Records of the Grand Historian (Han II)
By Sima Qian
Translated by Burton Watson
1993
xviii + 506 pages
ISBN 0231-08166-9
Sima Qian (145?–90? BC) is the first major Chinese historian. His Records of the Grand Historian chronicles the history of China and much of the adjacent world from the remote past to his own time. These three volumes contain a new translation of the history of the Qin dynasty (221–206 BC) and a revised version of the Han dynasty (from 206 up to c. 90 BC) portion of the Records. Western readers will value this book not only for its historical importance, but perhaps even more for Sima Qian's warm interest in people.
Burton Watson is a world-renowned translator of Chinese and Japanese literature.
'Burton Watson's elegant renditions will continue to be useful, especially when readers are primarily interested in the Shiji as literature.'
—CLEAR