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Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo

Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo PDF Author: Grant Hardy
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231504515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
Sima Qian (c. 100 B.C.E.) was China's first historian—he was known as Grand Astrologer at the court of Emperor Wu during the Han dynasty—and, along with Confucius and the First Emperor of Qin, was one of the creators of imperial China. His Shiji (published for Columbia in a translation by Burton Watson as Records of the Grand Historian) not only became the model for the twenty-six Standard Histories that the historians of each Chinese dynasty wrote to legitimize the dynastic succession, but also has been an enormously influential resource to historians, literary scholars, philosophers, and many others seeking an understanding of early Chinese history. In Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo, Grant Hardy presents convincing evidence that the Shiji is quite unlike such Western counterparts as the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, for, Hardy argues, Sima Qian's work seeks not only to represent but to influence the world in a manner based on Confucian concepts of sageliness and "the rectification of names." Although many scholars have sought close parallels between Sima Qian and the Greek historians—either criticizing Sima's work, as if Western models of historical interpretation could serve as a template by which to read it, or overemphasizing his "objectivity" to more closely align his text with these "respectable" Greek models—Hardy boldly contends that the Chinese historian never intended to produce a consistent, closed interpretation of the past. Instead, Hardy argues, the Shiji is a microcosm in which Sima Qian sought to represent the open-endedness and multivalence of the world around him, revealing and reinforcing the natural order. In mapping out this model of the world, Sima embodies the historian as sage rather than chronicler. Transcending mere accuracy in recording events, such a historian seeks not to present an opinion about what happened in the past, buttressed with rational arguments and pertinent evidence, but to penetrate the outer details of an incident and discover the moral truths it embodies. Thus intuiting the moral significance of events, the sage-historian delineates the Way and offers his readers a chance to become more in tune with the natural order. Illustrating his provocative theses about the Shiji by analyzing Sima Qian's handling of specific historical personages and episodes such as the First Emperor of the Qin, the hereditary house of Confucius, and the conflicts that ended with the founding of the Han dynasty, Hardy both extends and challenges existing interpretations of this crucial yet understudied text and sheds light on its puzzles and incongruities.

The Grand Scribe's Records

The Grand Scribe's Records PDF Author: Qian Sima
Publisher: Indiana University Press
ISBN: 9780253340221
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 434

Book Description
This second volume of the ongoing annotated translation of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shi chi(The Grand Scribe's Records), widely acknowledged as the most important early Chinese history, contains the "basic annals" of five early Han-dynasty emperors. The annals trace the first century of Han rule (206 BC to ca. 100 BC) in a year-by-year account that focuses on imperial activities. In The Grand Scribe's Records, Ssu-ma Ch'ien revitalised the style of the annals he had written for previous rulers. Here are accounts of the peasant who founded the dynasty, Liu Pang, a man noted as much for his licentiousness as he was his ruthless political instinct, and of his cruel wife, Empress Lÿ, who murdered her chief rival for Liu Pang's affections in the most gruesome manner. The annals of two relatively undistinguished emperors follow. The volume concludes with Ssu-ma's depiction of perhaps the greatest ruler of the Han, Emperor Wu, told within the context of his delusive attempts to find a means to achieve immortality. When completed this translation will bring all 130 chapters of the Shih chi into English. Volumes 1 and 7 were published by Indiana University Press in 1994.

Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo

Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo PDF Author: Grant Hardy
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231504515
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 336

Book Description
Sima Qian (c. 100 B.C.E.) was China's first historian—he was known as Grand Astrologer at the court of Emperor Wu during the Han dynasty—and, along with Confucius and the First Emperor of Qin, was one of the creators of imperial China. His Shiji (published for Columbia in a translation by Burton Watson as Records of the Grand Historian) not only became the model for the twenty-six Standard Histories that the historians of each Chinese dynasty wrote to legitimize the dynastic succession, but also has been an enormously influential resource to historians, literary scholars, philosophers, and many others seeking an understanding of early Chinese history. In Worlds of Bronze and Bamboo, Grant Hardy presents convincing evidence that the Shiji is quite unlike such Western counterparts as the histories of Herodotus and Thucydides, for, Hardy argues, Sima Qian's work seeks not only to represent but to influence the world in a manner based on Confucian concepts of sageliness and "the rectification of names." Although many scholars have sought close parallels between Sima Qian and the Greek historians—either criticizing Sima's work, as if Western models of historical interpretation could serve as a template by which to read it, or overemphasizing his "objectivity" to more closely align his text with these "respectable" Greek models—Hardy boldly contends that the Chinese historian never intended to produce a consistent, closed interpretation of the past. Instead, Hardy argues, the Shiji is a microcosm in which Sima Qian sought to represent the open-endedness and multivalence of the world around him, revealing and reinforcing the natural order. In mapping out this model of the world, Sima embodies the historian as sage rather than chronicler. Transcending mere accuracy in recording events, such a historian seeks not to present an opinion about what happened in the past, buttressed with rational arguments and pertinent evidence, but to penetrate the outer details of an incident and discover the moral truths it embodies. Thus intuiting the moral significance of events, the sage-historian delineates the Way and offers his readers a chance to become more in tune with the natural order. Illustrating his provocative theses about the Shiji by analyzing Sima Qian's handling of specific historical personages and episodes such as the First Emperor of the Qin, the hereditary house of Confucius, and the conflicts that ended with the founding of the Han dynasty, Hardy both extends and challenges existing interpretations of this crucial yet understudied text and sheds light on its puzzles and incongruities.

