Zizhi Tongjian

Zizhi Tongjian

Section from one of the original scrolls of the Zizhi Tongjian
Author	Sima Guang et al.
Language	Classical Chinese
Subject	History of China
Publication date	1084
Media type	Scrolls
Original text	Zizhi Tongjian at Chinese Wikisource
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	資治通鑑
Simplified Chinese	资治通鉴
Literal meaning	"Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance"[a]
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Zīzhì tōngjiàn Wade–Giles Tzŭ1-chih4 t'ung1-chien4 IPA [tsɹ̩́.ʈʂɻ̩̂ tʰʊ́ŋ.tɕjɛ̂n] Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Jī-jih tūng-gaam Jyutping Zi1zi6 tung1gaam3 IPA [tsiː˥.tsiː˨ tʰoŋ˥.kaːm˧] Southern Min Tâi-lô Tsu-tī thong-kàm Middle Chinese Middle Chinese /t͡siɪ.ɖɨ tʰuŋ.kˠamH/

The Zizhi Tongjian (1084) is a chronicle published during the Northern Song dynasty (960–1127) that provides a record of Chinese history from 403 BC to 959 AD, covering 16 dynasties and spanning almost 1400 years.^[1] The main text is arranged into 294 scrolls (卷; juǎn), each equivalent to a chapter—totaling around 3 million Chinese characters.

In 1065, Emperor Yingzong of Song commissioned his official, Sima Guang (1019–1086), to lead a project to compile a universal history of China, and granted him funding and the authority to appoint his own staff. His team took 19 years to complete the work^[1] and in 1084 it was presented to Emperor Yingzong's successor Emperor Shenzong of Song. It was well-received and has proved to be immensely influential among both scholars and the general public. Endymion Wilkinson regards it as reference quality: "It had an enormous influence on later Chinese historical writing, either directly or through its many abbreviations, continuations, and adaptations. It remains an extraordinarily useful first reference for a quick and reliable coverage of events at a particular time",^[2] while Achilles Fang wrote "[Zizhi Tongjian], and its numerous re-arrangements, abridgments, and continuations, were practically the only general histories with which most of the reading public of pre-Republican China were familiar."^[3]

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