This volume is a translated and edited collection of studies on the Shi ji (Records of the Historian) by Sima Qian, authored by the prestigious Japanese sinologist Miyazaki Ichisada. Providing a pathbreaking analysis of the structure and formation of the Shi ji, it serves not only as an excellent introduction to Sima Qian’s masterpiece but also offers historiographical and methodological insights that will stimulate further debate and research.
Miyazaki presents fascinating evidence of the role played by narrative fiction and drama in Sima Qian’s recreation of the entire length and breadth of Chinese history right up to his own time. Sima Qian created the mold for writing comprehensive histories in China, making an understanding of his text utterly essential for grasping the subsequent tradition of historical writing. This volume offers readers valuable insights into how Sima Qian constructed his seminal work.

Miyazaki Ichisada (1901–1995) was a distinguished Japanese historian and a leading scholar of the Kyoto School. He was particularly renowned for developing Naitō Konan’s thesis on the periodization of Chinese history, positing the beginning of modernity in the transition for late Tang dynasty through Northern Song. His contributions to sinology were highly recognized with the Japan Academy Prize (1958), the “Prix Stanislas Julien” (1978), and the medal of “Persons of Cultural Merit” in Japan (1989). His representative works include Tōyōteki kinsei (East Asian modernity, 1950), Kakyo: Chūgoku no shiken jigoku (The civil examination system: China’s examination hell, 1976), and Kyūhin kanjinhō no kenkyū (Studies of the regulations of the Nine Ranks bureaucratic system, 1977).
Joshua A. Fogel was Canada Research Chair and Professor of modern Chinese history at York University. Trained initially in Chinese history, he developed an abiding interest in Japanese history and has published many important works on Japanese historiography and Sino-Japanese relations. His first major study was Politics and Sinology: The Case of Naitō Konan (1866–1934) (Harvard, 1984). His recently translated work, How the “Red Star” Rose: Edgar Snow and Early Images of Mao Zedong, was published by The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press in 2022.