Stories of many poets of the Southern Dynasties can be found in the History of the Southern Dynasties.
Tips
history
李延寿 finished it in 659, completing work his father had begun. In 80 juan it retells the four southern courts, the Liu Song, Qi, Liang and Chen, condensing their separate dynastic histories. Its companion is 北史.
culture
Several idioms come from it, such as 才高八斗 'enormously talented', from the poet 谢灵运's praise of 曹植, and 一衣带水 'separated only by a narrow strip of water'.
