Generally speaking, the chronicle style is the more natural method to record historical events, and therefore, the veritable records (shilu 实录), the court annals, were written in this style. Quite contrary to that, the official dynastic histories (zhengshi 正史) are written in a very different style called the jizhuanti 纪传体 “biographic-thematic type”, in which history is narrated from the viewpoint of personal biographies. 

The biannianti 编年体 “annalistic type” is a literary type in Chinese historiography in which history is dealt with strictly chronologically. The prototypes of this style of historiography are the “Spring and Autumn Annals” of the state of Lu 鲁, the Chunqiu 春秋, and the “Bamboo Annals” Zhushu jinian 竹书纪年. The style was revived in Sima Guang’s 司马光 Zizhi tongjian 资治通鉴.