Bai Hu Tong


Bai Hu Tong. The traditional view of this text is that it was compiled by Ban Gu on the orders of the emperor Zhang of Han. The name is derived from the White Tiger pavilion in the north of Luoyang where a series of discussions took place in 79 AD, on the subject of the true meanings of the classics. Ban Gu is said to have edited the records of these discussions, and from them to have produced the book we have today. Some scholars have suggested that the book may in fact be made up of material produced as late as the third century, rather than being the product of Ban Gu's work in recording the discussions of 79.