Historical Records (Color Illustrations and Textbook Edition)

Author: Ji Jianghong, Editor-in-Chief
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-01-01
Features: This book interprets China's greatest historical work from a unique perspective, presenting the classic Chinese history in a brand-new form. It explores the long journey of the origin, formation, and development of traditional Chinese culture, comprehensively, vividly, and authentically showcasing the millennia-old history and rich cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, which is inclusive and has a profound history. Shiji is a comprehensive history that spans from ancient times to the present, narrating the history of China for about three thousand years, from the legendary Yellow Emperor to the first year of Yuanshou in the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (122 BC). Shiji is China's first "official history," and since then, the compilation of "official histories" has never been interrupted, forming a long river of written historical records, which is a miracle in the history of world historiography. However, Shiji differs greatly from later official histories. Sima Qian believed that writing history should "investigate the relationship between heaven and humanity, connect the changes of ancient and modern times, and form a unique voice." As the first comprehensive chronological and biographical history, Shiji has achieved a high status in the history of historiography. The valuable part of Shiji is its commentaries, which either correct errors in historical events or characters or supplement the gaps in historical records of previous dynasties, something not found in other histories. Additionally, Shiji is concise, systematic, lively, and written in brilliant prose, fully reflecting the author's profound literary talent.