It was compiled by the Tang dynasty historian Yao Silian and completed in 636 AD (Zhenguan 10th year).
[1] The Chen dynasty revitalized the economy of Southern China, making it a metropolis for traders and Buddhists from as far as India and Southeast Asia.
In addition to his use of Yao Cha's previous works, Yao Silian relied by contemporary court diaries by Gu Yewang 顧野王 (519–581) and Fu Zai 傅縡 (531–585) and an earlier text also named Chen shu 陳書, compiled by Lu Qiong 陸瓊 (537–586).
Yao Silian (557 ~ 637), whose real name is Jian, was born in Yongzhou Wannian (now Xi'an, Shaanxi Province) during the Chen dynasty.
History has called Yao Silian an esteemed Confucian scholar who had seen the accomplishments of three generations of China (Chen, Sui, Tang).
After the Tang destroyed the Sui, Yao Silian was appointed as a writer of the Hongwen Museum (弘文馆学).
Ceng Gong's Preface to Collation refers to Yao's investigation of Liang and Chen's affairs, but his book is not finished, which belongs to Zi Silian's inheritance.
When Yao Silian wrote Chen Shu, he mainly referred to the writings by Lu Qiong, Gu Yewang, Fu Ying and others.
This contrasts starkly with the first emperor Chen Baxian's more disciplined and active leadership in the dynasty and often served as an important lesson to later Chinese rulers on how to best govern.
Liang Dian no longer exists, but today people can understand the genre, style and content of this book from this preface.
The preface says, "opening this book is divided into six meanings", namely, "Retrospect", "Taiping", "Xu Chaos", "Shizu", "Respect for Emperor" and "Heir Master" (《追述》《太平》《叙乱》《世祖》《敬帝》《后嗣主》).
Reading the general remarks written by Wei Zhi can be used as a reference for grasping and analyzing the history of the Liang and Chen dynasties from a macro perspective.