Records of the Grand Historian (Volume III)
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Summary
The Records of the Grand Historian consists of 130 chapters, including twelve Annals (recording the achievements of emperors through the ages), thirty Hereditary Houses (recording the rise and fall of vassal states and Han nobles), seventy Biographies (recording the words and deeds of important figures, mainly officials, with the last chapter being the author's preface), ten Tables (chronologies of major events), and eight Treatises (on various institutions and systems, covering rites, music, pitch standards, the calendar, astronomy, imperial sacrifices, water conservancy, and finance). It is encyclopedic yet coherent and clearly organized, meticulously documenting the development of politics, economy, military affairs, culture, and other aspects in ancient times.
The Records of the Grand Historian is also an outstanding literary work and holds an important place in the history of Chinese literature. In terms of historical value, it preserves thousands of years of historical materials and possesses extraordinary historiographical value; it is listed as the first of the Twenty-Four Histories. It pioneered the biographical method of recording events and has been esteemed by historians and scholars through the ages. In terms of literary value, its descriptive language is vivid, its characters are distinct, its reasoning is thorough, and its narration is flexible. Liu Xiang and others considered the book "skilled at ordering events and reasoning, argumentative without ostentation, plain without vulgarity."
Editor's review
From an editorial perspective, the value of this volume lies in its pivotal historical position as a bridge between what came before and what followed. It records the stability and prosperity of the reigns of Wen and Jing while confronting the interplay of external expansion and internal tensions under Emperor Wu. Sima Qian's craft is especially refined here: he combines deep sympathy for Li Guang's tragic fate with an objective account of the illustrious military achievements of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing, while subtly conveying criticism of and reflection on certain policies of Emperor Wu, such as the feng and shan sacrifices and the pursuit of immortality, embodying his spirit of truthful record—'neither embellishing what is admirable nor concealing what is shameful.' Compared with the first two volumes' treatment of high antiquity and the Qin dynasty, this volume feels closer to later readers; the political institutions, military and diplomatic affairs, and social conditions it addresses are foundational for understanding the early form of a unified Chinese dynasty.
Reading this volume, readers can deeply feel Sima Qian's sense of responsibility as a historian and his power as a literary artist. He is not merely arranging historical facts but constructing a meaningful world of rise and fall, human nature, and fate. For readers who wish to understand Western Han history in depth, explore the narrative art of *Records of the Grand Historian*, and reflect on the value of historical writing itself, this volume is an indispensable classic.
Who it's for
A good fit for
- Readers with a strong interest in early Western Han history, especially the reigns of Wen and Jing and the era of Emperor Wu
- Literature enthusiasts who wish to study the biographical chapters of *Records of the Grand Historian* in depth and appreciate Sima Qian's art of characterization
- University students and researchers in history, Chinese literature, and related fields, for whom it can serve as important primary-source reading
- Managers and humanistic thinkers seeking wisdom in management and decision-making from historical cases
Not a good fit for
- Readers expecting light, entertaining reading or who face significant obstacles in reading Classical Chinese
- Readers seeking only fragmented historical stories and unwilling to engage in systematic, in-depth reading
Reading tips
- It is recommended to read this volume alongside the first two and subsequent volumes to build a complete sense of the historical sequence
- A historical atlas may be used alongside the text to form an intuitive impression of geographical elements such as the Han–Xiongnu wars
- Key chapters deserve repeated reading; note the praise and criticism and commentary embedded in Sima Qian's narrative and appreciate his 'subtle art of the Spring and Autumn Annals'
About the publisher
China Culture and History Press has long devoted itself to modern and contemporary literature and culture-and-history reading matter, with publishing directions centered on classic works, social novels, prose and miscellaneous writings, and Eastern philosophy, alongside culture-and-history periodicals such as Zongheng. Among the more than 1,500 titles in the collection, representative books include Zhang Henshui's Ti Xiao Yin Yuan, Lu Xun's Complete Classic Works (10 volumes) and Wild Grass, and Lao She's Four Generations Under One Roof series and the boxed set of Lao She's Classic Works (10 volumes), while its author resources are concentrated on figures such as Zhang Henshui, Lu Xun, Lao She and Sima Qian. Its publishing character lies in solid editorial work on culture-and-history source texts and in issuing famous authors' works in sets, balancing the readability of individual texts with the systematic presentation of complete collections for focused reading and collecting. Beyond these directions, public information on the press's contemporary original publishing is limited, so it is not elaborated here.
Contents
- 版权信息
- 第十四卷 齐太公世家第二
- 第十五卷 鲁周公世家第三
- 第十六卷 燕召公世家第四
- 第十七卷 管蔡世家第五
- 第十八卷 陈杞世家第六
- 第十九卷 卫康叔世家第七
- 第二十卷 宋微子世家第八
- 第二十一卷 晋世家第九
FAQ
Are the annotations and translation in this volume of *Records of the Grand Historian* detailed?
Will readers who have not read the first two volumes have difficulty reading Volume Three directly?
In this volume, where is Sima Qian's personal feeling most evident?
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About the author
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.
Shi Lei, born in 1962, graduated from Harbin Normal University and is a freelance writer and scholar. He has long worked in writing, editing, reporting and planning, and has opened columns in several media outlets, publishing more than one million words. His writing focuses on public speaking, communication training and mental health, and he has served as chief editor of several book series on the art of speaking, inspirational life guidance, the thought of world masters, and mental health, bringing practical knowledge of expression, interpersonal communication and psychological adjustment to general readers. Twenty-seven of his works are included in the library, including several volumes related to the Records of the Grand Historian, with Eastern philosophy as a common category. Public information is limited and few details of his life are recorded, but his existing works show an emphasis on practicality and readability, and a tendency to connect traditional culture with topics of everyday self-cultivation.
