Yue Jue Shu

Yuejueshu 越絕書 "End of the kingdom of Yue" is a history of the regional state of Yue 越 during the Eastern Zhou period 東周 (770-221 BCE). The 19-juan long book was compiled by the Han-period 漢 (206 BCE-220 CE) writer Yuan Kang 袁康 (fl. 40 CE) and revised by Wu Ping 吳平.

It is written not in the style of an historical report but rather like a history novel. It provides nevertheless valuable historial material of the region of Yue, the modern provinces of Zhejiang and southern Jiangsu. The original text consisted of 8 "inner reports" (neiji 内記) and 17 "outer reports" (waiji 外記) of which 5 chapters were already lost in the 10th century. The main part deals with the reign of King Goujian 句踐 (r. 496-465) who made the state of Yue a powerful player in the southeast of China.