The Letter to Ren an and Sima Qian's Legacy

by Michael Nylan, Stephen Durrant, Wai-Yee Li, et al.

Book Overview

Sima Qian (first century BCE), the author of Record of the Historian (Shiji), is China's earliest and best-known historian, and his "Letter to Ren An" is the most famous letter in Chinese history. In the letter, Sima Qian explains his decision to finish his life's work, the first comprehensive history of China, instead of honorably committing suicide following his castration for "deceiving the emperor." In the twentieth and twenty-first centuries,...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0295743646
• ISBN13: 9780295743646
• Release Date: February 2018
• Publisher: University of Washington Press
• Length: 190 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.6" x 8.8"
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher