Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China
First Edition ©2010 Thomas R. Martin Formats: E-book, Print
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Authors
-
Thomas R. Martin
Thomas R. Martin (PhD., Harvard University) is Jeremiah O’Connor Professor in Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. He is the author of several books including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, and most recently Pericles: A Biography in Context. He was one of the originators of the Perseus Digital Library (www.perseus.tufts.edu).
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
List of Illustrations
PART ONE. INTRODUCTION: Inventing History Writing in
Greece and China
The Life of Herodotus (ca. 484-ca. 414 BCE)
Herodotus’ Historical Work, The Histories
Greek History Writing Before Herodotus
The Form and Content of Herodotus’ Historical Work
Length and Complexity of the Narrative
Objectivity of Evidence and Subjectivity of Interpretation
The Form and Content of Herodotus’ Historical Work
Length and Complexity of the Narrative
Objectivity of Evidence and Subjectivity of Interpretation
The Life of Sima Qian (ca. 145-ca. 86 BCE)
Sima Qian’s Historical Work, The Records of the Historian
Chinese History Writing Before Sima Qian
The Form and Content of Sima Qian’s Historical Work
The Form and Content of Sima Qian’s Historical Work
Five-Part Structure of the Narrative
Moral Judgments
Conclusions: Comparing Why Herodotus and Sima Qian
Wrote History
PART TWO. THE DOCUMENTS
Translated selections from Herodotus, The Histories
1. How Asia and Europe Became Enemies: The Story of
Croesus (sixth century BCE)
2. How Others Live: The Customs of the Persians, the
Egyptians, the Massagetai, and the Scythians
3. Roping Asia to Europe: The Persian Invasion of
Greece (480 BCE)
4. Death Before Dishonor: The Battle of Thermopylae and the
Story of the 300 (480 BCE)
5. Retribution and Justice: Artemisia’s Advice and Hermotimus’
Revenge (480 BCE)
6. Ending Stories: Cruelty and Revenge on Both Sides
(479 BCE)
Translated selections from Sima Qian, Shiji
7. Castration as the Price of Writing History: Sima Qian’s
Autobiographical Letter to Ren An
8. The First Emperor of China (259-210 BCE): The Basic Annals
of the Qin Dynasty
9. Born from a Dragon: The Origins of Gaozu, founder of the
Former Han Dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE)
10. A Woman in Power: Empress Lü (ruled 188-180 BCE)
11. Heroic Hermits: The Biographies of Bo Yi and Shu Qi
12. Arts of War: The Biographies of Sun Zi Wu and Sun Bin
13. Imperial Assassin: The Biography of Jing Ke
14. How Others Live: The Customs of the Xiongnu
Appendixes
Chronologies of the Lives and Works of Herodotus and
Chronologies of the Lives and Works of Herodotus and
Sima Qian
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
Product Updates
Authors
-
Thomas R. Martin
Thomas R. Martin (PhD., Harvard University) is Jeremiah O’Connor Professor in Classics at the College of the Holy Cross. He is the author of several books including Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome, and most recently Pericles: A Biography in Context. He was one of the originators of the Perseus Digital Library (www.perseus.tufts.edu).
Table of Contents
Foreword
Preface
List of Illustrations
PART ONE. INTRODUCTION: Inventing History Writing in
Greece and China
The Life of Herodotus (ca. 484-ca. 414 BCE)
Herodotus’ Historical Work, The Histories
Greek History Writing Before Herodotus
The Form and Content of Herodotus’ Historical Work
Length and Complexity of the Narrative
Objectivity of Evidence and Subjectivity of Interpretation
The Form and Content of Herodotus’ Historical Work
Length and Complexity of the Narrative
Objectivity of Evidence and Subjectivity of Interpretation
The Life of Sima Qian (ca. 145-ca. 86 BCE)
Sima Qian’s Historical Work, The Records of the Historian
Chinese History Writing Before Sima Qian
The Form and Content of Sima Qian’s Historical Work
The Form and Content of Sima Qian’s Historical Work
Five-Part Structure of the Narrative
Moral Judgments
Conclusions: Comparing Why Herodotus and Sima Qian
Wrote History
PART TWO. THE DOCUMENTS
Translated selections from Herodotus, The Histories
1. How Asia and Europe Became Enemies: The Story of
Croesus (sixth century BCE)
2. How Others Live: The Customs of the Persians, the
Egyptians, the Massagetai, and the Scythians
3. Roping Asia to Europe: The Persian Invasion of
Greece (480 BCE)
4. Death Before Dishonor: The Battle of Thermopylae and the
Story of the 300 (480 BCE)
5. Retribution and Justice: Artemisia’s Advice and Hermotimus’
Revenge (480 BCE)
6. Ending Stories: Cruelty and Revenge on Both Sides
(479 BCE)
Translated selections from Sima Qian, Shiji
7. Castration as the Price of Writing History: Sima Qian’s
Autobiographical Letter to Ren An
8. The First Emperor of China (259-210 BCE): The Basic Annals
of the Qin Dynasty
9. Born from a Dragon: The Origins of Gaozu, founder of the
Former Han Dynasty (206 BCE-9 CE)
10. A Woman in Power: Empress Lü (ruled 188-180 BCE)
11. Heroic Hermits: The Biographies of Bo Yi and Shu Qi
12. Arts of War: The Biographies of Sun Zi Wu and Sun Bin
13. Imperial Assassin: The Biography of Jing Ke
14. How Others Live: The Customs of the Xiongnu
Appendixes
Chronologies of the Lives and Works of Herodotus and
Chronologies of the Lives and Works of Herodotus and
Sima Qian
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Questions for Consideration
Selected Bibliography
Index
Product Updates
In this accessible volume, Thomas R. Martin compares the writings of Herodotus in ancient Greece with those of Sima Qian in ancient China to demonstrate the hallmarks of early history writing. While these authors lived in different centuries and were not aware of each other’s works, Martin shows the similar struggles that each grappled with in preparing their historical accounts and how their efforts helped invent modern notions of history writing and the job of the historian. The introduction’s cross-cultural analysis includes a biography of each author, illustrating the setting and times in which he worked, as well as a discussion of how each man introduced interpretation and moral judgment into his writing. The accompanying documents include excerpts from Herodotus’ The Histories and Sima Qian’s Shiji, which illustrate their approach to history writing and their understanding of their own cultures. Also featured are maps and illustrations, a chronology, questions to consider, and a selected bibliography.