Family Bookshelf (1) - Zizhi Tongjian

Author: (Song) 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 statesmen and historians such as Sima Guang during the Northern and Southern Song dynasties. Upon its completion, it was revered by the crown prince as a "must-read textbook for governing the state," and subsequently became an authoritative classic that successive generations of officials eagerly copied 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, not only vividly depicting the grand social life but also successfullying numerous lifelike historical characters. The narrative often uses multiple sources to describe a single event, and where discrepancies in dates or events arise, they are cross-examined and annotated with reasons for their selection or exclusion, forming The Examination of Discrepancies, which provides systematic and comprehensive materials for later historical research. The book also includes 97 historical commentaries selected from previous works and 118 commentaries written in the form of "Sima Guang's Reflections," collectively reflecting the author's political and historical views. The text is concise, lively, fluent, and refined, possessing considerable literary value, and has long been ranked alongside The Records of the Grand Historian as the pinnacle of Chinese historical writing. These features have had a profound influence on later historical scholarship.