Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Creation of the Biographical Style of Records of the Historian and Its Historical Significance

Wang HaoDepartment of History, SOAS, University of London, Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

The Shiji史記（Records of the historian）written by Sima Qian司馬遷is the first of the so-called “official histories”. Professor Liang Qichao梁啟超 once said, "Before Sima Qian, there was no such thing as historiography." This view is debatable, but it is a good indication of the status of the Shiji. In particular, Sima Qian changed the "chronological" compilation method of the pre-Qin先秦 period and adopted the " biographical style", which was followed by the "official history". However, there is still no definite conclusion as to whether the style of the Shiji was first created by Sima Qian or was inherited from his predecessors. In view of this, based on the previous studies, this paper intends to explore the creation of the style of Shiji and discuss Sima Qian's view of history, his historical knowledge, and the historical significance of Shiji on the basis of "the way of heaven" and "human affairs”.

Keywords: biographical style; records of the historian; historical significance
Published: February 28, 2023
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2/20220288
Volume: CHR Vol.2
pp. 1-11
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