History

Title

The original title of the work, as given by the author in the postface, is Taishigongshu (太史公书), or Records of the Grand Historian. However, the book was also known by a variety of other titles, including Taishigongji (太史公记) and Taishigongzhuan (太史公传) in ancient times. Eventually, Shiji (史记), or Historical Records became the most commonly used title in Chinese. This title was originally used to refer to any general historical text, although after the Three Kingdoms period, Shiji gradually began to be used exclusively to refer to Sima Qian's work. In English, the title is variously translated as Records of the Grand Historian, Historical Records, The Grand Scribe's Records, or Records of the Historian, although other titles are sometimes used.

Textual history

The work that became the Shiji was begun by Sima Tan, who was Grand Historian ( 太史, also translated "Grand Scribe") of the Han dynasty court during the late 2nd Sima Tan drafted plans for the ambitious work and left behind some fragments and notes that may have been incorporated into the final text. After Sima's death in the Shiji was continued and completed by his son and successor Sima Qian, who is generally credited as the work's author. The exact date of the 's completion is unknown. It is certain that Sima Qian completed it before his death in approximately with one copy residing in the imperial capital of Chang'an (present-day Xi'an) and the other copy probably being stored in Sima's home.

Little is known about the Shijis early reception and circulation. Several 1st-century BC authors, such as the scholar Chu Shaosun (褚少孙; 32–7 BC), added interpolations to it. Ten of the Shiji original 130 chapters were lost in the Eastern Han period (AD 25–220) and seem to have been reconstructed later.

The first commentaries to the Shiji date from the Northern and Southern dynasties (420589) and the early Tang dynasty (618907). Most historical editions of the Shiji included the commentaries of Pei Yin (裴駰, 5th century), Sima Zhen (early 8th century), and Zhang Shoujie (张守节, early 8th century). The primary modern edition of the Shiji is the ten-volume Zhonghua Book Company edition published in 1959 (revised in 1982), which is based on an edition created in the early 1930s by the Chinese historian Gu Jiegang.

Manuscripts

Only two fragments of pre-Tang dynasty Shiji manuscripts have survived to the present, and both are held by the Ishiyama-dera temple in Ōtsu, Japan. Portions of nine Tang dynasty manuscripts survive: three fragments discovered among the Dunhuang manuscripts in the early 20th century, and six manuscripts preserved in Japanese temples and museums such as the Kōzan-ji temple in Kyoto and the Tōyō Bunko museum in Tokyo. Several woodblock printed editions of the Shiji survive, the earliest of which date to the Song dynasty (9601279).

Contents

The Shiji is around 526,500 Chinese characters in length, making it four times longer than Thucydides' History of the Peloponnesian War and longer than the Old Testament. Sima Qian conceived and composed his work in self-contained units, with a good deal of repetition between them. His manuscript was written on bamboo slips, with 24 to 36 characters each, and assembled into bundles of around 30 slips. Even after the manuscript was allowed to circulate or be copied, the work would have circulated as bundles of bamboo slips or small groups. Endymion Wilkinson calculates that there were probably between 466 and 700 bundles, whose total weight would have been , which would have been difficult to access and hard to transport. Later copies on silk would have been much lighter, but also expensive and rare. Until the work was transferred to paper many centuries later, circulation would have been difficult and piecemeal, which accounts for many of the errors and variations in the text.

Sima Qian organized the chapters of the Shiji into five categories, which each comprise a section of the book.

"Basic Annals"

The "Basic Annals" (běnjì 本纪) make up the first 12 chapters of the Shiji, and are largely similar to records from the ancient Chinese court chronicle tradition, such as the Spring and Autumn Annals. The first five cover either periods, such as the Five Emperors, or individual dynasties, such as the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties. The last seven cover individual rulers, starting with the First Emperor of Qin and progressing through the first emperors of the Han dynasty. In this section, Sima chose to also include de facto rulers of China, such as Xiang Yu and Empress Dowager Lü, while excluding rulers who never held any real power, such as Emperor Yi of Chu and Emperor Hui of Han.

"Tables"

Chapters 13 to 22 are the "Tables" (biǎo 表), which comprise one genealogical table and nine other chronological tables. They show reigns, important events, and royal lineages in table form, which Sima Qian stated that he did because "the chronologies are difficult to follow when different genealogical lines exist at the same time." Each table except the last one begins with an introduction to the period it covers.

