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Sima Qian

Biography

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Chinese Historical and Cultural Figures

 

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Ceremony to worship Sima Qian, a Chinese historian in the Han Dynasty

 

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The tomb of Sima Qian

 

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Sima Qian

 

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SIMA QIAN " He who does not forget the past..." QUOTES • THOUGHTS • IDEAS

Sima Qian was a Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography for his Records of the Grand Historian, a Jizhuanti-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to his time, during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, a work that had much influence for centuries afterwards on history-writing not only in China, but in Korea, Japan and Vietnam as well. Although he worked as the Court Astrologer, later generations refer to him as the Grand Historian for his monumental work; a work which in later generations would often only be somewhat tacitly or glancingly acknowledged as an achievement only made possible by his acceptance and endurance of punitive actions against him, including imprisonment, castration, and subjection to servility.
  • Personal 

  • As Han court official 

  • The Li Ling affair 

  • Later years and death 

  • Format 

  • Influences and works influenced 

  • Innovations and unique features 

  • Literary figure 

  • Other literary works 

  • Astronomer/astrologer 

  • Family 

  • Unsubstantiated descendants