史记选 = Selections from records of the historian Shi ji xuan = Selections from records of the historian

The Records of the Grand Historian as the first systematic Chinese historical text, the Records profoundly influenced Chinese historiography and prose. In its effect, the work is comparable to Herodotus and his Histories. Together with the Records of Three Kingdoms, Book of Han and Book of Later Han, the book is part of the early four historiographies of the Twenty-Four Histories canon. The book contains five parts: Benji (annals), 12 volumes. Royal biographies in strict annalistic form that offer an overview of the most important events, especially from the time of the Zhou dynasty to that of the emperor of the Han dynasty. Biao (tables), 10 tables: overview of the reigns of the successive lords of the feudal states from the time of the Zhou dynasty till that of the early Han. At the same time the most important events of their reigns are mentioned. Shu (treatises), 8 juan. Each essay describes an area of state interest. Shijia (genealogies), 30 juan. Descriptions in chronicle form of the events of the states from the time of the Zhou dynasty until the early Han and eminent people. Liezhuan (exemplary lives, often called biographies), 70 juan. Biographies of important people. The biographies are limited to the description of the events that show the exemplary character of the subject, but in the Shiji is often supplemented with legends. One biography can treat two or more people if they are considered to belong to the same type. The last biographies describe the relations between the Chinese and the neighboring peoples. Written by Sima Qian of the Western Han Dynasty, the Records of the Historian was the first general history in the form of a series of biographies to appear in China. It records the history of China from the most remote past, the era of the legendary founder of the Chinese nation Huangdi (Yellow Emperor) in prehistoric China to the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The book has 130 chapters, recording the progress of history by means of biographies of historical figures. It marked the start of biographical literature in China and had a far-reaching influence on the development of the historical and literary works of later generations. Records of the Historian was ranked by Lu Xun, China's literary giant of the 20th century, as the country's leading work of history. CONTENTS PREFACE CONFUCIUS SUN WU AND WU CHI WU TZU-HSU KOU-CHIEN, KING OF YUEH LORD SHANG MENCIUS AND HSUN CHING LORD MENGCHANG TIEN TAN FAN SUI AND TSAI TSE LORD HSINLING LORD PINGYUAN AND YU CHING LIEN PO AND LIN HSIANG-JU LU PU-WEI THE FIRST EMPEROR OF CHIN CHEN SHEH HSIANG YU CHANG LIANG, MARQUIS OF LIU PRIME MINISTER CHEN PING HAN HSIN, MARQUIS OF HUAIYIN CHI PU AND LUAN PU LIU PI, PRINCE OF WU THE PRINCES OF HUAINAN AND HENGSHAN CHANG SHIH-CHIH AND FENG TANG CHI AN AND CHENG TANG-SHIM THE MARQUISES OF WEICHI AND WUAN LI KUANG THE ASSASSINS THE JESTERS THE MONEY-MAKERS THE GALLANT CITIZENS THE HARSH OFFICIALS Si Maqian Zhu ; An Pingqiu Jiao Yi ; Yang Xianyi, Dai Naidie Ying Yi. Han Ying Dui Zhao In Chinese And English. 司马迁著 ; 安平秋校译 ; 杨宪益, 戴乃迭英译. 汉英对照