"Treatises"

The "Treatises" (shū 书, sometimes called "Monographs") is the shortest of the five Shiji sections, and contains eight chapters (23–30) on the historical evolution of ritual, music, pitch pipes, the calendar, astronomy, sacrifices, rivers and waterways, and financial administration.

"Hereditary Houses"

The "Hereditary Houses" (shìjiā 世家) is the second largest of the five Shiji sections, and spans chapters 31 to 60. Within this section, the earlier chapters are very different in nature than the later chapters. Many of the earlier chapters are chronicle-like accounts of the leading states of the Zhou dynasty, such as the states of Qin and Lu, and two of the chapters go back as far as the Shang dynasty. The later chapters, which cover the Han dynasty, contain biographies.

"Ranked Biographies"

The "Ranked Biographies" (lièzhuàn 列传, usually shortened to "Biographies") is the largest of the five Shiji sections, covering chapters 61 to 130, and accounts for 42% of the entire work. The 69 "Biographies" chapters mostly contain biographical profiles of about 130 outstanding ancient Chinese men, ranging from the moral paragon Boyi from the end of the Shang dynasty to some of Sima Qian's near contemporaries. About 40 of the chapters are dedicated to one particular man, but some are about two related figures, while others cover small groups of figures who shared certain roles, such as assassins, caring officials, or Confucian scholars. Unlike most modern biographies, the accounts in the "Biographies" give profiles using anecdotes to depict morals and character, with "unforgettably lively impressions of people of many different kinds and of the age in which they lived." The "Biographies" have been popular throughout Chinese history, and have provided a large number of set phrases still used in modern Chinese.

Style

Unlike subsequent official historical texts that adopted Confucian doctrine, proclaimed the divine rights of the emperors, and degraded any failed claimant to the throne, Sima Qian's more liberal and objective prose has been renowned and followed by poets and novelists. Most volumes of Liezhuan are vivid descriptions of events and persons. Sima Qian sought out stories from those who might have closer knowledge of certain historical events, using them as sources to balance the reliability and accuracy of historical records. For instance, the material on Jing Ke's attempt at assassinating the King of Qin incorporates an eye-witness account by Xia Wuju (夏无且), a physician to the king of Qin who happened to be attending the diplomatic ceremony for Jing Ke, and this account was passed on to Sima Qian by those who knew Xia.

It has been observed that the diplomatic Sima Qian has a way of accentuating the positive in his treatment of rulers in the Basic Annals, but slipping negative information into other chapters, and so his work must be read as a whole to obtain full information. For example, the information that Liu Bang (later Emperor Gaozu of Han), in a desperate attempt to escape in a chase from Xiang Yu's men, pushed his own children off his carriage to lighten it, is not given in the emperor's biography, but in the biography of Xiang Yu. He is also careful to balance the negative with the positive, for example, in the biography of Empress Dowager Lu which contains startling accounts of her cruelty, he points out at the end that, despite whatever her personal life may have been, her rule brought peace and prosperity to the country.

Source materials

Sima's family were hereditary historians to the Han emperor. Sima Qian's father Sima Tan served as Grand Historian, and Sima Qian succeeded to his position. Thus he had access to the early Han dynasty archives, edicts, and records. Sima Qian was a methodical, skeptical historian who had access to ancient books, written on bamboo and wooden slips, from before the time of the Han dynasty. Many of the sources he used did not survive. He not only used archives and imperial records, but also interviewed people and traveled around China to verify information. In his first chapter, "Annals of the Five Emperors", he writes,

The Grand Historian used The Annals of the Five Emperors (五帝系谍) and the Classic of History as source materials to make genealogies from the time of the Yellow Emperor until that of the Gonghe regency (841–828 BC). Sima Qian often cites his sources. For example, in the first chapter, "Annals of the Five Emperors", he writes, "I have read the Spring and Autumn Annals and the Guoyu." In his 13th chapter, "Genealogical Table of the Three Ages", Sima Qian writes, "I have read all the genealogies of the kings (dieji 谍记) that exist since the time of the Yellow Emperor." In his 14th chapter, "Yearly Chronicle of the Feudal Lords", he writes, "I have read all the royal annals (chunqiu li pudie 春秋历谱谍) up until the time of King Li of Zhou." In his 15th chapter, "Yearly Chronicle of the Six States", he writes, "I have read the Annals of Qin (qin ji 秦记), and they say that the Quanrong barbarian tribe defeated King You of Zhou 771 BC."

