Reading the Records of the Grand Historian: A Series of Original Text Studies

Author: Chen Zhenghong
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-10-01
Features: This book is based on the lecture notes for the "Close Reading of the Records of the Grand Historian" course taught by the author to first-year undergraduates in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Fudan University. The entire book selects eight chapters from the Records of the Grand Historian, including "Biography of Yin," "Annals of the Six States," "River and Canal Treatise," "Household of the King of Yue Goujian," "Biographies of Bo Yi and Jie," "Biographies of Assassins," "Biographies of Liu Jing and Sima Qian," and "Preface by Sima Qian the Grand Historian," and provides for each chapter and section. The selected chapters cover all five styles of the Records of the Grand Historian and roughly include the original narrative period of the work as a comprehensive history (from pre-Qin to Western Han). The explanations highlight the diversity and inheritance of the themes related to the Records of the Grand Historian, as well as the variety and continuity of Chinese literary styles and writing techniques demonstrated in classical texts. The book is clear and concise in its explanations, making it suitable as a textbook for lower-level literature and history courses in colleges and universities, as well as an introductory reading for general literature and history enthusiasts to understand and read the original Records of the Grand Historian.