Ban Gu (班固, Wade-Giles Pan Ku; 32-92) was a 1st century CE Chinese historian. He was born into a scholarly family, and his father, Ban Biao , was a prominent historian. Ban Gu took over from his father responsibility for writing a history of the Former Han Dynasty, a book known in modern times as the Hanshu (漢書, or The Book of Han). However, Ban Gu's work on the Hanshu was interrupted by political problems - his association with the family of Empress Dowager Dou led to his imprisonment. His book, however, was completed by his sister, Ban Zhao, and became a model for many other works about later dynasties.
Ban's family:
- Ban Biao (班彪 ; 3-54; father)
See also
