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.

This volume of The Grand Scribe's Records includes the second segment of Han-dynasty memoirs and deals primarily with men who lived and served under Emperor Wu (r. 141-87 B.C.). The lead chapter presents a parallel biography of two ancient physicians, Pien Ch'ueh and Ts'ang Kung, providing a transition between the founding of the Han dynasty and its heyday under Wu. The account of Liu P'i is framed by the great rebellion he led in 154 B.C. and the remaining chapters trace the careers of court favorites, depict the tribulations of an ill-fated general, discuss the Han's greatest enemy, the Hsiung-nu, and provide accounts of two great generals who fought them. The final memoir is structured around memorials by two strategists who attempted to lead Emperor Wu into negotiations with the Hsiung-nu, a policy that Ssu-ma Ch'ien himself supported.

This second volume of the ongoing annotated translation of Ssu-ma Ch'ien's Shih chi (The Grand Scribe's Records), widely acknowledged as the most important early Chinese history, contains the "basic annals" of five early Han-dynasty emperors. The annals trace the first century of Han rule (206 b.c. to ca. 100 b.c.) in a year-by-year account that focuses on imperial activities. In these later annals, Ssu-ma Ch'ien revitalized the style he had employed in accounts of previous rulers in the opening chapters of The Grand Scribe's Records. When this translation is completed, it will make available in English all 130 chapters of the Shih chi. Volumes 1 and 7 were published by Indiana University Press in 1994.

In The Grand Scribe's Records: Volume X, readers can follow Ssu-ma Qian's depiction of the later years of the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han (r. 140-87 BC). The volume begins with four chapters describing the Han's attempts to subdue states north, east, south and west of the empire. The subsequent long biography of Ssu-ma Hsiang-ju (179-117) presents one of the era's major literary figures who came to oppose the Emperor's expensive military campaigns against these states. It is followed by an equally extended portrayal of Liu An (d. 122), King of Huai-nan, who was seen as an internal threat and forced to commit suicide. The final chapters recount narratives of the ideal officials (all predating the Han) and the Confucians the Emperor championed.

This volume is part of 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. Compiled by Ssu-ma Ch'ien (145-c. 86 B.C.), it draws upon most major early historical works and was the foremost model for style and genre in Chinese history and literature through the eleventh century A. D., and through the early twentieth century for some genres. Volume 7, The Memoirs of Pre_Han China, translates twenty-eight Lieh-chuan or "memoirs" which depict more than a hundred men and women: sages and scholars, recluses and rhetoricians, persuaders and politicians, commandants and cutthroats of the Ch'in and earlier dynasties. Although the memoirs also begin with what is now often considered myth—an account of the renowned recluses Po Yi and Shu Ch'i—the emphasis in these texts is on the fate of various states and power centers as seen through the biographies of key individuals from the seventh to the third centuries B. C.

The Tang Dynasty (618-907 CE) is regarded as the golden age of classical Chinese literature. Compiled by award-winner author William H. Nienhauser, Jr., and Michael E. Naparstek, this is the first English-language biographical dictionary on this critical era in Chinese literary culture. The Biographical Dictionary of Tang Dynasty Literati contains 140 entries, including major figures like Du Fu and Li Bo, as well as entries on lesser-studied figures including Buddhist, Daoist, and women writers. To provide a complete sense of these men and women, each piece contains an overview of the subject's life, supported by translations and close readings of their writing and concludes with a bibliography of original sources, critical editions, translations, and studies in multiple languages. Appended are a literary timeline of the Tang and a glossary of official titles making the Dictionary an indispensable resource for all interested in classical Chinese literature.

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."

The 16 chapters translated herein continue the biographies of individuals in pre-Han China presented in volume seven of The Grand Scribe's Records. The reader is introduced to the major supporters and rivals of the founders of the Han Dynasty: the generals, advisors, strategists, and ministers who helped to shape the foundations of the first sustained empire in Chinese history. Although these men were often of common stock, they influenced the development of many aspects of the Han culture, a culture which in turn served as a model for subsequent eras. Based on oral and written accounts as well as on administrative records, these biographies range stylistically from anecdotal tales to repetitious reports of achievements in battle. The failure of the first five Han emperors to trust the loyalty of their subordinates is a leitmotif in many of these chapters. But the individual motifs that echo other sections of the Grand Scribe's Records-unrecognized heroes, both loyal and disloyal retainers, broken friendships, and faithless lovers-also appear in these pages.

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.

This volume supplements Tang Tales, A Guided Reader (Volume 1; 2010) and presents twelve more Tang tales, going beyond the standard corpus of these narratives to include six stories translated into English for the first time. The rich annotation and translator's notes for these twelve tales provide insights into many aspects of Tang material culture and medieval thought, including Buddhism and Daoism.In addition to meticulously annotated translations, the book offers original texts (with some textual notes), and commentaries in the form of translator's notes, thereby joining the first volume of Tang tales as the only collections that introduce students to Tang tales while also challenging specialists interested in the field.

The book begins with a history of previous translations of Tang tales, surveying how Chinese scholarship has shaped the reception and rendition of these texts in the West. In that context, Tang Dynasty Tales offers the first annotated translations of six major tales (often called chuanqi, "transmitting the strange") which are interpreted specifically for students and scholars interested in medieval Chinese literature. Following the model of intertextual readings that Glen Dudbridge introduced in his The Tale of Li Wa (Oxford, 1983), the annotation points to resonances with classical texts, while setting the tales in the political world of their time; the "Translator's Notes" that follow each translation explain how these resonances and topical contexts expand the meaning of the text. Each translation is also supported by a short glossary of original terms from the tale and a bibliography guiding the reader to further studies. The meticulous scholarship of this book elevates it above all existing collections of these stories, and the inclusion of a history of the translation work in the west, intended for graduate students, researchers, and other translators, broadens the collections' appeal.

Andre Levy provides a "picture of Chinese literature of the past" that brilliantly illustrates the four great literary genres of China: the classics, prose, poetry, and the literature of entertainment. His discussion of approximately 120 vivid translations combines personal insights with innovative historical accounts in a genre-based approach that moves beyond the typical chronology of dynasties. Renowned scholar William H. Nienhauser, Jr., translated Levy s work from the French and returned to the original Chinese for the texts. This informative, engaging, and eminently readable introduction to the three millennia of traditional Chinese literature is highly recommended for students and general readers."