In the 19th chapter, he writes, "I have occasion to read over the records of enfeoffment and come to the case of Wu Qian, the marquis of Bian...." (The father of Marquis Bian, Wu Rui, was named prince (王 wáng) of Changsha for his loyalty to Gaozu.) In his chapter on the patriotic minister and poet Qu Yuan, Sima Qian writes, "I have read Yuan's works Li Sao, Tianwen ("Heaven Asking"), Zhaohun (summoning the soul), and Ai Ying (Lament for Ying)". In the 62nd chapter, "Biography of Guan and of Yan", he writes, "I have read Guan's Mu Min (牧民 - "Government of the People", a chapter in the Guanzi), Shan Gao ("The Mountains Are High"), Chengma (chariot and horses; a long section on war and economics), Qingzhong (Light and Heavy; i.e. "what is important"), and Jiufu (Nine Houses), as well as the Spring and Autumn Annals of Yanzi." In his 64th chapter, "Biography of Sima Rangju", the Grand Historian writes, "I have read Sima's Art of War." In the 121st chapter, "Biographies of Scholars", he writes, "I read the Imperial Decrees that encouraged education officials."

Sima Qian wrote of the problems with incomplete, fragmentary and contradictory sources. For example, he mentioned in the preface to chapter 15 that the chronicle records of the Zhou dynasty states kept in the royal archive were burnt by Qin Shi Huang because they contained criticisms and ridicule of the Qin state, and that the Qin annals were brief and incomplete. In the 13th chapter he mentioned that the chronologies and genealogies of different ancient texts "disagree and contradict each other throughout". In his 18th chapter, Sima Qian writes, "I have set down only what is certain, and in doubtful cases left a blank."

Reliability and accuracy

Scholars have questioned the historicity of legendary kings of the ancient periods given by Sima Qian. Sima Qian began the Shiji with an account of the five rulers of supreme virtue, the Five Emperors, who modern scholars, such as those from the Doubting Antiquity School, believe to be originally local deities of the peoples of ancient China. Sima Qian sifted out elements of the supernatural and fantastic which seemed to contradict their existence as actual human monarchs, and was therefore criticized for turning myths and folklore into sober history.

However, according to Joseph Needham, who wrote in 1954 on Sima Qian's accounts of the kings of the Shang dynasty (c. 1600 – c. 1050 BC):

While the king names in Sima Qian's history of the Shang dynasty are supported by inscriptions on the oracle bones, there is, as yet, no archaeological corroboration of Sima Qian's history of the Xia dynasty.

There are also discrepancies of fact such as dates between various portions of the work. This may be a result of Sima Qian's use of different source texts.

Transmission and supplementation by other writers

After ca. 91 BC, the more-or-less completed manuscript was hidden in the residence of the author's daughter, Sima Ying (司马英), to avoid destruction under Emperor Wu and his immediate successor Emperor Zhao. The Shiji was finally disseminated during the reign of Emperor Xuan by Sima Qian's grandson (through his daughter), Yang Yun (杨恽), after a hiatus of around twenty years.

The changes in the manuscript of the Shiji during this hiatus have always been disputed among scholars. That the text was more or less complete by ca. 91 BC is established in the Letter to Ren An (报任安书), composed in the Zhenghe (征和) era of Emperor Wu's reign. In this letter, Sima Qian describes his work as "spanning from the time of the Yellow Emperor to the present age and consisting of ten tables, twelve basic annals, eight treatises, thirty chapters on hereditary houses, and seventy biographies, together totaling 130 chapters." These numbers are likewise given in the postface to Shiji.

After his death (presumably only a few years later), few people had the opportunity to see the whole work. However, various additions were still made to it. The historian Liu Zhiji reported the names of a total of fifteen scholars supposed to have added material to the Shiji during the period after the death of Sima Qian. Only the additions by Chu Shaosun (褚少孙, c. 105 – c. 30 BC) are clearly indicated by adding "Mr Chu said," (Chu xiansheng yue, 褚先生曰). Already in the first century AD, Ban Biao and Ban Gu claimed that ten chapters in Shiji were lacking. A large number of chapters dealing with the first century of the Han dynasty (i.e. the 2nd century BC) correspond exactly to the relevant chapters from the Book of Han (Hanshu). It is unclear whether those chapters initially came from the Shiji or from the Hanshu. Researchers Yves Hervouet (1921–1999) and A. F. P. Hulsewé argued that the originals of those chapters of the Shiji were lost and they were later reconstructed using the corresponding chapters from the Hanshu.

