Yao Silian

During Yao Cha's life, he had begun to write the histories of Chen and its predecessor Liang dynasty but was unable to complete it before his death.

[12] After Chen's destruction, Yao Silian served as a military advisor to Emperor Wen's son Yang Liang the Prince of Han.

[13] After the mourning period, Yao Silian served as a secretary at the government of Hejian Commandery (河間, roughly modern Baoding, Hebei).

Emperor Yang further ordered him and another official, Cui Zujun (崔祖濬), to lead a team of scholars in drafting regional maps and histories.

[5][6][7] After the founding of the Tang dynasty, Yao Silian served as a scholar at the mansion of Emperor Gaozu's son and leading general Li Shimin the Prince of Qin.

Later, when Li Shimin was on a campaign against a rival agrarian rebel ruler, Xu Yuanlang the Prince of Lu, Li Shimin had some discussions with others about the events during the Sui dynasty, and he commented, "Yao Silian dared to stand up to swords to show his faithfulness, and this was difficult even in ancient days."

Yao, taking in also commentaries that had been written by Xie Gui (謝炅) and Gu Yewang (顧野王), completed the works in 636, and Emperor Taizong awarded him with silk and promoted him to be Tongzhi Sanqi Changshi (通直散騎常侍), a senior advisor at the examination bureau of government (門下省, Menxia Sheng).