The Records of the Historian, written two thousand years ago by Szuma Chien of the Han Dynasty, is the greatest historical work China has produced. Many parts of it are fine literature.
In this selection we include two of the Basic Annals, five of the Hereditary Houses, and twenty-four of the Lives rearranged in chronological order starting from the sixth century B.C., the time of Confucius, down to the first century B.C., Szuma Chien's own time.