Quick Answer: What Is the Shiji?
Records of the Grand Historian, usually called the Shiji (史记, Shǐjì), is a foundational history associated with Sima Qian (司马迁, Sīmǎ Qiān), a court official under the Han dynasty (汉朝, Hàn Cháo). Compiled around the late second and early first centuries BCE, it ranges from legendary antiquity to the historian’s own era.[1]
- Structure: Its 130 chapters fall into five divisions that organize the past through different kinds of account.[2]
- Reading value: It is both historical writing and accomplished narrative prose, with lives, speeches, conflicts and explicit judgments.[3]
- Starting point: Choose a chapter that interests you and an English edition whose contents actually include it.
The Shiji is neither a modern textbook nor a novel. Its surviving text brings together earlier materials and later textual changes, so a vivid scene is not automatically an exact transcript of an ancient event.[3]
You do not need to begin the Shiji on page one and read straight through. Its architecture makes selective reading possible, but also creates a common surprise: the same person or event can appear in more than one place. One chapter gives a political sequence; another follows someone whose choices changed that sequence.
For readers exploring Chinese literature, the attraction is this combination of historical ambition and narrative attention. Understanding the layout helps you find a story, recognize what kind of account you are reading and decide what further evidence to consult.
What the Shiji Covers and Who Compiled It
The project began with Sima Tan (司马谈, Sīmǎ Tán), Sima Qian’s father, and was carried forward by his son. How much of the text each contributed remains uncertain.[1]
Its scope extends from the legendary Yellow Emperor (黄帝, Huáng Dì) to the era of Emperor Wu (汉武帝, Hàn Wǔdì). This range crosses successive periods of Chinese history, including the Qin dynasty (秦朝, Qín Cháo) and early Han empire; it is not confined to the dynasty in which it was compiled.[1]
Sima Qian’s punishment after defending the general Li Ling (李陵, Lǐ Líng) became inseparable from the work’s reception. The Letter to Ren An (报任安书, Bào Rèn Ān Shū), traditionally attributed to him, connects his decision to endure castration and live on with completing his historical project. Scholars have also disputed the letter’s authenticity; it is an important text in that reception, not an unquestionable window into every authorial intention.[4]
Chapter 130 gives the work’s account of its family background, purposes and organization. Read it alongside the text rather than using the historian’s suffering as a single explanation for every chapter. Our Sima Qian guide provides the fuller biographical context.[2]
The Five-Part Structure: 130 Chapters
The five divisions offer complementary ways to organize historical material. English labels vary between translators, so the Chinese terms and overall chapter numbers are useful reference points.
| Division | Chapters | Main function |
|---|---|---|
| Basic annals (本纪, běnjì) | 12: chapters 1–12 | Accounts centered on rulers, reigns and the main political succession.[11] |
| Tables (表, biǎo) | 10: chapters 13–22 | Parallel chronologies that coordinate events, states and lineages. |
| Treatises (书, shū) | 8: chapters 23–30 | Topical accounts of institutions and practices such as ritual, calendars, waterways and finance.[10] |
| Hereditary houses (世家, shìjiā) | 30: chapters 31–60 | Accounts of ruling houses, states and selected figures of exceptional standing.[6] |
| Biographies (列传, lièzhuàn) | 70: chapters 61–130 | Individual and collective lives, accounts of peoples and the final autobiographical postface.[12] |
The total is 12 + 10 + 8 + 30 + 70 = 130. The last division includes chapter 130, the autobiographical postface; it is misleading to describe all seventy chapters as seventy conventional individual lives.[2]
There are also two numbering systems to watch. Chapter 7 is the seventh basic annal, but chapter 47 is the seventeenth hereditary-house account. A translator’s “Hereditary House 17” can therefore refer to overall chapter 47. Recording the overall number prevents confusion when comparing editions.[2][6]
Use the format that answers your question. Follow a reign in the first division, coordinate overlapping events with a table, investigate an institution in a treatise, or follow a person through a narrative account. A separate dynastic timeline can orient you without replacing these different views of the past.
Five Chapters to Read First
These are five entry choices, not a ranking. Pick by subject, then check whether your edition gives the whole chapter or an excerpt.
| Starting chapter | Subject | What to notice |
|---|---|---|
| Chapter 6 | Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇, Qín Shǐhuáng) | The presentation of imperial rule and the first emperor’s legacy; compare the chapter with a modern account of Qin Shi Huang.[9] |
| Chapter 7 | Xiang Yu (项羽, Xiàng Yǔ) | A powerful rival in the struggle following Qin’s collapse; watch decisions and exchanges as well as military outcomes.[5] |
| Chapter 47 | Confucius (孔子, Kǒngzǐ) | A life of travel, political hopes and disappointment, placed among the hereditary houses. Compare this narrative with the different form of the Analects.[6] |
| Chapter 86 | Assassin-retainers, including Jing Ke (荆轲, Jīng Kē) | A collective account that places dangerous acts beside questions of loyalty, purpose and reputation.[7] |
| Chapter 129 | Money-makers | Production, trade, regional resources and wealth bring economic life into historical writing.[8] |
Confucius’s broader life and influence and a chapter about him are different reading tasks. Similarly, a collective account is not necessarily a sequence of disconnected anecdotes: grouping people can itself invite comparison.
The choices also show why the book is larger than a succession of rulers. A reader interested in economic life can enter through chapter 129 without first finishing every political account. This does not mean that five chapters substitute for the whole work; they give you manageable points of entry.
