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Concept
Chinese historiography
Summary
Chinese historiography is the study of the techniques and sources used by historians to develop the recorded history of China.
History of China
The recording of events in Chinese history dates back to the Shang dynasty ( 1600–1046 BC). Many written examples survive of ceremonial inscriptions, divinations and records of family names, which were carved or painted onto tortoise shell or bones. The uniformly religious context of Shang written records makes avoidance of preservation bias important when interpreting Shang history. The first conscious attempt to record history in China may have been the inscription on the Zhou dynasty bronze Shi Qiang pan. This and thousands of other Chinese bronze inscriptions form our primary sources for the period in which they were interred in elite burials.
The oldest surviving history texts of China were compiled in the Book of Documents (Shujing). The Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu), the official chronicle of the State of Lu, cover the period from 722 to 481 BC and are among the earliest surviving Chinese historical texts to be arranged as annals. The compilations of both of these works are traditionally ascribed to Confucius. The Zuo zhuan, attributed to Zuo Qiuming in the 5th century BC, is the earliest Chinese work of narrative history and covers the period from 722 to 468 BC. The anonymous Zhan Guo Ce was a renowned ancient Chinese historical work composed of sporadic materials on the Warring States period between the 3rd and 1st centuries BC.
The first systematic Chinese historical text, the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), was written by Sima Qian ( 145 or 135–86 BC) based on work by his father, Sima Tan, during the Han Dynasty. It covers the period from the time of the Yellow Emperor until the author's own lifetime. Two instances of systematic book-burning and a palace fire in the preceding centuries narrowed the sources available for this work. Because of this highly praised and frequently copied work, Sima Qian is often regarded as the father of Chinese historiography.
Official source
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