in different ways the characters involved and to establish hierarchies among the historical agents.

• Item Type: Theses (Dissertation, LMU Munich)
• Keywords: Later Tang, Later Jin, Five Dynasties, historiography, Sang Weihan
• Subjects: 900 History and geography; 900 History and geography > 990 General history of other areas
• Faculties: Faculty of Cultural Studies
• Language: English
• Date of oral examination: 31. March 2014
• 1. Referee: Ess, Hans van
• Signature of the printed copy: 0001/UMC 24603