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The Records of the Historian was written by Sima Qian (145-90 BC), a great historian of the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-25 AD) who dedicated his whole life to the book. China's first historical work centering on people rather than events, it presents a general Chinese history of some 3,000 years, from the legendary Yellow Emperor to 122 BC - the first year of the Yuanshou reign of Han Emperor Wu.
 This book follows the original structure and style of the Records of the Historian, from which 24 representative chapters were selected and each divided into several interesting stories. A few pithy stories may acquaint you with the lives of noted figures from Chinese history. In addition, about 200 photographs are incorporatde to help readers understand China's ancient past.