An archive contains a manuscript by a chinese prince who was very interested in the dynasties that came before his own. he made it his business to find out as much accurate information as he could from the historians in his kingdom. he wrote many descriptions of the kings that came before him. his book has proved to be a great source of historical information.
based on this description, the prince’s work is a
source.

Based on this description, the princes work is  a secondary source. A secondary source is a document or recording that relates or discusses information originally presented elsewhere. Secondary sources involve generalizations, analyzes, interpretations, or evaluations of the original information. They describe, discuss, comment upon, summarize, and process primary sources.

A secondary source is generally a step removed from a time period and is produced after the fact with the benefit of hindsight. Secondary materials can be written or non-written.