Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 BC) served for several decades as a high official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu around the year 100 BC. As China's greatest historian, he overcame political and personal conflicts to complete this huge narrative account of ancient China, from its beginnings through the end of the second century BC. William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (two volumes, Indiana University Press, 1985, 1998), (as translator) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by André Lévy (Indiana University Press, 2000), and (as editor and translator) the previous six volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records. He is a founding editor of the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR).

"This volume is a highly valuable addition to this well-established series. When read against the original text of the Shiji, these translations, the notes, and all the other material provided by the translators and the editor will serve as inspiring points of departure for further explorations in the wider field of Chinese history and literature."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies"The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions."—Choice

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 BC) served for several decades as a high official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu around the year 100 BC. As China's greatest historian, he overcame political and personal conflicts to complete this huge narrative account of ancient China, from its beginnings through the end of the second century BC. William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (two volumes, Indiana University Press, 1985, 1998), (as translator) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by André Lévy (Indiana University Press, 2000), and (as editor and translator) the previous six volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records. He is a founding editor of the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR).

"This volume is a highly valuable addition to this well-established series. When read against the original text of the Shiji, these translations, the notes, and all the other material provided by the translators and the editor will serve as inspiring points of departure for further explorations in the wider field of Chinese history and literature."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies"The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions."—Choice

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145–ca. 86 BC) served for several decades as a high official at the court of the Han Emperor Wu around the year 100 BC. As China's greatest historian, he overcame political and personal conflicts to complete this huge narrative account of ancient China, from its beginnings through the end of the second century BC. William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature (two volumes, Indiana University Press, 1985, 1998), (as translator) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by André Lévy (Indiana University Press, 2000), and (as editor and translator) the previous six volumes of The Grand Scribe's Records. He is a founding editor of the journal Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR).

"This volume is a highly valuable addition to this well-established series. When read against the original text of the Shiji, these translations, the notes, and all the other material provided by the translators and the editor will serve as inspiring points of departure for further explorations in the wider field of Chinese history and literature."—Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies"The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions."—Choice