The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume I: The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China: 1

by Bruce Knickerbocker (Translator), Ssu-ma Ch'ien (Author), Scott Cook (Translator), Hongyu Huang (Translator), Wang Jing (Translator), Weiguo Cao (Translator), William Nienhauser Jr. (Translator), Zhang Zhenjun (Translator), Zhao Hua (Translator), Zhi Chen (Translator)

New
Hardcover
2018
$65.66

An essential source for the study of events in early China, a guide to the moral philosophy of the gentlemen of Han, and a splendid work of literature which may be read for the pleasure of its style and the power of its narrative. . . . This work makes Shi ji and its scholarship accessible to any reader of English, and it is a model for any work in this field and style. -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Through such work as this, the scholarly and literary community of the West will learn more of the splendor and romance of early China, and may better appreciate the lessons in humanity presented by its great historian. -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies
Nienhauser's new translation is scrupulously scholarly . . . the design of this series is nearly flawless . . . the translation itself is very precise. -Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews
This project will result in the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-ca. 86 BC), who compiled the work, is known as the Herodotus of China.

Synopsis

An essential source for the study of events in early China, a guide to the moral philosophy of the gentlemen of Han, and a splendid work of literature which may be read for the pleasure of its style and the power of its narrative. . . . This work makes Shi ji and its scholarship accessible to any reader of English, and it is a model for any work in this field and style. -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

Through such work as this, the scholarly and literary community of the West will learn more of the splendor and romance of early China, and may better appreciate the lessons in humanity presented by its great historian. -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies

Nienhauser's new translation is scrupulously scholarly . . . the design of this series is nearly flawless . . . the translation itself is very precise. -Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews

This project will result in the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-ca. 86 BC), who compiled the work, is known as the Herodotus of China.

$65.66

Quantity

20+ in stock

More Information

Format: Hardcover
Pages: 478
Edition: New
Publisher: Indiana University Press
Published: 01 Oct 2018
ISBN 10: 0253038553
ISBN 13: 9780253038555

Media Reviews

[T]he Grand Scribe's Records volume 8 is a remarkable achievement and an interesting experiment in combining something resembling a traditional Chinese commentarial style with a Western scholarly context. . . . And, as with previous volumes, the intrepid beginner or the careful specialist will find volume 8 to be ahelpful aid to research on the Shiji. * China Review International *
These volumes are most welcome. . . . The English translation has been done meticulously, with full scholarly apparatus. . . . These volumes are essential library additions. * Choice *

Author Bio

Ssu-ma Ch'ien was a major official in the Western Han dynasty (145-ca. 86 BC) and overcame tragedy to complete these fundamental volumes.

William H. Nienhauser, Jr., is Professor of Chinese Language and literature at the University of Wisconsin, Madison. In 1979 he helped found the journal Chinese Literature, Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR). He was the Editor-in-Chief and Compiler of The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature, a monumental and indispensable reference work published in 1986. He has authored numerous influential scholarly papers and articles.

Tsia-fa Cheng, Professor of Chinese at the University of Wisconsin and a Research Fellow at Academia Sinica, is a graduate of National Taiwan University and the University of Wisconsin and a noted specialist in Chinese historical linguistics.