Complete Translation of the Records of the Grand Historian

Name: Complete Translation of the Records of the Grand Historian
ISBN: 9787221045720

Sima Qian / 杨燕起Guizhou People's Publishing House2001

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Word count: 4.6K words
Chapters: 21
Series: Complete Translation of the Records of the Grand Historian
ISBN: 9787221045720

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Summary

The Complete Translation of the Records of the Grand Historian is an annotated and fully translated edition of the Records of the Grand Historian by the Western Han historian Sima Qian, annotated and translated by the scholar Yang Yanqi and published by Guizhou People's Publishing House in its Complete Translations of Famous Chinese Classics series, in nine volumes, in 2001. The Records of the Grand Historian is China's first comprehensive history in the biographical (jizhuan) style, covering roughly three thousand years from the legendary Yellow Emperor down to the Taichu era of Emperor Wu of Han, in one hundred and thirty chapters: twelve Annals recording the political deeds of rulers, thirty Hereditary Houses recording the rise and fall of feudal lords and nobles, seventy Biographies recording the words and deeds of various figures, eight Treatises on institutions, and ten Tables setting out major events by year. Sima Qian takes individuals and families as the main narrative thread, incorporating politics, military affairs, economics, culture, astronomy, geography, and even medicine and divination; the narrative is vivid and the language vigorous, and Lu Xun praised it as the supreme achievement of historians and a rhymeless Li Sao. It is both the founding work of biographical historiography and the source of Chinese biographical literature. This edition is a complete translation: each volume first gives the original text, followed by annotations and a plain-language translation to remove obstacles of language and institutions, and includes related materials such as the Letter to Ren An concerning the author and the making of the book, serving both for reading and for reference. The whole work runs to about 4.6 million characters; its scale is vast, and it is suitable as a long-term reading edition for systematic reading of the Records of the Grand Historian.

Editor's review

《史记》原文去今已远，人名官制、地名典章层层叠叠，直接读白话未必靠得住，只读译文本又丢了太史公的笔力。这套贵州人民出版社的《史记全译》恰好两头兼顾：原文完整保留，注译紧随其后，疑难字词、古代制度都有交代，读完一段原文就能立刻对照理解。杨燕起长期从事《史记》研究，注译落到实处，不作泛泛的串讲。全书一百三十篇一篇不缺，表、书这类最容易被选本删掉的部分也完整收录，查某个侯国的世系、某年的战事都能翻得到。九册分卷与《史记》原卷次对应，摆在书架上就是一部可以随手抽取的工具书。四百余万字确实厚重，但它不是用来一口气读完的。当作一部随时请教的老师，读《项羽本纪》时查一查、读《货殖列传》时对一对，几年下来，《史记》也就成了自己的书。想认真读史、读文的人，这套值得占一格书架。

Who it's for

A good fit for

希望对照原文精读《史记》的高校文史专业学生
已读过选本、想通读一百三十篇全本的爱好者
需查检表、书等冷门篇目做研究或写作的人
为孩子做文言启蒙、需要可靠译文的中学教师与家长

Not a good fit for

只想读几个名篇故事、图轻松翻阅的读者
追求便携单册、习惯手机碎片阅读的人
尚无文言基础且不愿查注的纯白话读者

Reading tips

先读《太史公自序》了解全书体例与著书心境，再按兴趣选篇，不必从卷一硬啃。
以本纪、世家、列传为纵线通读，回头再读八书与十表，可体会制度与时间两条暗线。
读时准备一张战国至汉初的地图与帝王年表，人物关系和年代立刻清楚许多。
每读完一篇合上书，用自己的话复述情节与太史公的评语，比反复查注更有效。

About the publisher

Guizhou People's Publishing House China · Founded in 1951

Guizhou People's Publishing House is a comprehensive publisher based in Guizhou, with publishing directions covering architecture, foreign literature, Eastern philosophy and history. Its library currently holds 232 titles, including representative works such as Liang Sicheng's A History of Chinese Architecture, Yasunari Kawabata's Snow Country, The Old Capital, The Izu Dancer and Thousand Cranes, Mou Zongsan's Nineteen Lectures on Chinese Philosophy, Jiang Tingfu's Modern Chinese History and Rashomon. Its author resources span architecture, foreign literature and philosophical studies. These titles show that the press both introduces foreign literary classics, including Japanese literature, and continues to publish academic and general-interest works on Chinese architectural history, Chinese philosophy and modern history, reflecting a publishing profile that balances Chinese and foreign works and combines classics with accessible reading. Public information on its fuller publishing history and key series is limited, so no speculation is offered here.

