English Translations of

Records of the Grand Historian

By Sima Qian, Translated by me

(Draft)

In China there is a very long history of historiography, from the Spring and Autumn annals in the 5th century BC to the present day.

This historiography includes the 24 histories, the official dynastic histories covering China from 3000 BC to the Ming dynasty (there is yet to be an official history of the Qing dynasty, however they do exist unofficially). There are however, very few English translations available online, and those that are, are incomplete in some way or another.

History

Sima Tan was a member of the court of Han in the 2nd century BC, who drafted plans for quite an ambitious project that he never managed to complete by his death in 110 BC. However the work was continued by his son, Sima Qian, who's name ends up being credited as the author of the entire text. It is uncertain the actual completion of the text, but it was completed by 91 BC, and he died in 86 BC.

Translation

I'm doing this for fun and have this site to share with friends, I don't expect this to be 100% accurate, maybe 80. For a proper translation by an expert, I direct you to the work of William H. Nienhauser Jr.

Translation

Annals

Chapter 3: Annals of Yin (Shang)

Chapter 4: Annals of Zhou

Chapter 5: Annals of Qin

Chapter 6: Annals of Qin Shi Huang

Chapter 7: Annals of Xiang Yu

Chapter 8: Annals of Gaozu

Chapter 9: Annals of Empress Dowager Lü

Chapter 10: Annals of the Xiaowen Emperor

Chapter 11: Annals of the Xiaojing Emperor

Chapter 12: Annals of the Xiaowu Emperor

Last Updated: 6th of February 2023