The definitive translation of a masterpiece in ancient Chinese historiography In the early eighth century, frustrated with the authorities but still hoping to gain immortality through his future oeuvre, the Tang court historian Liu Zhiji set out to write Shitong, in which he would rigorously explore the tradition of historical writing in China. Liu scrutinized hundreds of texts from antiquity to the early Tang dynasty (618–907) and evaluated their authors according to what he deemed the three essential qualities for historians: talent, knowledge, and insight. Shitong is now generally considered the greatest work of traditional Chinese historiography. It preserves precious information on a host of lost ancient and medieval titles while advancing a critical view on history writing. This first translation of the work into a Western language provides textual criticism and annotation for the historical figures, events, and allusions that are crucial to appreciating the work, making it a must-read for students of historiography East and West.

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Yes, you can access A Thorough Exploration in Historiography / Shitong by Liu Zhiji, Victor Cunrui Xiong, Michael Nylan, Andrew Plaks, Victor Cunrui Xiong,Michael Nylan,Andrew Plaks in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Literature & Chinese History. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.