A Comparative Study Of Historical Biographies In New And Old Books Of Tang

Biographies,as a genre of historiography,have been used in the biographical historical books since Sima Qian wrote"Records of the Historian".The two "Books of the Tang"were compiled in different era backgrounds and different biographical settings.Unique biographies were added and specific criteria for selection were set.In order to portray characters,historians will follow certain writing patterns to fabricate some historical facts.There is also the application of writing mode in the two "Books of Tang"biographical writing.The search for historical truth and the application mode are not completely opposite.Comparing the writing of historical biography between the two"Books of the Tang",the changes and additions of "The New History of the Tang" are mostly related to the writing mode.The sources of historical materials,compilation principles,and historians’ choices caused the differences in the writing of the two books.The history of the two "Books of the Tang" is compared with that of the previous dynasty.The inheritance and development of its content is mainly manifested in the writing mode,which can be regarded as an extension of similar writing modes.Several changes occurred in the extension process:one is the generalization of the object of use;the other is the evolution of mainstream discourse;the third is that the storyliness is weakened and the credibility is increased.Behind the evolution of writing mode is the inheritance of previous history books,and it is also closely related to the social background at that time.