The
Records of the Grand Historian , also known as the
Shǐjì 史記 – (Scribe's records), is a monumental history of ancient China and the world finished around 109 BC by the
Han dynasty official
Sima Qian after having been started by his father,
Sima Tan, Grand Astrologer to the imperial court. The work covers the world as it was then known to the Chinese and a 2500-year period from the age of the legendary
Yellow Emperor to the reign of
Emperor Wu of Han in the author's own time.