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Concept
Records of the Grand Historian
Summary
Records of the Grand Historian, also known by its Chinese name Shiji, is a monumental history of China that is the first of China's 24 dynastic histories. The Records was written in the late 2nd century to early 1st century by the ancient Chinese historian Sima Qian, whose father Sima Tan had begun it several decades earlier. The work covers a 2,500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time, and describes the world as it was known to the Chinese of the Western Han dynasty.
The Records has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization". After Confucius and the First Emperor of Qin, "Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures." The Records set the model for all subsequent dynastic histories of China. In contrast to Western historiographical conventions, the Records do not treat history as "a continuous, sweeping narrative", but rather break it up into smaller, overlapping units dealing with famous leaders, individuals, and major topics of significance.
The work that became Records of the Grand Historian was begun by Sima Tan, who was Grand Historian ( 太史, also translated "Grand Scribe") of the Han dynasty court during the late 2nd century. Sima Tan drafted plans for the ambitious work and left behind some fragments and notes that may have been incorporated into the final text. After his death in 110, the project was continued and completed by his son and successor Sima Qian, who is generally credited as the work's author. The exact date of the Records completion is unknown. But it is certain that Sima Qian completed it by ca. 91 BC, before his death in approximately 86, with one copy residing in the imperial capital of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) and the other copy probably being stored in his home.
Official source
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