Shusun Tong叔孙通

Where the histories differ

Records of the Grand Historian places Shusun Tong and Liu Jing in a joint biography, honoring them as the Confucian patriarchs of the Han dynasty, while History of Han demotes them to a joint biography of five civil officials.

• histories differThe evaluation and arrangement of Shusun Tong's ritual and music contributions in official histories

  In Records of the Grand Historian, the 'Biographies of Liu Jing and Shusun Tong' only combines Shusun Tong and Liu Jing in one biography, praising Shusun Tong for adapting to the times and establishing Han rituals: 'Shusun Tong, rare in the world, measured affairs, made rituals with advance and retreat, and changed with the times, finally becoming the Confucian patriarch of the Han family. "Great straightness seems crooked, and the Way indeed winds." Is this not referring to him?' In History of Han, the 'Biographies of Li, Lu, Zhu, Liu, and Shusun' combines him with Li Yiji, Lu Jia, Zhu Jian, and Liu Jing in one volume, and the eulogy only summarizes: 'Liu Jing, letting go of the reins, established the security of a golden city; Shusun Tong, abandoning the drum, established the ritual of a single king, meeting the times.' The chapter title was demoted from a joint biography of two to a combined volume of five.