Why read Records of the Grand Historian?

Book cover of Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty I

Book description

Sima Qian (145?-90? BCE) was the first major Chinese historian. His Shiji, or Records of the Grand Historian, documents the history of China and its neighboring countries from the ancient past to his own time. These three volumes cover the Qin and Han dynasties.

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Asian history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Records of the Grand Historian as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Yijie Zhuang

Author

More than 2000 years later, Sima Qian’s masterwork remains the most crucial source of the Han-Dynasty history. He explained his intention of writing this immortal history, "I wish to examine into all that concerns heaven and man, to penetrate the changes of the past and present, and to establish my own view of history." Although it was inevitable that legendary kings, emperors, and elites were the main focus of the book, Sima unprecedentedly dedicated some chapters to not so important people before or of his time. The book produces a wide list of famous stories and idioms, many of which…

From Yijie's list on history and environmental history of China.