The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume I

These volumes are most welcome. . . . The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions. * Choice * [T]he Grand Scribe's Records volume 8 is a remarkable achievement and an interesting experiment in combining something resembling a traditional Chinese commentarial style with a Western scholarly context. . . . And, as with previous volumes, the intrepid beginner or the careful specialist will find volume 8 to be ahelpful aid to research on the Shiji. * China Review International *

Ssu-ma Ch'ien was a major official in the Western Han dynasty (145-ca. 86 BC) and overcame tragedy to complete these fundamental volumes. William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Professor of Chinese Language and literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1979 he helped found the journal Chinese Literature, Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). He was the Editor-in-Chief and Compiler of The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, a monumental and indispensable reference work published in 1986. He has authored numerous influential scholarly papers and articles. Tsia-fa Cheng, Professor of Chinese at the University of Wisconsin and a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica, is a graduate of National Taiwan University and the University of Wisconsin and a noted specialist in Chinese historical linguistics.

Dedication Acknowledgements Introduction On Using This Book A Note on Chronology Weights and Measures List of Abbreviations The Five Emperors, Basic Annals One The Hsia, Basic Annals Two The Yin, Basic Annals Three The Chou, Basic Annals Four The Ch'in, Basic Annals Five The First Emperor of Ch'in, Basic Annals Six Hsiang Yu, Basic Annals Seven Bibliography Index Maps