令狐德棻

令（Líng）狐德棻（fēn）（583年—666年），宜州华原（今陕西耀州）人，唐朝史学家。

生平

祖父令狐整为北周大将军，父亲令狐熙是隋朝鸿胪卿。令狐德棻于令狐熙四子中最小。

唐高祖时，德棻任大丞相府记室，后迁起居舍人、礼部侍郎，国子监祭酒，太常卿、弘文馆、崇文馆学士等职，封彭阳县公。唐初奏请重修梁、陈、北齐、北周及隋朝正史，被采纳。龙朔二年（662年），德棻八十高龄，加金紫光禄大夫。乾封元年（666年）卒于家，年八十四，谥号“宪”。曾主编《周书》。

贡献

德棻做了两件具历史意义的事。

其一，奏请购募天下书—至唐太宗即位，已“于弘文殿聚四部群书二十余万卷”（《唐会要·弘文馆》）。

其二，修史——“创修撰之源，自德棻始也”（赵翼《廿二史札记》）。

二十四史中德棻作出过贡献的有《梁书》《陈书》《北齐书》《周书》《隋书》《晋书》《南史》《北史》8部，为人叹止。

令狐德棻碑

令狐德棻碑位于陕西耀州，《全唐文》有录文。碑文为于志宁撰文，于志宁之子于立政书，文约二千七百余字，存者不及八百字。

Linghu Defen (Chinese: 令狐德棻; pinyin: Línghú Défēn) (583–666), posthumous name Duke Xian of Pengyang (彭陽憲公), was a Chinese historian and politician of the Sui and Tang dynasties. During the Tang era, he was a major proponent for the compilation of the histories of the Sui and its predecessor, the Northern Zhou. He was eventually put in charge of compiling the Northern Zhou's official history, the Book of Zhou, which was completed in 636.

Background

Linghu Defen was born in 583, during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui. His ancestors had been from an aristocratic clan of Dunhuang, the Linghu clan of Dunhuang, but had later relocated to Yi Province (宜州, roughly modern Tongchuan, Shaanxi). His father Linghu Xi (令狐熙) served as an official during Emperor Wen's reign but died in anger after being imprisoned due to false accusations of corruption. Late in the reign of Emperor Wen's son Emperor Yang, Linghu Defen was made the magistrate of Yaocheng County (藥城, in modern Bozhou, Anhui), but as by that time the Sui realm had been thrown into a state of confusion due to agrarian rebellions, Linghu never took office. In 617, after the general Li Yuan the Duke of Tang rose in rebellion against Emperor Yang's rule, Li Yuan's cousin Li Shentong (李神通) rose as well and made Linghu a member of his staff. In late 617, after Li Yuan captured the capital Chang'an and declared Emperor Yang's grandson Yang You the Prince of Dai emperor (as Emperor Gong), retaining power as regent, he invited Linghu to serve as a secretary on his staff.

During Emperor Gaozu's reign

In 618, after Li Yuan received news that Emperor Yang had been killed in a coup at Jiangdu (江都, in modern Yangzhou, Jiangsu) led by Yuwen Huaji, he poisoned and killed Yang You and took the throne from him, establishing the Tang dynasty as its Emperor Gaozu. He made Linghu Defen an imperial attendant. In 622, Emperor Gaozu made Linghu Mishu Cheng (秘書丞), the secretary general of the Palace Library, and had him participate on the compilation of the Yiwen Leiju, with the chancellor Chen Shuda.

At that time, after the great disturbance at the end of Sui, much of old book collections had been lost. Linghu advocated, and Emperor Gaozu agreed, to seek out books and purchase them and, once they were bought, to have them copied as well. After several years, the imperial collections were more comprehensive. Linghu also pointed out that while the Southern dynasties' histories were largely written, little have been formally compiled of Northern Zhou and Sui dynasty's histories—and that the deeds of the great people of those two dynasties, including those of Emperor Gaozu's ancestors, would be lost. Emperor Gaozu therefore issued an edict commissioning Xiao Yu, Wang Jingye (王敬業), and Yin Wenli (殷聞禮) to compile the history of Northern Wei; Chen, Linghu, and Yu Jian (庾儉) to compile the history of Northern Zhou; Feng Deyi and Yan Shigu to compile the history of Sui; Cui Shanwei (崔善為), Kong Shao'an (孔紹安), and Xiao Deyan (蕭德言) to compile the history of the Liang dynasty; Pei Ju, Zu Xiaosun (祖孝孫), and Wei Zheng to compile the history of Southern Qi; and Dou Jin (竇璡), Ouyang Xun, and Yao Silian to compile the history of the Chen dynasty. However, after the issuance of Emperor Gaozu's edict, not much actual historical compilation was carried out, and the projects stalled.