The Grand Scribe's Records, Volume VI, contains annotated translations of the "hereditary houses" for the Ch'in and Han dynasties. Such "houses" were an invention of Ssu-ma Ch'ien and in early periods treated the history of various states. Here, however, the subjects vary, often containing merely biographies of their main protagonist. The volume begins with an account of the rebel Ch'en She in chapter 48, whose "house" consisted of the other rebel leaders he spawned into action against the Ch'in dynasty, and ends in chapter 60 with the memorials concerning the reigns of the sons of Emperor Wu of the Han born to concubines, men whose reigns ended badly. Besides accounts of the kings from the royal Liu family, included are the stories of the maternal relatives, empresses, and imperial consorts, as well as the major statesmen and military leaders who guided the Han victory.

"An essential source for the study of events in early China, a guide to the moral philosophy of the gentlemen of Han, and a splendid work of literature which may be read for the pleasure of its style and the power of its narrative. . . . This work makes Shi ji and its scholarship accessible to any reader of English, and it is a model for any work in this field and style." -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "Through such work as this, the scholarly and literary community of the West will learn more of the splendor and romance of early China, and may better appreciate the lessons in humanity presented by its great historian." -Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies "Nienhauser's new translation is scrupulously scholarly . . . the design of this series is nearly flawless . . . the translation itself is very precise." -Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews This project will result in the first complete translation (in nine volumes) of the Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), one of the most important narratives in traditional China. Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-ca. 86 BC), who compiled the work, is known as the Herodotus of China.

With Part I of the two-part fifth volume of Ssu-ma Ch ien s Shi chi (The Grand Scribe s Records), we enter the world of the shih chia or "hereditary houses." These ten chapters trace the history of China s first states, from their establishment in the 11th century B.C. until their incorporation in the first empire under the Ch in in 221 B.C. Combining myth, anecdote, chronicle, and biography based on early written and oral sources, many no longer extant, the narratives make for compelling reading, as dramatic and readable as any in this grand history."