Records of the Grand Historian

Records of the Grand Historian

Printed copy by Zhonghua Book Company (1982)
Author	Sima Qian
Original title	太史公書 (Tàishǐgōng shū) 史記 (Shǐjì)
Language	Classical Chinese
Subject	History
Publication date	c. 91 BC
Publication place	China

Records of the Grand Historian
Shiji written in traditional (top) and simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	史記
Simplified Chinese	史记
Literal meaning	"Scribal Records"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shǐjì Wade–Giles Shih3-chi4 IPA [ʂɻ̩̀.tɕî] Wu Romanization Sy-ci Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sí-gei Jyutping Si2-gei3 IPA [siː˧˥ kei˧] Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sú-kì Middle Chinese Middle Chinese ʂí-kì Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) s-rəʔ C.krəʔ-s
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	太史公書
Literal meaning	"Records of the Grand Historian"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tàishǐgōng shū Wade–Giles T'ai4-shih3-kung1 shu1 IPA [tʰâɪ.ʂɻ̩̀.kʊ́ŋ ʂú] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Taisígōng syū Jyutping Tai3-si2-gong1 syu1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Thài-sú-kong su Middle Chinese Middle Chinese Tʰài ʂí kuwng sho Old Chinese Baxter–Sagart (2014) *l̥ˤat-s s-rəʔ C.qˤung s-ta

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 Twenty-Four Histories. The Records were written in the late 2nd century BC to early 1st century BC by the 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.^[1]

The Records has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization".^[2] After Confucius and Qin Shi Huang, "Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures."^[3] 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.^[4]