Stephen W. Durrant is Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Oregon. He has also written The Tale of the Nisan Shaman: A Manchu Folk Epic.

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Frustration of the Second Confucius 2. Sima Qian's Confucius 3. Sima Qian, the Six Arts, and Spring and Autumn Annals 4. Dying Fathers and Living Memories 5. (Wo)men with(out) Names 6. Ideologue versus Narrator Epilogue Appendix: Chronology of Sima Qian's Life Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"The book is a wonderful amalgam of classical, historical, and literary scholarship. It is well-reasoned, asks intelligent questions about the work and life of Sima Qian. It will become the major English language study of the Records of the Historian, the earliest and most important of the dynastic histories of China. This book has moments of brilliance. It ties classical sources in the past together in a way that is completely novel and original. The author has excellent insight into the relationships between history and literature." — Stephen West, University of California, Berkeley"The Shiji in the past has been studied primarily as a work of history. But its influence in China was as much literary as historical. Durrant's brilliant analysis shows why the work was so highly regarded as a piece of literature. It's really a tour de force and will be a model for other studies of other early narrative texts. My compliments to Professor Durrant!" — William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Stephen W. Durrant is Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Oregon. He has also written The Tale of the Nisan Shaman: A Manchu Folk Epic.

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Frustration of the Second Confucius 2. Sima Qian's Confucius 3. Sima Qian, the Six Arts, and Spring and Autumn Annals 4. Dying Fathers and Living Memories 5. (Wo)men with(out) Names 6. Ideologue versus Narrator Epilogue Appendix: Chronology of Sima Qian's Life Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"The book is a wonderful amalgam of classical, historical, and literary scholarship. It is well-reasoned, asks intelligent questions about the work and life of Sima Qian. It will become the major English language study of the Records of the Historian, the earliest and most important of the dynastic histories of China. This book has moments of brilliance. It ties classical sources in the past together in a way that is completely novel and original. The author has excellent insight into the relationships between history and literature." — Stephen West, University of California, Berkeley"The Shiji in the past has been studied primarily as a work of history. But its influence in China was as much literary as historical. Durrant's brilliant analysis shows why the work was so highly regarded as a piece of literature. It's really a tour de force and will be a model for other studies of other early narrative texts. My compliments to Professor Durrant!" — William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison

Stephen W. Durrant is Associate Professor of Chinese at the University of Oregon. He has also written The Tale of the Nisan Shaman: A Manchu Folk Epic.

• Acknowledgments Introduction 1. The Frustration of the Second Confucius 2. Sima Qian's Confucius 3. Sima Qian, the Six Arts, and Spring and Autumn Annals 4. Dying Fathers and Living Memories 5. (Wo)men with(out) Names 6. Ideologue versus Narrator Epilogue Appendix: Chronology of Sima Qian's Life Notes Glossary Bibliography Index

"The book is a wonderful amalgam of classical, historical, and literary scholarship. It is well-reasoned, asks intelligent questions about the work and life of Sima Qian. It will become the major English language study of the Records of the Historian, the earliest and most important of the dynastic histories of China. This book has moments of brilliance. It ties classical sources in the past together in a way that is completely novel and original. The author has excellent insight into the relationships between history and literature." — Stephen West, University of California, Berkeley"The Shiji in the past has been studied primarily as a work of history. But its influence in China was as much literary as historical. Durrant's brilliant analysis shows why the work was so highly regarded as a piece of literature. It's really a tour de force and will be a model for other studies of other early narrative texts. My compliments to Professor Durrant!" — William H. Nienhauser, Jr., University of Wisconsin-Madison