Xue Jucheng was a
ChineseChinese 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...
historianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and scholar who served under the
Song DynastyThe Song Dynasty was a ruling dynasty in China between 960 and 1279; it succeeded the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, and was followed by the Yuan Dynasty. It was the first government in world history to issue banknotes or paper money, and the first Chinese government to establish a...
, as well as four of the Five Dynasties that preceded the Song. Xue is best known for compiling the
Five Dynasties HistoryThe Five Dynasties History was an official history of the Five Dynasties , which controlled much of northern China. It was compiled by the Song Dynasty official-scholar Xue Juzheng in the first two decades of the Song Dynasty, which was founded in 960...
which was put together in the 960s and 970s.
Xue was born during the
Later LiangThe Later Liang was a state of the Sixteen Kingdoms during the Jin Dynasty in China. It was founded by the Lü family of the Di ethnicity.All rulers of the Later Liang proclaimed themselves "Heavenly Prince" ....
, the first of the Five Dynasties. He received his Jinshi examination degree during the Later Tang. He continued to serve the remaining three dynasties of the Five Dynasties, the
Later JinNote that there are four periods of Chinese history using the name "Jin" The Later Jìn was one of the Five Dynasties during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period in China. It was founded by Shi Jingtang, posthumously known as Gaozu of Later Jin...
,
Later HanThe Later Han Dynasty was founded in 947. It was the fourth of the Five Dynasties and the third consecutive Shatuo Turk dynasty...
, and the Later Zhou.
When the Song Dynasty replaced the Later Zhou in 960, Xue took service with the new
dynastyA dynasty is a sequence of rulers considered members of the same family. Historians traditionally consider many sovereign states' history within a framework of successive dynasties, e.g., China, Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire...
as he had with dynasties prior to the new rulers of northern
ChinaChinese 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...
. During the first two decades of the Song, Xue set about to compiling a history of the Five Dynasties.
Entitled
Five Dynasties History, the main purpose of the work was to reinforce the claim of the Song to the Mandate of Heaven from the
Tang DynastyThe 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...
through the Five Dynasties to the reigning Song.
Death and legacy
Xue did not live much longer than after compilation of the
Five Dynasties History in 974, dying in 981. However, his legacy of writing a history of a previous era of Chinese history for the purpose of bolstering the current patron dynasty would be repreated later in Chinese history, notably with the
Yuan DynastyThe Yuan Dynasty , or Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to 1368. It is considered both as a division of the Mongol Empire and as an...
’s writing of the
History of LiaoHistory of Liao, or Liao Shi is a Chinese historical book compiled officially in the Yuan Dynasty founded by the Mongols, under the direction of the great historian Tuotuo, and finalized in 1343...
.