University of Virginia Library

FOREWORD

This First Part of Volume Three completes the translation of the
Former Han "Imperial Annals". Part Two will continue the history of
those times by presenting a translation of "The Memoir of Wang Mang".
The period covered by the two parts is that when Wang Mang first became
important and later dominated China. This imperial maternal
relative began to affect the government some thirty years before he
came to the throne, so that the reigns of the last two Former Han emperors
belong to his period. A translation of their "Annals" would be
seriously incomplete without the parallel and subsequent account of
Wang Mang's life and reign. By including that chapter, the history
of China is continued to the beginning of the Later Han period.

To the many persons who have given me assistance and advice in this
work I here tender my heartiest thanks. In the notes I have tried to
mention those to whom I am indebted, but many, who have contributed
incidental suggestions, could not be named for lack of space.

More than to anyone else, I am indebted to Professor J. J. L. Duyvendak.
He has patiently gone over the whole material and has given me
the benefit of his profound knowledge. To him I owe many apt renderings
and corrections. My Chinese collaborator, Mr. L. C. P'an, worked
with me for two years and a summer while a student in the United States.
I owe much to his patient industry and aid. Next to them I am indebted
to Mr. Piet van der Loon, who, during the hard winter of 1944-45 in
Holland and the subsequent year, worked over the chapter on Wang
Mang together with an unrevised typescript of this translation and
furnished me with a volume containing 360 remarks on as many passages.
Dr. Duyvendak, at whose suggestion he engaged in this task, furthermore
furnished me with his comments upon Mr. van der Loon's work. Many
of these corrections constituted improvements that I have thankfully
adopted. I have been fortunate in my friends and have tried to welcome
criticisms, adverse ones even more than favorable ones, from whatever
source they have come. As far as possible without unduly burdening the
notes with names, I have indicated the sources of any substantial aid.
For the rest, I can only express here my deep gratitude to all those who
have helped me. The correct translation of a difficult Chinese text can
only be achieved by the cooperation of many minds—here two heads are
better than one and three are better than two.

To the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the American Council
of Learned Societies I owe the financial assistance without which this
work would have been impossible. Duke University, through its Research

Council, has made grants for the purchase of needed books and
for the clerical assistance. The Committee on Chinese Studies of the
American Council of Learned Societies has aided substantially in the
publication of this book. To the Library of Congress and to Dr. A. W.
Hummel, Chief of its Division of Orientalia, I am indebted for the use
of its facilities and for advice and encouragement. I have however not
hesitated to exercise my own judgment upon all the suggestions offered
me, so that I alone must bear the blame for any errors in this volume.

The Chinese text for chapters XCIX and XXIV was written out by
Mr. John T. Find, Arlington, Virginia.