Editions

The earliest extant copy of the Shiji, handwritten, was made during the Southern and Northern Dynasties period (420–589 AD). The earliest printed edition, called Shiji jijie (史记集解, literally Scribal Records, Collected Annotations), was published during the Northern Song dynasty. Huang Shanfu's edition, printed under the Southern Song dynasty, is the earliest collection of the Sanjiazhu commentaries on the Shiji (三家注, literally: The Combined Annotations of the Three Experts).

In modern times, the Zhonghua Book Company in Beijing has published the book in both simplified Chinese for mass consumption and traditional Chinese for scholarly study. The 1959 (2nd ed., 1982) Sanjiazhu edition in traditional Chinese (based upon the Jinling Publishing House edition, see below) contains commentaries interspersed among the main text and is considered to be an authoritative modern edition.

The most well-known editions of the Shiji (all woodblock printed) are:

Notable translations

English

• Herbert J. Allen, Ssŭma Ch『ien's Historical Records, The Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland, 1894, p. 269-294; 1895, p. 93-110, 601-611, available online. (The first English translation of the first three chapters).

• Watson, Burton, trans. (1961). Records of the Grand Historian of China. New York: Columbia University Press.

　• Second edition, 1993 (Records of the Grand Historian). Translates roughly 90 out of 130 chapters.

　　• Qin Dynasty, .

　　• Han Dynasty, Volume 1, .

　　• Han Dynasty, Volume 2, .

• Yang Hsien-yi and Gladys Yang (1974), Records of the Historians. Hong Kong: Commercial Press.

　• Reprinted by University Press of the Pacific, 2002. Contains biographies of Confucius and Laozi.

• Raymond Stanley Dawson (1994). Historical Records. New York: Oxford University Press.

　• Reprinted, 2007 (The First Emperor : Selections from the Historical Records). Translates only Qin-related material.

• William H. Nienhauser, Jr., ed. (1994– ). The Grand Scribe's Records, 9 vols. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Ongoing translation, and being translated out of order. As of 2020, translates 92 out of 130 chapters.

　• I. The Basic Annals of Pre-Han China (2018), .

　• II. The Basic Annals of the Han Dynasty (2018), .

　• V. part 1. The Hereditary Houses of Pre-Han China (2006), .

　• VI. The Hereditary Houses, III (2022), . (edited with Masha Kobzeva)

　• VII. The Memoirs of Pre-Han China (1995), .

　• VIII. The Memoirs of Han China, Part I (2008), .

　• IX. The Memoirs of Han China, Part II (2010), .

　• X. The Memoirs of Han China, Part III (2016), .

　• XI. The Memoirs of Han China, Part IV (2019), .

Non-English

• (in French) Chavannes, Édouard, trans. (1895–1905). Les Mémoires historiques de Se-ma Ts'ien Historical Memoirs of Sima Qian, 6 vols.; rpt. (1967–1969) 7 vols., Paris: Adrien Maisonneuve. Left uncompleted at Chavannes' death. William Nienhauser calls it a "landmark" and "the standard by which all subsequent renditions... must be measured.". Accessible online at Se-ma Ts'ien: Les Mémoires Historiques - Bibliothèque Chine ancienne and La bibliothèque numérique Les Classiques des sciences sociales - Collection «Les auteur(e)s classiques» - La Chine ancienne - Les auteurs chinois.

• (in French) Chavannes, Édouard, Maxime Kaltenmark Jacques Pimpaneau, translators. (2015) Les Mémoires historiques de Se-Ma Ts'ien Historical Memoirs of Sima Qian, 9 vols.; Éditions You Feng, Paris. This is the completed full translation of the Shiji

• (in Russian) full translation in 9 vols: Vyatkin, Rudolf V., trans. Istoricheskie Zapiski (Shi-czi) , 8 vols. Moscow: Nauka (1972–2002); 9th volume: Vyatkin, Anatoly R., trans. (2010), Moscow: Vostochnaya literatura. This is the first complete translation into any European language. Full text available online: Сыма Цянь. Исторические записки (Ши цзи).

• (in Modern Chinese) Yang Zhongxian 杨钟贤; Hao Zhida 郝志达, eds. (1997). Quanjiao quanzhu quanyi quanping Shiji 全校全注全译全评史记 Fully Collated, Annotated, Translated, and Evaluated, 6 vols. Tianjin: Tianjin guji chubanshe.

• (in Modern Chinese) Yang Yanqi 杨燕起; ed. (2001). "Shi Ji Quan Yi" 史记全译, 12 vols. Guiyang: Guizhou renmin chubanshe 贵州人民出版社.

