Book of Qi

The Book of Qi or Book of Southern Qi is a history of the Chinese dynasty Southern Qi covering the period from 479 to 502, and is one of the Twenty-Four Histories of Chinese history. It was written by Xiao Zixian (蕭子顯) during the succeeding Liang Dynasty, and is unique in that Xiao Zixian was the only author of any of the Twenty-Four Histories to be a direct descendant of the founder of the dynasty being written about — specifically, he was a grandson of Southern Qi's founder Emperor Gao of Southern Qi. It was originally only known as the Book of Qi, but after the Book of Northern Qi was written, it became known as the Book of Southern Qi so that the two could be distinguished. The book contained 60 volumes when written, but one preface was later lost.