Sima Qian was born in the prosperous Western Han Dynasty. His grandfather Sima Xi was one of the five great men in the early Han Dynasty, and his father Sima Tan was also a famous historian. Sima Qian studied calligraphy under the guidance of his father since childhood. At the age of ten, he was already familiar with ancient books such as Shangshu, Zuozhuan and Guoyu.

When Sima Tan went to Chang 'an as a Taishiling, Sima Qian followed his father to study in Beijing and studied under Dong Zhongshu, a philosopher of the Western Han Dynasty. At the age of weak crown, Sima Qian, who had learned a lot, was ordered by his father to travel around the world and collect ancient things, which laid the foundation for him to write historical records in the future.

Historical Records did not appear immediately after its publication. Many years later, Yang Yun, the grandson of Sima Qian, was named Pingtong Hou. When the time was ripe, he wrote to Xuan Di, the Emperor Gaozu, and presented Historical Records, which made the world * * * appreciate China's first biographical history of "studying the relationship between man and nature, connecting the changes of ancient and modern times, and becoming a family statement".

Extended data

Sima Qian only wrote historical records all his life, and his father, Sima Tan, was Taishiling (equivalent to the post of director of the National Library now). Sima Qian lived a poor life in his hometown in his early years. In the sixth year of Jianyuan, after Dou Taihou's death, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty stopped at Huang Lao's words, and was punished by hundreds of people, thus re-launching the respect for Confucianism. This is the famous "ousting a hundred schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone".

In the second year of Yuan Shuo in Han Dynasty, Sima Qian moved from xia yang to Chang 'an, and then moved to Beijing with his family, learning Shangshu from Kong Anguo and Chunqiu from Dong Zhongshu. Then he inherited his father's career and became a Taishiling.