• (in Modern Chinese) Xu Jialu 许嘉璐; An Pingqiu 安平秋, eds. (2003). Ershisishi quanyi: Shiji 二十四史全译：史记, 2 vols. Beijing: Hanyudacidian chubanshe.

• (in Japanese) Mizusawa, Toshitada 水泽利忠; Yoshida, Kenkō 吉田贤抗, trans. (1996–1998). Shiki 史记 Shiji, 12 vols. Tokyo: Kyūko.

• (in Polish) Mieczysław J. Künstler, trans. (2000). Sy-ma Ts'ien, Syn smoka. Fragmenty Zapisków historyka, Warszawa: Czytelnik; . Selected chapters only.

• (in Danish) Svane, Gunnar O., trans. (2007). Historiske Optegnelser: Kapitlerne 61-130, Biografier 1-70. Aarhus: Aarhus Universitetsforlag.

• (in German) Gregor Kneussel, Alexander Saechtig, trans. (2016). Aus den Aufzeichnungen des Chronisten, 3 vols. Beijing: Verlag für fremdsprachige Literatur (Foreign Languages Press); .

• (in Italian) Cannata, Vincenzo, translator. (2024) Memorie Storiche di Sima Qian Memoirs of Sima Qian, 4 vols.; Luni Editrice, Milano This is the completed full translation of the Shiji; .

书名由来

《太史公书》最初无固定书名，或称《太史公记》、《太史公传》、《太史记》、《太史公》。《史记》本来是古代史书的通称，从三国时代开始，逐渐成为「太史公书」的专称。

作者与成书

司马迁著《史记》，其史学观念在于「究天人之际，通古今之变，成一家之言」（《报任少卿书》）。司马迁探求的天人之际，并非承认天的神秘力量，而是重视天人之间关系的演变，从而了解「古今之变」的关键，探求出历史动态发展变化的层面，最终完成「一家之言」。而他的撰述动机，主要有以下三方面：

• 司马迁为了继承其父司马谈编订史书的遗志，完成撰述《史记》的宏愿。司马氏在周朝时世为史官。虽然自春秋时期就失去官职，司马谈却把修撰史书视为自己的神圣职责，一心继承先人久绝的世业—太史令，重现孔子撰述《春秋》的精神，整理和论述上代历史。《隋书·经籍志》说：「谈乃据《左氏春秋》、《国语》、《世本》、《战国策》、《楚汉春秋》，接其后事，成一家之言。」可见司马谈有意继续编订《春秋》以后的史事。汉武帝元封元年，武帝进行封禅大典，司马谈身为太史令，却无缘参与当世盛事，引为终生之憾，忧愤而死。他死前将遗志嘱咐儿子司马迁说：「今天子接千岁之统，封泰山，而余不得从行，是命也夫！余死，汝必为太史，无忘吾所欲论著矣……」司马迁则回答道：「小子不敏，请悉论先人所次旧闻。」可知司马迁乃秉承父亲的遗志完成史著。而《史记》以「封禅书」为其八书之一，即见其秉先父之意。

• 司马迁想继承《春秋》精神。司马迁在zh-hans:《太史公自序》; zh-hant:〈太史公自序〉;说：「先人有言，自周公卒，五百岁而有孔子，孔子卒后，至于今五百岁，有能绍明世，正《易传》、继《春秋》、本《诗》、《书》、《礼》、《乐》之际，意在斯乎？意在斯乎？小子何敢让焉？」此正暗示其有明道义，显扬志业人物的使命。《春秋》的下限，到鲁哀公获麟之年（指春秋鲁哀公十四年），此后的史事就没有完整的史籍记载。司马迁是绍继《春秋》，并以汉武帝元狩元年「获麟」及太初元年改历下限，撰写史记。然而，司马迁继承《春秋》，不仅是要形式上承继周公以来的道统，反而是重视《春秋》的性质，他在《太史公自序》说：「夫《春秋》，上明三王之道，下辨人事之纪，别嫌疑，明是非，定犹豫，善善恶恶，贤贤贱不肖，存亡国，继绝世，补敝起废，王道之大者也……《春秋》以道义，拨乱世，反之正，莫近于《春秋》。」可见司马迁对「春秋之义」和「春秋笔法」心仪已久，这是他要承孔子的真意、秉承《春秋》褒贬精神，撰述《史记》。

