Analyze Han Dynasty China (206 BCE - 220 CE) — Qin antecedent under Shi Huangdi (221-206 BCE), Han imperial bureaucracy + Confucian state ideology under Wu of Han, scholar-official system precursor to imperial examinations, Sima Qian's Shiji historiography, Ban Gu and Ban Zhao Han Shu — per Mark Edward Lewis 2007 and Michael Loewe scholarship
Exercise
Difficulty 3
~4 min
hist.g6.s.ex_25
Short Answer
Prompt
What is the Shiji and who wrote it? Name the 5-part structure.
How it's presented
mode
text
Answer criteria
type
rubric scored
rubric
Shiji (Records of the Grand Historian) c. 94 BCE by Sima Qian; 5 parts: Annals (Benji) + Tables (Biao) + Treatises (Shu) + Hereditary Houses (Shijia) + Biographies (Liezhuan)
Hints
- Foundational Chinese imperial-history text.
- The Shiji set the template for the 24 Official Histories tradition of Chinese imperial historiography across 2,000 years.
Misconceptions to watch
- Confusing Shiji with Han Shu
Used in lessons