The Grand Scribe's Records, Vol. 1: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China - Hardcover

Ssu-Ma Ch'ien

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253340217 ISBN 13: 9780253340214

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 1995

Synopsis

"... an essential source for the study of events in early China, a guide to the moral philosophy of the gentlemen of Han, and a splendid work of literature which may be read for the pleasure of its style and the power of its narrative.... This work makes  Shi ji and its scholarship accessible to any reader of English, and it is a model for any work in this field and style." —Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Oxford Journals

"Through such work as this, the scholary and literary community of the West will learn more of the splendour and romance of early China, and may better appreciate the lessons in humanity presented by its great historian." —Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

"... Nienhauser’s new translation is scrupulously scholarly... the design of this series is nearly flawless... the translation itself is very precise..." —Chinese Literature, Essays, Articles, Reviews

This project will result in the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the  Shih chi (The Grand Scribe’s Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Ssu-ma Ch’ien (145-c.86 B.C.), who compiled the work, is known as the Herodotus of China.

About this title

About the Author

SSU-MA CHIEN was a major official in the Western Han dynasty (145–86 B. C.) and overcame tragedy to complete these fundamental volumes. WILLIAM H. NIENHAUSER, JR., is Professor of Chinese Language and literature at the University of Wisconsin. 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 Unviersity 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. LU ZONGLI, former Associate Professor and Director of Warring States, Qin and Han Studies of the Institue of History, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, is a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer at the Unviersity of Wisconsin. ROBERT REYNOLDS took his bachelors and masters degrees at National Taiwan University and is now a Ph.D. candidate and lecturer at the University of Wisconsin.

Review

[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)

These volumes are most welcome. . . . The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions. (Choice)

Edition details

• Publisher: Indiana University Press
• Publication date: 1995
• ISBN 10: 0253340217
• ISBN 13: 9780253340214
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 416
• Editor: William H. Nienhauser Jr.