The First Emperor

The First Emperor PDF Author: Sima Qian
Publisher: Oxford University Press
ISBN: 0199574391
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 208

Book Description
Reprint. Originally published: 2007. Reissued 2009.

Selections from Records of the Historian

Selections from Records of the Historian PDF Author: 司马迁 (汉)
Publisher:
ISBN: 9787119046808
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 0

Book Description
"The short-lived Qin dynasty unified China in 2.21 B.C. and created an imperial legacy that lasted until 1911. The extraordinary story of the First Emperor, founder of the dynasty, is told in the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Grand Historiographer and the most famous Chinese historian. He describes the Emperor's birth and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as the political and often brutal events that led to the founding of the dynasty and its aftermath. Sima Qian recounts the building of the Great Wall, the 'burning of the books', and the construction of the First Emperor's magnificent tomb, a tomb now world famous since the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974. Sima Qian's love of anecdote ensures that his history is never dull, and Raymond Dawson's fluent translation captures his lively and vivid style. Chronicling recent archaeological developments and questioning Sima Qian's biases, K.E. Brashier's preface highlights the importance of the Grand Historiographer's account and Dawson's translation in the twenty-first century."--Jacket.

Historical Records

Historical Records PDF Author: Qian Sima
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192831156
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 176

Book Description
The Historical Records or Shiji is a vast history of the Chinese world from its beginnings up to the late second century BC. Its author, the Grand Historiographer Sima Qian (c. 145-86 BC), is the most famous Chinese historian and a great writer whose work has powerfully influenced Chinese and other Far Eastern literatures. The Historical Records is an immense and complex work. This translation concentrates on the vital but short-lived Qin dynasty, which unified China in 221 BC and created the vast empire that lasted until 1911. The introduction is aimed at bringing the history to a general audience, offering a lucid examination of Sima Qian in the tradition of history writing and placing the Qin dynasty in its wider historical context. This accessible new translation by one of the foremost scholars of Classical Chinese is supplemented by an index, map, and clear notes.

史记选

史记选 PDF Author: 司马迁
Publisher:
ISBN: 9787119026916
Category : China
Languages : en
Pages : 510

Book Description


The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian’s Legacy

The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian’s Legacy PDF Author: Stephen Durrant
Publisher: University of Washington Press
ISBN: 0295806389
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 193

Book Description
Sima Qian (first century BCE), the author of Record of the Historian (Shiji), is China’s earliest and best-known historian, and his “Letter to Ren An” is the most famous letter in Chinese history. In the letter, Sima Qian explains his decision to finish his life’s work, the first comprehensive history of China, instead of honorably committing suicide following his castration for “deceiving the emperor.” In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, some scholars have queried the authenticity of the letter. Is it a genuine piece of writing by Sima Qian or an early work of literary impersonation? The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian’s Legacy provides a full translation of the letter and uses different methods to explore issues in textual history. It also shows how ideas about friendship, loyalty, factionalism, and authorship encoded in the letter have far-reaching implications for the study of China.

Poems of a Mountain Home

Poems of a Mountain Home PDF Author: Saigyō
Publisher: Columbia University Press
ISBN: 9780231074933
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 254

Book Description
Saigyo (1118-1190) is one of the most well-known and influential of the traditional Japanese poets. He not only helped give new vitality and direction to the old conventions of court poetry, but created works that, because of their depth of feeling, continue to attract readers to the present day.

Ssu Ma Chien Grand Historian of China

Ssu Ma Chien Grand Historian of China PDF Author: Burton Watson
Publisher: Franklin Classics Trade Press
ISBN: 9780353294912
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 288

Book Description
This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Historical Records 史记

Historical Records 史记 PDF Author: Sima Qian
Publisher: DeepLogic
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 1203

Book Description
史记 "Historical Records" was written by Sima Qian, the Western Han Dynasty historian. The biographical history book is the first biographical general history in China, documented on to the ancient legend of the Yellow Emperor era, down to the Han Dynasty between the beginning four years, a total of 3,000 years of history. In 104 B.C., Sima Qian began the creation of a history book called " Tai Shi Gong Shu " which was later called “史记”, or "Historical Records". It took 14 years before and after to complete. The "Historical Records" book includes twelve Origins Volumes recording the emperor's political achievements (“十二本纪”), thirty Family Volumes remembering the vassal state and dynasty princes (“三十世家”), honors and dying, Seventy Fame Verses remembering the deeds of important people (“七十列传”),ten Tables (chronology of major events, “十表”), eight Books remembering various rules and regulations, ritual, music, temperament, calendar, astronomy, meditation, water conservancy, financial use (“八书”), a total of 130 articles, 520 thousand words. The book is translation of full text of Historical Records, covering all contents aforementioned.