The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume V.II

Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-ca. 86 B.C.) was a major official in the Western Han dynasty. China's greatest historian, he overcame tragedy to complete this work, compiling the history of his culture from its beginnings through the end of the second century B.C.

William H. Nienhauser, Jr. is Halls-Bascom Professor of Classical Chinese Literature at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. His books include The Indiana Companion to Traditional Chinese Literature and (as translator) Chinese Literature, Ancient and Classical by André Levy. He was a founding editor of the journal Chinese Literature, Essays, Articles, Reviews (CLEAR).