The Shih chi or Records of the Grand Historian. History of the Chinese people from the time of the legendary Yellow Emperor to the beginning of the Han dynasty. The prototype for all of China's later dynastic histories.

During the Chou there were numerous chronicles and works of history compiled by the feudal states and the various schools of philosophy. But until the Han, when the Chinese for the first time acquired a sense of national and cultural unity, no attempt was ever made to produce a comprehensive history of the entire past of the nation. The Shih chi or Records of the Historian was begun by Ssu-ma T'an (d. 110 B.C.), Grand Historian under Emperor Wu, and carried on and brought to completion by his son, Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145?-90? B.C.), who succeded his father in the position of Grand Historian. Comprising 130 chapters, it covers the history of the Chinese people from the Yellow Emperor to the time of the historians.

Ssu-ma Ch'ien divided his material into five sections: Basic Annals, Chronological Tables, Treatises, Hereditary Houses, and Memoirs. This arrangement, with various modifications, has been followed by almost all later official historians. In later histories the section called Basic Annals might better be referred to as Imperial Annals, since it deals only with the acts of the officially reigning emperors. Ssu-ma Ch'ien, however, did not so confine himself, but included here the account of Hsiang Yü who, though not officially emperor, in actuality ruled the country. The Chronological Tables need little explanation, being tables of dates for important events. The Treatises, one of the most valuable sections of the work, are essays devoted to the history and description of important subjects. Below are listed the eight Treatises of the Shih chi together with those of the Han shu which were based upon Shih chi material.

Shih chi Treatises

Rites
Music
The Pitch-pipes
The Calendar
Astronomy
Sacrifices of Feng and Shan
The Yellow River and Canals
Balance of Commerce (Economics)
Land Drainage
Literature

Han shu Treatises

The Calendar
Rites and Music
Punishments and Laws
(Economics)
Food and Money
State Sacrifices
Astronomy
Five Agents (Portents)
Geography

The Hereditary Houses, being largely accounts of feudal families, were not usually included in histories dealing with later periods. The chapters of the Memoirs are generally devoted to the lives of famous men ­ military leaders, politicians, philosophers, etc. Some chapters deal with particular groups such as famous assassins, upright officials, tyrannical officials, wandering knights, imperial favorites, merchants, etc. The treastise on commerce and economics is exceptionally rare for the ancient world, east or west. Others treat non-Chinese lands and peoples such as Korea, southeast China, Ferghana, etc. The concluding chapter is the biography of the historians themselves.