137。    
廿 史, 茲。
niàn èr shǐ quán zài
(twenty two histories, complete exist now)

All the historical records are now contained in the 22+ official histories.

138。   
亂, 衰。
zài zhì luàn zhī xìng shuāi
(record govern disorder, know prosper decline)

They record examples of good and bad government; study them to learn what causes prosperity and decay.

139。    
書, 錄。
shǐ shū kǎo shí
(read history books, examine reality record)

If you want to know history, read the official annals.

140。    
今, 目。
tōng jīn ruò qīn
(connect ancient, modern, as if personal eye)

Use the past to learn about the present; using the official records you will understand as if you had personally observed.


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+ Another question of number: By the end of the Ming dynasty, there were 21 official histories, to which were added three more, those of the Later Jin, Song and Qing. In Phen, the line is rewritten to the effect of "if you want to know about the dynasties, the place to look is in the official histories.", thereby avoiding the difficulty of counting them.

In the original work, the line here refers to the seventeen official histories that existed at the time.