• 司马迁要肩负史家职责。据《后汉书·百官志》载，「太史令」只是俸禄六百石的小官，职责仅在于管理图籍，掌管星象天文，最多也只是记录上代及当代事情，并无著述的责任。然而，司马谈和司马迁明显不满足于「拾遗补蓺」。司马谈早有整理上代历史的计划，可惜却「发愤而卒」，临终前叮嘱司马迁，认为「自获麟以来，史记放绝。今汉兴，海内一统，明主、贤君、忠臣、死义之士」甚多，身为太史令，有完成论载上代历史的任务。司马迁在《太史公自序》也指出身为太史的职责说：「且余尝掌其官，废明圣盛德不载，灭功臣、世家、贤大夫之不述，隳先人之言，罪莫大焉。」因此，司马迁一心秉承先人世传及「述往事以思来者」的责任感，决意撰述《史记》。在《报任安书》中亦透露著述《史记》的目的，他说「凡百三十篇，亦欲以究天人之际，通古今之变，成一家之言。」可见他不但要完成太史令的责任，更要尽史学家的职责。

吕思勉认为《史记》当中有一大部分甚至是极大部分并非司马迁所作，而是司马迁抄篡古书所得，《序》和《论赞》部分基本可以肯定是他自己所作，但仍然有可能为其父亲司马谈所作，无法加以考证。

史料来源

• 简牍。《谍记》、《五帝系谍》、《世本》、《尚书》、《秦记》、《山高》、《乘马》、《轻重》、《九府》及《晏子春秋》、《司马兵法》、《春秋历谱谍》、《春秋左传》、《春秋》、《国语》、《战国策》、《离骚》、《天问》、《韩非子》等；

• 档案。司马氏世为史官，司马迁当任太史，因此能见到汉初档案如诏令、记功册等，并且用作写史的资料；

• 见闻。比如文中有诸如「吾闻之周生曰，『舜目盖重瞳子』，又闻项羽亦重瞳子」、「吾闻冯王孙曰：『赵王迁，其母倡也……』」、「公孙季功，董生与夏无且游，具知其事，为余道之如是」等；

• 游历。比如文中有诸如：「余尝西至崆峒，北至涿鹿，东渐于海，南浮江淮」（《五帝本纪》）；「余登庐山」（《河渠书》）；「吾过大梁之墟」（《魏公子列传》）等。

内容

《史记》内容记载自传说中的黄帝以来至汉武帝时期以来的历史，全书分成〈本纪〉、〈表〉、〈书〉、〈世家〉和〈列传〉五个主题，加上最后的〈太史公自序〉，又细分成一百三十卷（篇）。其中，〈本纪〉记载「天下」统治者的事迹，「网罗天下放失旧闻，王迹所兴，原始察终，见盛观衰……著十二本纪，既科条之矣。」；〈表〉以表格的方式排列整理事件次序或历史动态，「并时异世，年差不明，作十表。」；〈书〉的内容有关历代典章制度，「礼乐损益，律历改易，兵权山川鬼神，天人之际，承敝通变，作八书」；〈世家〉描述影响深远的家系、周代的诸侯国和汉代的王侯贵族事迹，「二十八宿环北辰，三十辐共一毂，运行无穷。辅拂股肱之臣配焉，忠信行道，以奉主上，作三十世家。」；〈列传〉呈现的是历史上各类人物的历史表现与社会的种种样貌，「扶义倜傥，不令己失时，立功名于天下，作七十列传。」。不同于以往的史书，《史记》的写作方式首开纪传体之先河：以描写人物的生平为主，年代先后为副。至此以后，尚有《汉书》、《三国志》和《后汉书》等史著仿效该体，让纪传体成为唐代以后官方史著所采用的主流写作方式。赵翼《廿二史札记》-{云}-：「司马迁参酌古今，发凡起例，创为全史，本纪以序帝王，世家以记侯国，十表以系时事，八书以详制度，列传以志人物，然后一代君臣政事贤否得失，总汇于一编之中。自此例一定，历代作史者，遂不能出其范围，信史家之极则也。」

《史记》各篇结构大致由引言、正文和评论组成。〈书〉有引言、正文和评论，〈表〉只有引言和正文表格，〈本纪〉、〈世家〉和〈列传〉只有正文和评论：正文前是引言，记述写作动机；正文记述历史事件、人物的生平描述，这部分皆以代表性事件或逸事衔接交杂而成；正文后面是评论，通常以「太史公曰」为开头，内容或有作者的个人经历，或有对人物的评价，或有收集资料的过程，但仍以评论题材人物的性格与行事为主，这也呼应司马迁在自序中「究天人之际」的写作目标。

