Sima Qian

Also known as Zi Zizhang · Taishi Gong · Si Ma Zi Zhang

Sima Qian, courtesy name Zichang, came from Xiayang (modern Hancheng, Shaanxi) and was the son of the court historian Sima Tan. At twenty he travelled through the Yangzi and Huai regions, and in 108 BC he succeeded his father as Grand Historian, joining the team that drew up the Taichu calendar in 104 BC. When the general Li Ling surrendered to the Xiongnu in 99 BC, Sima Qian spoke up for him before Emperor Wu and was jailed and castrated; after his release he served as Palace Secretary. Carrying out his father's plan, he completed the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji), 130 chapters reaching from the Yellow Emperor to his own reign. The year of his death is not recorded. Ban Gu's History of the Han judged its writing direct and its facts sound, and Lu Xun called it the swan song of the historians.