{"product_id":"sima-qians-self-conception-in-claims-of-legitimacy-his-postface-to-the-shiji-and-his-letter-to-ren-an-paperback","title":"Sima Qian's Self-Conception in Claims of Legitimacy: His Postface to the Shiji and his Letter to Ren An - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eTony Buchwald\u003c\/b\u003e (Author)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSeminar paper from the year 2012 in the subject Orientalism \/ Sinology - Chinese \/ China, grade: 1,7, University of Heidelberg (Sinologisches Seminar), course: Beginnings of Chinese Historiography, language: English, abstract: What we know today of Sima Qian's (145 -90 BCE) life and especially of the way he saw himself is drawn mainly from two sources of Chinese historiography - the Records of the Grand Historian or Shiji, written by himself and his father Sima Tan (164 - 110 BCE), and the History of the Former Han or Han Shu, written by Ban Gu (32 - 92 CE) . Chapter 130 of the former, i.e. the author's postface, provides us with an autobiography of Sima Qian, whereas Ban Gu offers a biography of him in the Han Shu that is mostly copied from the Shiji's postface. Additionally, after the biography Ban Gu added a letter to Ren An, a friend of Sima Qian's, which was written as a response to Ren An's own letter to the Grand Historian. The two mentioned accounts of Sima Qian's life and his self-conception differ strongly from each other. Whereas his postface serves as a biography both for his father Sima Tan as well as his reasons for writing, or rather completing, the Shiji, his letter offers a great deal of insight into his situation at court and the way he perceived it. The purpose of this paper is to give some insight into Sima Qian's self-conception and especially into his ways of legitimising his life and work. Thus, I will argue that the reason for his Confucian agenda of self-legitimation can be found in his self-conception displayed in his letter to Ren An.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 24\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.05 x 10 x 7 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e July 14, 2014\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51794056249632,"sku":"9783656696032","price":30.38,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/7e561a889cf2d6a9375895c3057c9377.webp?v=1780727306","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/sima-qians-self-conception-in-claims-of-legitimacy-his-postface-to-the-shiji-and-his-letter-to-ren-an-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}