Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư

The Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư (大越史記全書; ɗâːjˀ vìət ʂɨ᷉ kǐ twâːn thɨ; Complete Annals of Đại Việt) is the official national chronicle of the Đại Việt, that was originally compiled by the royal historian Ngô Sĩ Liên under the order of the Emperor Lê Thánh Tông and was finished in 1479 during the Lê period. The 15-volume book covered the period from Hồng Bàng dynasty to the coronation of Lê Thái Tổ, the first emperor of the Lê dynasty in 1428. In compiling his work, Ngô Sĩ Liên based on two principal historical sources which were Đại Việt sử ký by Lê Văn Hưu and Đại Việt sử ký tục biên by Phan Phu Tiên. After its publication, Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư was continually supplemented by other historians of the royal court such as Vũ Quỳnh and Phạm Công Trứ. Today the most popular version of Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư is the Nội các quan bản edition which was completed in 1697 with the additional information up to 1656 during the reign of the Emperor Lê Thần Tông and the Lord Trịnh Tráng. Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư is considered the most important and comprehensive historical book. The chronicle, which was modeled after Sima Qian’s Records of the Grand Historian, provides a chronological history beginning with the legendary Hồng Bàng dynasty (2888 BCE?) and continuing to the founding of the house of Lê in 1428. During the Fourth Chinese domination, many valuable books of Đại Việt were taken away by the Ming dynasty including Lê Văn Hưu's Đại Việt sử ký (大越史記, Annals of Đại Việt), the official history of the Trần dynasty and the most comprehensive source of the history of Vietnam up to that era. However, the contents of the Đại Việt sử ký and Lê Văn Hưu's comments about various historical events was fully collected by the historian Phan Phu Tiên in writing the first official annals of the Lê dynasty after the order of the Emperor Lê Nhân Tông in 1455. The new Đại Việt sử ký of Phan Phu Tiên was supplemented the period from 1223 with the coronation of Trần Thái Tông to 1427 with the retreat of the Ming dynasty after the victory of Lê Lợi.