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.