The First Emperor: Selections From The Historical Records

Author: Sima Qian

Stock information

General Fields

  • : $24.00 AUD
  • : 9780199574391
  • : Oxford University Press
  • : Oxford University Press
  • :
  • : 0.157
  • : October 2009
  • : 196mm X 129mm
  • : United Kingdom
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • : books

Special Fields

  • :
  • :
  • : Sima Qian
  • : Paperback
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • : 931.04092
  • :
  • :
  • : 208
  • : Asian / Middle Eastern history: BCE to c 500 CE; Essays, journals, letters & other prose works
  • : 1 map
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
  • :
Barcode 9780199574391
9780199574391

Description

'The following year Qin unified all under Heaven and the title of August Emperor was immediately adopted.' The short-lived Qin dynasty unified China in 221 BC and created an imperial legacy that lasted until 1911. The extraordinary story of the First Emperor, founder of the dynasty, is told in the Historical Records of Sima Qian, the Grand Historiographer and the most famous Chinese historian. He describes the Emperor's birth and the assassination attempt on his life, as well as the political and often brutal events that led to the founding of the dynasty and its aftermath. Sima Qian recounts the building of the Great Wall, the 'burning of the books', and the construction of the First Emperor's magnificent tomb, a tomb now world famous since the discovery of the terracotta warriors in 1974. Sima Qian's love of anecdote ensures that his history is never dull, and Raymond Dawson's fluent translation captures his lively and vivid style. Chronicling recent archaeological developments and questioning Sima Qian's biases, K. E. Brashier's preface highlights the importance of the Grand Historiographer's account and Dawson's translation in the twenty-first century.

Reviews

...vivid, near contemporary account... CH, The Independent Its vast scope can guide you to places they never reach - such as third-century BC China, with imperial historian Sima Qian, Boyd Tonkin, The Independent

Table of contents

The Birth of the First Emperor; An Assassination Attempt; The Biography of the Chief Minister of Qin; The Builder of the Great Wall; The Annals of Qin; The Treatises; The Story of the Rebel Xiang Yu; The Story of the Rebel Chen Sheng