The Grand Scribe's Records, Vol. 2: The Basic Annals of Han China - Hardcover

Ch'ien, Ssu-ma

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0253340225 ISBN 13: 9780253340221

Publisher: Indiana University Press, 2002

Synopsis

This second volume of the ongoing annotated translation of Ssu-ma Ch’ien’s Shih chi (The Grand Scribe’s Records), widely acknowledged as the most important early Chinese history, contains the "basic annals" of five early Han-dynasty emperors. The annals trace the first century of Han rule (206 b.c. to ca. 100 b.c.) in a year-by-year account that focuses on imperial activities. In these later annals, Ssu-ma Ch'ien revitalized the style he had employed in accounts of previous rulers in the opening chapters of The Grand Scribe's Records. When this translation is completed, it will make available in English all 130 chapters of the Shih chi. Volumes 1 and 7 were published by Indiana University Press in 1994.

About this title

About the Author

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-ca. 86 B.C.), China's greatest historian and an important official in the Han dynasty, compiled the history of his culture from its beginnings through the end of the second century B.C.

William H. Nienhauser, Jr., editor and co-translator, is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1979 he helped found the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR) and has edited it since. He has published a number of articles and books on traditional Chinese literature, including The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (two volumes, Indiana University Press, 1985; 1998)

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: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0253340225
• ISBN 13: 9780253340221
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 384
• Editor: Translated By Weiguo Cao Scott W. Galer William H. Nienhauser Jr. And David W. Pankenier. Edited By William H. Nienhauser Jr.. Ssu-ma Ch'ien