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Shiji (史记, aka Records of the Grand Historian, 91 BCE) is one of the most influential works of Chinese historical records. Covering 2,500 years up to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han (汉武帝, 156–87 BCE), it transformed history-writing from simple chronicle into a multidimensional narrative of human experience and became the model for all later dynastic histories. Its author, Sima Qian (司马迁, 145–86 BCE), sacrificed his personal honor to complete this monumental work, making it his life’s legacy.

When Sima Qian began writing, four centuries had passed since the last major historical text, the Annals of Spring and Autumn (春秋). Earlier histories were largely chronological records focused almost solely on rulers, noble families, state affairs, wars, and disasters. They recorded what happened, but rarely why or who shaped those events.

Looking back, Sima Qian found no coherent account of how Chinese civilization evolved—how territories expanded, how states rose and fell, or how unity repeatedly fractured and restored. His goal was to explain these patterns.

To portray a civilization developing over millennia, he needed a structure beyond linear chronology. If the progression of Chinese civilization resembled a river system, the rise and fall of dynasties were the main channel. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods (春秋战国, 771–221 BCE), the Zhou (周) imperial center weakened, while feudal nobles expanded China’s territories and competed for dominance—like powerful tributaries branching out from the river’s main channel. The collapse of the imperial order also elevated the influence of individuals, who resembled smaller streams feeding the system. Sima Qian organized Shiji into five interrelated sections to reflect this complexity:

• Annals (本纪): the main channel—stories of emperors and dynasties
• Histories of Noble Families (世家): the tributaries—stories of powerful regional states
• Biographies (列传): the streams—stories of individuals from all walks of life, including assassins, merchants, scholars, and generals
• Treatises (书): thematic essays on bureaucracy, economics, waterworks, and other systems
• Chronology Tables (表): timelines that link events across regions and reigns

This structure allowed him to present the same events from multiple angles—the perspective of the ruler, the regional viewpoint, and the lived experiences of commoners—creating a multidimensional narrative of Chinese civilization and its evolution.

He also ended many chapters with “The Grand Historian says” (太史公曰), offering moral judgments independent of official ideology. This established the historian not only as a recorder of events but also as a moral critic.

For over two millennia, Shiji has been admired for its innovative structure, literary brilliance, moral courage, and historical depth. Ban Gu (班固), author of the Book of Han (汉书), praised Sima Qian’s clarity, honesty, and factual rigor. Liu Zhiji (刘知几) of the Tang dynasty called Shiji “a standard for a hundred generations.” Lu Xun (鲁迅), one of modern China’s most influential writers, compared it to Qu Yuan’s (屈原) Lisao (离骚) for its emotional power and personal passion.

Sima Qian’s motivation to write Shiji was shaped by lineage and education. Born into a family of court historians, he studied under leading Confucian scholars and traveled extensively to collect historical information. On his deathbed, his father, Sima Tan (司马谈), urged him to complete the first comprehensive history of China—a wish Sima Qian vowed to fulfill.

In 99 BCE, after defending General Li Ling (李陵) against accusations of treason, Sima Qian was sentenced to castration rather than death. He accepted the humiliation in order to finish Shiji, seeing it as both filial duty and an immortal contribution to history. In his famous Letter to Ren An (报任安书), he described Shiji as an effort “to explore the relationship between Heaven and man and to reveal the patterns of change in history,” and argued that suffering can give rise to greatness. He concluded that a death can be “weightier than Mount Tai or lighter than a feather.”

Sima Qian was a master storyteller. He portrayed characters with motives, virtues, flaws, and psychological depth. His depiction of Xiang Yu (项羽, 3^rd century BCE)—a powerful warlord competing for dominance after the fall of the Qin (秦朝)—combines heroic bravery, strategic misjudgments, and a tragic end, making Xiang Yu one of Chinese literature’s most enduring figures.

For generations, Chinese people draw on historical figures and events from Shiji to cultivate historical awareness and national identity. Its characters—from the righteous assassin Jing Ke (荆轲, 3^rd century BCE) to the tragic Xiang Yu—have become ethical and cultural archetypes. Below are a few selected passages that are familiar to generations of Chinese school children.

• On Confucius, quoting the Book of Songs (诗经): “High as the mountain that we look up to; broad as the road we long to follow. Though we cannot reach them, our hearts yearn for them” (高山仰止, 景行行止, 虽不能至, 心向往之).
• On the patriotic poet Qu Yuan (屈原): “The whole world is muddy, yet I alone am clear; everyone is drunk, yet I alone am sober” (举世混浊而我独清, 众人皆醉而我独醒).
• On Fan Li (范蠡) and the dangers of serving a ruler after victory: “When the birds are gone, the good bow is put away; when the rabbits are gone, the hunting dog is cooked; when the enemy is defeated, the strategist is executed” (飞鸟尽, 良弓藏; 狡兔死, 走狗烹; 敌国破, 谋臣亡).
• On Jing Ke’s farewell before attempting to assassinate the First Emperor of Qin (秦始皇): “The wind whips over the icy Yi River; once the hero departs, he will not return” (风萧萧兮易水寒, 壮士一去不复返).
• On Xiang Yu’s final despair: “With strength to lift mountains and bravery unmatched, now the times have turned against me; even my battle horse refuses to move. If my horse will not go, what can I do? My beloved [consort] Yu, what can I do?” (力拔山兮气盖世, 时不利兮骓不逝; 骓不逝兮可奈何! 虞兮虞兮奈若何!)

Rather than merely recording events, Sima Qian presented civilization as a collective achievement shaped by rulers, thinkers, workers, institutions, and moral choices. Shiji is not only China’s first comprehensive historical text but also a foundational work of literature and moral philosophy. Its cultural legacy has endured for over two thousand years. It has helped shape a continuous narrative of Chinese civilization and taught generations how to evaluate leaders, understand their past, and grasp what it means to be Chinese. Today, it remains indispensable for understanding ancient Chinese politics, society, and values.

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