吳士連
The format of "Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư" was modeled after the famous "Zizhi Tongjian" (資治通鑑/"Tư trị thông giám", "Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government") of the Song scholar Sima Guang, which means historical events were redacted in chronological order like annals. Ngô Sĩ Liên separated his book and the history of Vietnam into "Ngoại kỷ" ("Peripheral Records") and "Bản kỷ" ("Basic Records") by the 938 victory of Ngô Quyền in the Battle of Bạch Đằng River. This chronological method of compilation is different from the official historical texts of Chinese dynasties which had the layout divided in biographies of each historical figures, an approach which was initiated by Sima Qian in the "Records of the Grand Historian". In record of each Vietnamese emperor, Ngô Sĩ Liên always started with a brief introduction of the emperor which provided an overview about the reigning ruler of the record. In listing the events, the historian sometimes noted an additional story about the historical figure who was mentioned in the event, some had extensive and detailed stories, notably Trần Quốc Tuấn or Trần Thủ Độ. Some important texts were also included in the original form by Ngô Sĩ Liên such as "Hịch tướng sĩ" or "Bình Ngô đại cáo".