V.E. Biographical Series

This collection of chronological biographies (nianpu) includes 163 biographies of Song individuals published between Song times and the present. All are punctuated. For those individuals for whom multiple nianpu have been written, a limited number has been selected. The editors focused their selection on older and rare titles. The last volume (volume 12) includes an appendix with four indexes. The main name index indexes all names appearing in the full text and prefatory texts of the nianpu included in the collection. The main name index is arranged according to the four-corner system. For those unfamiliar with the four-corner system, shorter pinyin and stroke-order indexes for all last names follow. There is also a conversion table of Song dynasty years to the western calendar.