Nantang jinshi 南唐近事

Nantang jinshi 南唐近事 "A Modern History of the Southern Tang Dynasty" is a history of the Southern Tang dynasty 南唐 (937-975) written by the Song period 宋 (960-1279) scholar Zheng Baowen 鄭文寶, who has also written the book Jiangbiaozhi 江表志. The Nantang jinshi was, according to the preface, written in 977, when Zheng Baowen did not yet occupy an office under the Song administration. From the downfall of the Southern Tang on he had the intention to write a history of this dynasty and began collecting material. His history of the Southern Tang is known as the book Jiangbiaozhi, while the more narrative and unofficial sources were used for the Nantang jinshi. It covers the time from 948 to 975 and narrates 60 stories from the reign of the three rulers of the Southern Tang. The stories have partially the character of popular tales, but a good part is also based on historical facts. Lu You 陸游 made use of the Nantang jinshi for his history Nantangshu 南唐書. Zheng Wenbao's book is interesting because it includes names of persons not mentioned in other sources, and quotes a lot of poems.
The Nantang jinshi is to be found in the reprint series Siku quanshu 四庫全書, Xu baichuan xuehai 續百種學海, Baoyantang miji 寶顏堂秘笈, Tang-Song congshu 唐宋叢書 and Congshu jicheng 叢書集成. In addition to the transmitted text, the Qing period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Qang Renjun 王仁俊 has collected fragments of the Nantang jinshi quoted in other books.