Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 B.C.) was an official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 B.C.), who was involved in the compilation of a mammoth historical project that resulted in this history, which came to be known as the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records).William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and editor of five previous volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records.

"Nienhauser's latest volume is another indispensable addition to modern sinology, as well as a fitting tribute to an ancient historian."—China Review International

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Herodotus and Ssu-ma Ch'ien: A Preliminary Study of Styles and Sources in Their Early ChaptersOn Using This BookWeights and MeasuresList of AbbreviationsMemoir 45 Memoir 46Memoir 47Memoir 48Memoir 49Memoir 50Memoir 51Memoir 52Frequently Mentioned CommentatorsBiographical Sketches of Shih chi ScholarsSelected Recent Works on the Shih ChiIndex

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 B.C.) was an official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 B.C.), who was involved in the compilation of a mammoth historical project that resulted in this history, which came to be known as the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records).William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and editor of five previous volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records.

"Nienhauser's latest volume is another indispensable addition to modern sinology, as well as a fitting tribute to an ancient historian."—China Review International

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Herodotus and Ssu-ma Ch'ien: A Preliminary Study of Styles and Sources in Their Early ChaptersOn Using This BookWeights and MeasuresList of AbbreviationsMemoir 45 Memoir 46Memoir 47Memoir 48Memoir 49Memoir 50Memoir 51Memoir 52Frequently Mentioned CommentatorsBiographical Sketches of Shih chi ScholarsSelected Recent Works on the Shih ChiIndex

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 B.C.) was an official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 B.C.), who was involved in the compilation of a mammoth historical project that resulted in this history, which came to be known as the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records).William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is the Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and editor of five previous volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records.

"Nienhauser's latest volume is another indispensable addition to modern sinology, as well as a fitting tribute to an ancient historian."—China Review International

• AcknowledgmentsIntroduction: Herodotus and Ssu-ma Ch'ien: A Preliminary Study of Styles and Sources in Their Early ChaptersOn Using This BookWeights and MeasuresList of AbbreviationsMemoir 45 Memoir 46Memoir 47Memoir 48Memoir 49Memoir 50Memoir 51Memoir 52Frequently Mentioned CommentatorsBiographical Sketches of Shih chi ScholarsSelected Recent Works on the Shih ChiIndex