The Tongdian () is an important Chinese institutional history and encyclopedia text. It covering a panoply of topics from high antiquity through the year 756, whereas a quarter portion of the book focused on the Tang Dynasty. The book was written by Du You from 766 to 801. It contain 200 volumes and about 1.7 million words, it is at times regarded as the most representative contemporary texts of the Tang Dynasty. Du You also incorporated many materials from other sources, including a book written by his relative nephew, Du Huan, who was taken captive in the famous battle at the Talas River between Tang and the Arabs in 751 and did not return to China until ten years later. It became a model for works by scholar Zheng Qiao and Ma Duanlin centuries later. The title literally mean Comprehensive Institutions.

Chinese history texts | 通典 | 通典