《史记》全文一百三十篇，自司马迁殁就有十篇散失。当时补缺而知其名者有十八家之多，但唯存西汉博士褚少孙之作。其中有些也有可能更有后人补之，如《孝武本纪》摘抄于《封禅书》。

文学风格

《史记》有丰富的思想内容，「不虚美、不隐恶」，善写奇节及壮采伟行，也善于讽刺和暴露现实，有所寄托，善写悲壮，笔锋带感情，抒发愤思，爱憎分明，被鲁迅誉为「史家之绝唱，无韵之离骚」。

《史记》长于叙事，善于铺叙及渲染气氛，把历史事件和人物事迹故事化，故事情节曲折跌宕，制造戏剧场面，气势雄奇，富于变化，有浓烈的艺术感染力。

《史记》善于描写人物，刻画人物心理活动，用对比、衬托手法强化人物性格，选择历史人物一生中最有典型意义的事件，来突出人物的性格特徵，并善于细节描写，以琐事烘托出人物的性格，用符合人物身份的口语，表现人物的神情态度和性格特点。

《史记》文词精鍊，词汇丰富，语言精切浅白，有精粹的语言艺术特色，善用虚字，语气传神，并善用民歌与谚语。句式则灵活多变，长短错落，骈散并用，具参差之美。

司马迁为了让每篇传记避免重复、具备统一审美价值和更加完整，遂创造了崭新叙事手法「互见法」来撰写《史记》；「互见法」即是将一个重要人物的事迹透过不同地方分述，而以其本传为主；或将同一事件分述于不同地方，但以一个地方的叙述为主。

版本

现存最古老的《史记》残卷为日本藏南北朝时期的抄本残卷。而最古老的完整版史记为现藏于台湾中央研究院历史语言研究所的北宋「景佑本」（其中有十五卷为别版补配）、及日本藏南宋版黄善夫刻《史记三家注》。

白话文版则有韩兆琦译注的《新白话史记》（简体字本由中华书局出版，繁体字本由台湾三民书局出版），张烈等人译注的《史记》（简体字本由贵州古籍出版社出版，繁体字本由台湾古籍出版社出版）。

其他工具书则有哈佛燕京社编《史记及注释综合引得》、黄福銮编《史记索引》、李晓光、李波编《史记索引》、锺华编《史记人名索引》、段书安编《史记三家注引书索引》、仓修良主编《史记辞典》等。

现罗列历代重要善本如下。

• 十四行本。刊刻于北宋真宗景德年间（1004—1007）。半页十四行，行二十四至二十七字不等。原刻本现藏日本大阪杏雨书屋，仅存六十九卷。南宋覆刻本一百三十卷（有别本补配）藏中国国家图书馆，1955年文学古籍刊行社影印刊行。

• 十行本。《史记》的最早刻本刊于北宋太宗淳化五年（994），半页十行，每行十九字。今已亡佚。北宋仁宗景佑二年（1035），国子监据淳化旧本重刊，即后世所说的「景佑本」，流传至今。原刻本（其中有十五卷为别版补配）现藏台湾中央研究院历史语言研究所；

• 日本藏南宋版黄善夫《史记三家注》（简称「黄善夫本」）

• 明朝嘉靖、万历年间南北监刻二十一史本（简称「监本」）

• 明朝毛氏汲古阁刻十七史本（简称「毛刻本」或「汲古阁本」）

• 清朝乾隆年间武英殿刻二十四史本（简称「武英殿本」或「殿本」）

• 清朝同治年间张文虎整理，金陵书局刊行史记集解索隐正义合刻本一百三十卷（简称「金陵局本」）

• 民国初年张元济编辑，商务印书馆影印百衲本史记（简称「百衲本」）

目录

本纪

表

书

世家

列传

流传状况

据《汉书》记载，司马迁的外孙杨恽公开发表了《史记》，后因怨望被汉宣帝腰斩。司马迁的《史记》在汉朝、三国期间属于禁书，官民不得自由阅读，即使是王公诸侯亦没有此权利，东汉明帝、魏明帝曹睿等君主都曾痛批司马迁诽谤汉武帝。而且《史记》的《孝景本纪》、《孝武本纪》等10篇被删去，其他篇章亦多有篡改。今日《史记》的版本与司马迁的原稿差别很大。

