Zizhi Tongjian

Author: Sima Guang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: The Zizhi Tongjian is the largest and most accomplished chronological history in Chinese history, compiled over 19 years by statesman and historian Sima Guang of the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. Upon its completion, it was revered by the crown prince as a "must-read textbook for governing a state," and subsequently became an authoritative classic eagerly copied by successive generations of officials for practical governance. The work covers history from the 23rd year of King Weilie of Zhou (403 BC) to the 6th year of Xingde in the Later Zhou of the Five Dynasties (959 AD), spanning 1,362 years. Its content primarily focuses on politics, military affairs, and ethnic relations, while also encompassing economics, culture, academic thought, and evaluations of historical figures. The compilers employed keen observation and ingenious artistic techniques, vividly depicting the grand social life and successfully shaping numerous lifelike historical characters.
The narrative often uses multiple sources to describe a single event. Where discrepancies in dates or events existed, they were cross-examined and annotated with reasons for their selection or exclusion, forming the Kaoyi (Examination of Discrepancies), which provided later historians with systematic and comprehensive materials. The work also includes 97 historical commentaries selected from previous scholars and 118 commentaries written in the form of "Zeng Guang Ri Ji" (Zeng Guang’s Daily Notes), collectively reflecting the author’s political and historical views. The text is concise, vivid, fluent, and refined, possessing significant literary value, and has long been paired with the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) as the pinnacle of Chinese historical writing. These features have profoundly influenced later historical scholarship.