Abstract:
Qian Daxin, the most accomplished historian in China in the 18th century, contributed his Investigative Criticisms of the 22 Histories, one of the most important of which was his investigation of the Two Books of the Tang Dynasty. Qian made meticulous collation of the Two Books of the Tang Dynasty, pointing out the wandering, overextension, reversion and repetition in the text and corrected them one by one. He also enumerated the many weaknesses in the books, such as the confused stylistic rules, imbalance in elaboration and economy, mutual repetition. Above all, he made profound study and inclusive summary of the system of officialdom and clans.All this showed Qian's wholesome achievements in his investigation of the Two Books of the Tang Dynasty.