例如班固在他的著作《典引》称，永平十七年某日，汉明帝曾在云龙门召见他、傅毅、贾逵、杜矩、展隆及郗萌等人，派个宦官拿了篇司马迁的《秦始皇本纪》，询问他们是否觉得司马迁的史论有不对的地方，班固指司马迁引述贾谊过秦论：「假设子婴有中人之才，秦的社稷还可以保住」，这番话相当有问题。汉明帝刘庄对他的回答很满意，其后派人召见班固，再次问他对司马迁的看法是否故意投其所好，班固否认。这时汉明帝指，司马迁这人思想很有问题，不是忠臣，汉武帝治过他的罪，他就在史书里把汉武帝写得很不堪；虽然别人都说司马相如浮薄无行，但总比司马迁强。

魏明帝曹睿亦曾批评过司马迁，认为司马迁因为受过宫刑而著《史记》贬损汉武帝，令人痛恨，但大臣王肃却肯定司马迁善于敍事，乃良史之才，不虚美，不隐恶。王肃称汉武帝听说司马迁写了《史记》后，阅到《孝景本纪第十一》和《今上本纪第十二》后，不禁勃然大怒，命人削去了书简上的字，并把这些书简扔掉了。由于汉武帝的毁损，流传到曹魏时代的《史记》，其中的这两篇《本纪》，只有目录，而没有具体文字。王肃称司马迁对汉武帝的撰写「不隐恶」，令汉武帝恼羞成怒，故迫害司马迁。

此外，自董卓死后文学家蔡邕因同情董卓被下狱，太尉马日磾为此向王允求情，但王允指当年汉武帝不杀司马迁，结果司马迁却写下诽谤汉武帝的《史记》，流传后世，影响极坏。如今朝政不振，事态多变，类此蔡邕的士人绝不可让他们在皇帝身边记录重大事务，否则将来受到非议的，只会是那些反董的士人，由此可见时人对《史记》的看法。

注疏

历代对《史记》的评注主要有三家，刘宋裴駰的《史记集解》，唐司马贞的《史记索隐》和张守节的《史记正义》，合称「史记三家注」，常与《史记》共同刊行。

清梁玉绳的《史记志疑》是有清一代史记研究的集大成之作。近代有日本学者泷川资言的《史记会注考证》较为著名。当代有韩兆琦的《史记笺证》，以三家注和《史记会注考证》为基础，是史记注释详尽之作。以下罗列历代部分重要注家。

影响

文学方面，唐代韩愈、柳宗元，宋代欧阳修、三苏，明代归有光，清代桐城派的散文，均受《史记》影响。后世传记的体制，以及在传记之后用论赞表达作者见解的形式，都源于《史记》。而《史记》人物及相关历史事件，成为后世小说、戏曲、诗词的写作素材。

评论

• 班固批评《史记》，说它「是非颇谬于圣人，论大道则先黄老而后六经，序游侠则退处士而进奸雄，述货殖则崇势利而羞贫贱，此其所蔽也。然自刘向、扬雄博极群书，皆称迁有良史之材，服其善序事理，辨而不华，质而不俚，其文直，其事核，不虚美，不隐恶，故谓之实录」。

• 干宝对《史记》不满，《史通·二体篇》：「晋世干宝著书，乃盛誉丘明而深抑子长。其义-{云}-能以三十卷之约括囊二百四十年事，靡有遗也。」又「及干令升史议，历诋诸家而独归美《左传》。-{云}-丘明能以三十卷之约，括囊二百四十年之事，靡有孑遗。斯盖立言之高标，著作之良模也。」

• 刘知几曾说：「自战国以下，辞人属文，皆伪立客主，假相酬答。」刘知几甚至说《史记》将寓言、神话、传说当作史料，「至于屈原《离骚》辞，称遇渔夫于江渚；宋玉《高唐赋》，云梦神女于阳台。夫言并文章，句结音韵。以兹敍事，足验凭虚。而司马迁、习凿齿之徒，皆采为逸事，编诸史籍，疑误后学，不其甚邪！」

• 周亮工在《尺牍新抄》中表示：「垓下是何等时？虞姬死而弟子散，匹马逃生，身迷大泽，亦何暇更作歌诗？既有作，亦谁闻之，而谁记之欤？吾谓此数语者，无论事之有无，应是太史公笔补造化代为传神。」

• 黄震在《黄氏日抄》中说：「凡看卫霍传，须合李广看，卫霍深入二千里，声振华夷，今看其传，不值一钱。李广每战辄北，困踬终身，今看其传，英风如在。史氏抑扬予夺之妙，岂常手可望哉。」