SSU-MA CH'IEN

born c. 145 BC, , Lung-men, China died c. 85 BC Pinyin Sima Qian astronomer, calendar expert, and the first great Chinese historian, noted for his authorship of the Shih-chi (Historical Records), which is considered to be the most important history of China down to the end of the 2nd century. Additional reading The standard study of Ssu-ma Ch'ien is the extremely perceptive work of Burton Watson, Ssu-ma Ch'ien, Grand Historian of China (1958), which gives a full critical analysis of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's works and also translates all the relevant biographical material from early sources. douard Chavannes, Les Mmoires historiques de Sema-Ts'ien, 5 vol. (18951905), translated the first 47 chapters of the Shih-chi with copious scholarly annotation. A sixth volume (1969) includes further translations by Chavannes and a bibliography of Western-language translations. Much of the remaining portion is translated in Burton Watson, The Records of the Grand Historian of China, 2 vol. (1961), which deals entirely with sections on the Han period.