Historical Writing: Narrative, Judgment and Evidence
A close example is the Hongmen banquet (鸿门宴, Hóngmén Yàn) in chapter 7. Liu Bang (刘邦, Liú Bāng) meets Xiang Yu under threat. Fan Zeng (范增, Fàn Zēng) signals that action should be taken against the visitor, while Xiang Bo (项伯, Xiàng Bó) uses his own sword dance to shield him. Gestures and interruptions make competing intentions visible before the political outcome is settled.[5]
When you read that scene, distinguish three things: what the account says happened, how it stages the encounter, and what evidence establishes the details independently. Literary analysis can explain why an exchange is effective without proving that the words were recorded exactly as spoken.
The formula Taishigong yue (太史公曰, Tàishǐgōng yuē), often translated as “the Grand Historian remarks,” introduces explicit assessment. In chapter 7, the closing comment challenges Xiang Yu’s explanation of his defeat. The judgment belongs to the account’s interpretation of the past. Distinguish it from later commentary and a translator’s own notes.[5]
For historical use, read the notes on sources, variants and later additions. The received Shiji has a long transmission history, and some material was supplemented or replaced. Its different accounts also preserve different perspectives. Neither dramatic storytelling nor textual complexity makes the whole work worthless; both change the questions you should ask of a particular passage.[3]
A practical distinction is especially important near the beginning: the presence of the Yellow Emperor in the narrative does not establish a secure modern chronology for legendary antiquity. Our guide to Chinese history and legend explains why a traditional account and an archaeologically supported date are different kinds of claim.
English Translations: Check the Chapters Included
Two established translation routes have different editorial scopes. The title on the cover is not enough to establish completeness.
- Burton Watson’s Qin Dynasty volume: This selection includes chapters 5 and 6 and several accounts of Qin figures. Its contents mark chapter 86 as an excerpt, so buying it does not necessarily supply the entire assassin-retainers chapter.[9]
- Burton Watson’s Han Dynasty, Volume 2: This selection includes institutional material, accounts of peoples, collective lives and chapter 129 on money-makers. Its chosen arrangement is not the complete 130-chapter sequence.[10]
- The Grand Scribe’s Records: Edited by William H. Nienhauser, Jr., with a team of translators, this scholarly series distributes the text across volumes. Volume I contains overall chapters 1–7; Volume XI contains the final nine chapters of the memoirs division, including the postface. Match a volume’s subtitle and contents to the chapter you want.[11][12]
Older editions may spell the author’s name Ssu-ma Ch’ien and the work Shih chi. These are romanization differences, not different authors or books. Chapter numbers, translator names and contents help you compare them.
For choosing Chinese classics in translation, look for an introduction, maps where useful, names and chronology aids, and notes that separate translator explanation from the translated account. An abridgment or retelling can be approachable, but it serves a different purpose from a chapter translation.
How to Read a Shiji Chapter
Use this sequence for a first reading, then return to the passages that raise questions.
- Identify the chapter: Record its overall chapter number, division and translator.
- Orient yourself: Place the main events on a timeline and list the central people.
- Read for action: Follow decisions, dialogue and changes of allegiance without treating speeches as transcripts.
- Separate narrative and judgment: Where present, notice how the closing historian’s comment evaluates the account.
- Compare and check: Use notes, another relevant chapter and modern scholarship to investigate an important claim.
For chapter 7, your first pass might follow the danger at the banquet; your second can track who notices a threat and who intervenes. Only then compare the scene with the closing judgment. This keeps the account’s narrative force visible while leaving room for historical questions.
If an episode reappears in later fiction or drama, return to the cited chapter before assuming the retelling preserves its details. Chinese literary allusions often draw their force from a particular moment within a longer narrative.
FAQs About the Shiji
Is the Shiji a novel or a history book?
It is historical writing with strong literary qualities. Its dialogue, characterization and dramatic scenes help explain its place in literary study, but it was not composed as a modern historical novel.[3]
Was the Shiji the first Chinese historical text?
No. Earlier chronicles, documents and narrative traditions existed, and the Shiji drew on earlier materials. Its distinctive achievement lies in the breadth and organization of its historical synthesis.[1][3]
Do I need to read all 130 chapters in order?
No. A selected chapter is a reasonable beginning. Keep a timeline nearby and follow references when a person or event needs context; the five divisions offer complementary accounts rather than one uninterrupted narrative.
Does one English volume contain the whole Shiji?
Do not assume so. Familiar editions include selections and volumes covering particular parts. Check the chapter list, excerpt labels, translator and volume subtitle before choosing an edition.[9][10][11][12]
Sources
[1] William H. Nienhauser, Oxford University Press. Sima Qian and the Shiji
[2] Sima Qian, Wikisource Chinese text. Shiji, Chapter 130: Taishigong Zixu
[3] Martin Kern, Cambridge University Press. Early Chinese Literature, Beginnings through Western Han: Historical and Anecdotal Narrative
[4] University of Washington Press. The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian’s Legacy
[5] Sima Qian, Wikisource Chinese text. Shiji, Chapter 7: Xiang Yu
[6] Sima Qian, Wikisource Chinese text. Shiji, Chapter 47: Confucius
[7] Sima Qian, Wikisource Chinese text. Shiji, Chapter 86: Assassin-retainers
[8] Sima Qian, Wikisource Chinese text. Shiji, Chapter 129: Money-makers
[9] Columbia University Press. Records of the Grand Historian: Qin Dynasty
[10] Columbia University Press. Records of the Grand Historian: Han Dynasty, Revised Edition, Volume 2
[11] Indiana University Press. The Grand Scribe’s Records, Volume I: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China
[12] Indiana University Press. The Grand Scribe’s Records, Volume XI: The Memoirs of Han China, Part IV