Volume 1: Basic Annals of the Five Emperors, No. 1
Volume 2: Basic Annals of Xia, No. 2
Volume 3: Basic Annals of Yin, No. 3
Volume 4: Basic Annals of Zhou, No. 4
Volume 5: Basic Annals of Qin, No. 5
Volume 6: Basic Annals of the First Emperor of Qin, No. 6
Volume 7: Basic Annals of Xiang Yu, No. 7
Volume 8: Basic Annals of Gaozu, No. 8
Volume 9: Basic Annals of Empress Dowager Lü, No. 9
Volume 10: Basic Annals of Emperor Wen, No. 10
Volume 11: Basic Annals of Emperor Jing, No. 11
Volume 12: Basic Annals of Emperor Wu, No. 12
Volume 13: Table of the Three Dynasties, No. 1
Volume 14: Table of the Twelve Feudal Lords by Year, No. 2
Volume 15: Table of the Six States by Year, No. 3
Volume 16: Monthly Table of the Qin-Chu Transition, No. 4
Volume 17: Table of Feudal Kings Since the Rise of Han by Year, No. 5
Volume 18: Table of Gaozu's Meritorious Marquises, No. 6
Volume 19: Table of Marquises Between the Reigns of Hui and Jing, No. 7
Volume 20: Table of Marquises Since the Jianyuan Era, No. 8
(The following Tables, Treatises, Hereditary Houses, and Biographies, one hundred and thirty chapters in all, are divided into nine volumes)

FAQ

这套书是白话译本还是原文加注释？

是全本全译：原文完整保留，随后附注释与白话译文，属于“中国历代名著全译丛书”体例，可对照阅读。

全书一共几册，篇幅大概多少？

贵州人民出版社2001年版为全九册，约145印张、四百六十万字，对应《史记》一百三十篇的完整卷次。

和上海文化出版社的图文精释版有什么不同？

图文精释版是选篇精释的普及读本，配导读、注音和文史知识栏目；本书是全本全译，收齐表、书等篇目，更适合系统通读与研究查检。

文言基础一般能读得下来吗？

可以。遇到生僻字词和古代制度直接看注译即可，但四百多万字体量较大，建议按篇推进，配合年表和地图。

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About the author

Sima Qian Author · Chinese (Western Han)

Sima Qian was a historian, man of letters, and thinker of the Western Han dynasty. His courtesy name was Zichang, and he was a native of Xiayang in Zuo Fengyi (present-day Hancheng, Shaanxi). Succeeding his father Sima Tan as Grand Astrologer, he traveled widely to collect historical materials. Later, having suffered punishment in connection with the Li Ling affair, he endured humiliation and devoted himself to his work, ultimately completing the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji, originally titled Taishigong shu), China's first comprehensive history in the biographical (jizhuanti) style. The work covers events from the Yellow Emperor down to Emperor Wu of Han, organizing three thousand years of history through the five sections of annals, tables, treatises, hereditary houses, and biographies. Its narrative is concise and richly literary, its characters vividly drawn, and it has been praised as "the supreme swan song of historians." Later generations have often classified his writings under historical reading and Eastern philosophy, and his influence on Chinese historiography and literature has been profound.

杨燕起 Author

Yang Yanqi is an author who writes primarily on historical subjects. Publicly available information about him is limited, and his life, education, and professional positions remain unclear. Judging from the seven works recorded in the library, his writing centers on the Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian). His representative work is the eight-volume Reading the Shiji series, which also includes the individual volumes Reading the Shiji 1 through 5, Reading the Shiji-7, and Reading the Shiji-8, indicating that he interprets this biographical general history systematically in separate volumes. Such works are usually aimed at general readers, focusing on turning the original content into readable narratives that help readers understand the figures and events recorded in the Shiji. Yang Yanqi's approach tends toward popularization rather than rigorous academic textual research, making his books suitable as introductory historical reading. Because the available information is limited, the specific reception of his works among scholars and in the market cannot be determined, but the continued publication of these volumes suggests a certain systematic quality in his organization and retelling of the Shiji, offering ordinary readers convenient access to this classic.