Historical Records
The Historical Records is a biographical historical book written by Sima Qian (about 87 B.C. -?), a famous historian in the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D 25). It records the legendary era of the Yellow Emperor from the ancient times to the fourth year (101 B.C.) of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 B.C-A.D 220), covering a history of more than 3000 years, hence considered as the primary piece among twen- ty-four Histories. The Historical Records focuses on emperors and other political central figures in history, containing 12 Benji (the achievements of emperors in previous dynasties), 30 aristocratic families (the rise and fall of the vassals, princes and the nobility in the Han Dynasty), 70 biographies (the words and deeds of important figures), ten chronicles (the chronology of events), and eight books (various rules and regulations), with a total of 130 articles and more than 520,000 words.
The Historical Records is the earliest general history of China. Its method of compiling history in the form of biography has been inherited by the "official history" of later dynasties and generates a long-lasting impact on the development of later historiography. The Historical Records is also well- known in the history of Chinese literature. It vividly shows the ups and downs of the fate of historical figures and the vicissitudes of the world. Its author Sima Qian is honored as "Shi Qian"(History Qian) and "Shi Sheng" (History Sage) by later generations. The viewpoint that the purpose of this book is to scrutinize relationship between the laws of nature and human beings, the laws of social changes in ancient and modern times and, hopefully establish a school, has an intense impact on Chinese historiography. The proactive and enterprising spirits displayed by many figures in the book were examples for the larger Chinese population and affected the values and characters of such to a great extent.
《史記》
《史記》是西漢著名史學家司馬遷（約前87年—？）撰寫的一部紀傳體史書，記載了上至上古傳說的黃帝時代，下至漢武帝太初四年（前101年）間共3000多年歷史，被列為“二十四史”之首。《史記》以歷史上的帝王等政治中心人物為史書編撰的主線，包括十二本紀（歷代帝王政績）、三十世家（諸侯國和漢代諸侯、勛貴興亡）、七十列傳（重要人物的言行事跡）、十表（大事年表）、八書（各種典章制度），共130篇，52萬余字。
《史記》是中國最早的通史，其首創的紀傳體編史方法為后來歷代“正史”所傳承，對后世史學發展產生深遠影響。《史記》在中國文學史上具有重要地位，書中生動展現了歷史人物命運起伏，世事變遷，其作者司馬遷更被后世尊稱為“史遷”“史圣”。《史記》提出著書目的是研究自然規律與人的關系、古今社會變化規律，成一家之說的觀點，對中國歷史學影響深遠，書中許多人物積極進取等精神品質， 深刻影響了中國人的價值取向和精神氣質。
