Zizhi Tongjian (Simplified Edition, Complete 20 Volumes)

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Publish Date: 2000-10-01
Features: Zizhi Tongjian is the largest and most comprehensive compiled historical chronicle in China. Compiled by Sima Guang, a renowned official and scholar of the Northern Song Dynasty, it took nineteen years to complete. The entire work consists of 294 volumes, covering events from the 23rd year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC) to the 6th year of Xiande in the Later Zhou Dynasty (959 AD), spanning a total of 1,362 years. The content of Zizhi Tongjian primarily focuses on politics, military affairs, and ethnic relations, while also encompassing economics, culture, and evaluations of historical figures. Its purpose is to warn future generations by describing the policies of the ruling class that affected the prosperity or decline of the nation and the rise or fall of ethnic groups. The General Catalogue of the Four Treasuries praises Zizhi Tongjian as "extremely comprehensive in scope and profound in structure, surpassing anything seen in ancient times."