Records of the Grand Historian

Records of the Grand Historian

Early printed edition
Author	Sima Qian
Original title	太史公書 (Tàishǐgōng shū) 史記 (Shǐjì)
Country	Han China
Language	Classical Chinese
Subject	Ancient Chinese history

Records of the Grand Historian
"Shiji" in Traditional (top) and Simplified (bottom) Chinese characters
Traditional Chinese	史記
Simplified Chinese	史记
Literal meaning	"The Scribe's Records"
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shǐjì Wade–Giles Shih3-chi4 IPA [ʂɨ̀.tɕî] Wu Romanization Sy-ci Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Sí-gei Jyutping Si2 gei3 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Sú-kì Middle Chinese Middle Chinese ʂí kì
Alternative Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	太史公書
Simplified Chinese	太史公书
Literal meaning	Records of the Grand Historian
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Tàishǐgōng shū Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Tai sí gōng syū Jyutping Tai3 si2 gong1 syu1 Southern Min Hokkien POJ Thài-sú-kong su Middle Chinese Middle Chinese tʰài ʂí kuwng sho Old Chinese Baxter-Sagart *l̥ˤa[t]-s s-rəʔ C.qˤung s-ta

The Records of the Grand Historian (太史公書), now usually known as the Shǐjì (史記, "The Scribe's Records"), is a monumental history of ancient China and the world finished around 94 BC by the Han dynasty official Sima Qian after having been started by his father, Sima Tan, Grand Astrologer to the imperial court. The work covers the world as it was then known to the Chinese and a 2500-year period from the age of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the reign of Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time.

The Records has been called a "foundational text in Chinese civilization". 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. Unlike Western historical works, the Records do not treat history as "a continuous, sweeping narrative", but rather break it up into smaller, overlapping units dealing with famous leaders, individuals, and major topics of significance.

The work that became Records of the Grand Historian was begun by Sima Tan, the Taishi (太史) of the Han dynasty court during the late 2nd century BC. After his death in 110 BC, it was continued and completed by his son and successor Sima Qian, who is generally credited as the work's author. Sima Qian is known to have completed the Records before his death in c. 86 BC, with one copy residing in the imperial capital of Chang'an (modern Xi'an) and the other copy probably being stored in his home.

Details regarding the Records' early reception and circulation are not well known. A number of 1st century BC authors, such as the scholar Chu Shaosun (褚少孫; fl. 32–7 BC), added interpolations to the Records, and may have had to reconstruct portions of it: ten of the original 130 chapters were lost in the Eastern Han period (AD 25–220) and seem to have been reconstructed later.