The Tongdian is a Chinese institutional history and encyclopedia text. It covers a panoply of topics from high antiquity through the year 756

756

Year 756 was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 756 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Pepin the Short defeats the Lombards of...

, whereas a quarter of the book focuses on the Tang Dynasty

Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty was an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui Dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period. It was founded by the Li family, who seized power during the decline and collapse of the Sui Empire...

. The book was written by Du You

Du You

Du You , courtesy name Junqing , formally Duke Anjian of Qi , was a Chinese scholar, historian and chancellor of the Tang Dynasty, who devoted thirty-six years to the compilation of the Tongdian, a historical encyclopedia with 200 sections , a collection of laws, regulations, and general events...

 from 766

766

Year 766 was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 766 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.-Asia:* Karluks, defeat Turgesh...

 to 801

801

Year 801 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar.- Births :* September 8 or September 9 – Ansgar, German monk and archbishop, known as The Apostle of the North Year 801 (DCCCI) was a common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian...

. It contains 200 volumes and about 1.7 million words, and is at times regarded as the most representative contemporary texts of the Tang Dynasty. Du You also incorporated many materials from other sources, including a book written by his nephew, Du Huan

Du Huan

Du Huan was a Chinese travel writer born in Chang'an during the Tang Dynasty. He was one of a few Chinese captured in the Battle of Talas along with artisans Fan Shu and Liu Ci and fabric weavers Le Wei and Lu Li, as mentioned in his writings. After a long journey through Arab countries, he...

, who was taken captive in the famous battle at the Talas River

Battle of Talas

The Battle of Talas in 751 AD was an especially notable conflict between the Arab Abbasid Caliphate and the Chinese Tang Dynasty for control not only of the Syr Darya region, but even more...

 between Tang and the Arabs in 751 and did not return to China

China

Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...

 until ten years later. It became a model for works by scholar Zheng Qiao and Ma Duanlin

Ma Duanlin

Mă Duānlín was a Chinese historical writer and encyclopædist. In 1317 he published the comprehensive Chinese encyclopedia Wenxian Tongkao in 348 volumes....

 centuries later.

Robert G. Hoyland

Robert G. Hoyland

Robert G. Hoyland is a scholar and historian, specializing in the medieval history of the Middle East. He is a former student of historian Patricia Crone and was a Leverhulme Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford. He is currently Professor of Islamic History at the Oriental Institute at the University...

 relates that the Tongdian 's first draft was a "history of human institutions from earliest times down to the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang , also commonly known as Emperor Ming of Tang , personal name Li Longji , known as Wu Longji from 690 to 705, was the seventh emperor of the Tang dynasty in China, reigning from 712 to 756. His reign of 43 years was the longest during the Tang Dynasty...

", and was subsequently revised as matters continued to evolve. It incorporates parts of the Zhengdian

Zhengdian

The Zhengdian was a 35-volume book on Chinese political treatise in historical form which was written approximately in 742 by Liu Zhi, son of esteemed historical critic Liu Zhiji. The book did not survive, but it was further expanded and borrowed by Du You in his Tongdian.- References :* Yang,...

of Liu Zhi

Liu Zhi (historian)

Liu Zhi , courtesy name Zuoqing , was a Chinese historian and author of the Zhengdian. He was the fourth son of Liu Zhiji, little is known about his life, other than he was an official during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and had been deposed on several occasions until the times of Emperor...

 and the Great Tang Ritual Regulations of the Kaiyuan Era compiled by Xiao Song, and others in 732

732

Year 732 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 732 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* October 10 – Battle of Tours: Near...

. The Tongdian was never included in the canon of the Twenty-Four Histories

Twenty-Four Histories

The Twenty-Four Histories is a collection of Chinese historical books covering a period from 3000 BC to the Ming Dynasty in the 17th century. The whole set contains 3213 volumes and about 40 million words...

. It was however quoted extensively in several books which were, starting with the Book of Tang

Book of Tang

The Book of Tang , Jiu Tangshu or the Old Book of Tang is the first classic work about the Tang Dynasty. The book began when Gaozu of Later Jin ordered its commencement in 941...

.