How important is the Records of the Grand Historian?

After Confucius and the First Emperor of Qin, “Sima Qian was one of the creators of Imperial China, not least because by providing definitive biographies, he virtually created the two earlier figures.” The Records set the model for the 24 subsequent dynastic histories of China.

What was significant about Sima Qian’s work?

Sima Qian is important not only as a historian but also as a master of racy, flexible Chinese prose. He exerted a potent influence on later writers, particularly upon the early writers of narrative prose and fiction.

Who completed the Records of the Grand Historian?

Sima Qian
Sima Qian (ca. 145-86 BCE) was the Grand Astrologer to Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. In this capacity, Sima Qian undertook a massive project to record China’s history and unify the scattered accounts of all the feudal scribes. The result was the Shiji, also called the Records of the Grand Historian.

What makes Sima Qian a good scholar bureaucrat for the Han empire?

By his account, by the age of ten Sima was able to “read the old writings” and was considered to be a promising scholar. Sima grew up in a Confucian environment, and Sima always regarded his historical work as an act of Confucian filial piety to his father.

What was the title of Sima Qian’s writing called Brainly?

Shiji, (Chinese: “Historical Records”) Wade-Giles romanization Shih-chi, early history of China written about 85 bce by Sima Qian.

Who is Su Ma chin?

Ssu-ma Ch’ien (145-ca. 90 B.C.), who has been described as the “Grand Historian of China,” held the office of T’ai-shih, or director of astrology, in the imperial government. He completed a draft history of mankind started by his father.

How accurate is Sima Qian’s history?

In short, Sima Qian’s history is as accurate as his sources allowed him to be. Sima Qian is therefore extremely valuable as the earliest reliable snapshot we have of Chinese history. We have to keep in mind how much had been destroyed in the Qin dynasty 100 years earlier.

Is Sima Qian a Han Taishi?

Sima Qian comes from the family of Han Taishi (the position of Taishi is usually passed within the family). Therefore The Records of the Grand Historian is part compilation of all the documents that Sima Qian had available to him through his family’s hereditary hold as the Han Taishi, and his commentary on those documents.

Who wrote the book The Records of the Grand Historian?

The Records of the Grand Historian was the masterpiece of Sima Qian, written from 109 BC to 91 BC. Also known in English by its Chinese name Shiji, Sima Qian recounted all the rich Chinese history that dated all the way back from the Yellow Emperor from around 2600 BC up to his present time.

What happened to Sima Qian after he was castrated?

It was already well known that a castrated man could easily die from blood loss or infection so after mutilation the victims were kept like silkworms in a warm, draught-free room. Sima Qian never recovered from the humiliation. “I look at myself now, mutilated in body and living in vile disgrace.