An overview of the research of the Records of the Grand Historian (Shiji) in South Korea over the past forty years (1971–2010)

Abstract

The Shiji (史記 Records of the Grand Historian) is a pathbreaking monument of Chinese history. Its author Sima Qian 司馬遷 created a genre of biography centered around individuals that was continually used in dynastic histories from the Han dynasty onward. Sima Qian's composition of the Shiji not only respected historical facts and directly portrayed them as they occurred, but also paid attention to featuring polished language and beautiful writing. He organically integrated different styles of narrative, expressions, and reasoning and achieved a high degree of uniformity of thought and art, providing a model for later generations of literature and history. The Shiji was not only a pioneer in the genre of Chinese biographical history, but also had a far-reaching impact on later prose, fiction, and drama. It was also soon transmitted overseas and had a large effect on countries in the Chinese cultural sphere. With the introduction of the Shiji to Korea, Korean intellectuals particularly showed interest in and reverence for the work, and it was highly valued in the Korean academic world. By the mid-1960s, with the development of the national economy, all of South Korean society entered a new period of history that not only saw fundamental changes in the nation's appearance, but also saw academic and cultural affairs return to the right track, and at that time South Korean academics renewed their high degree of interest in learning about and researching Chinese academics and culture. It was on this foundation that South Korean intellectuals made great advances in translating and studying the Shiji and made positive contributions to its transmission, spread, and popularization. After briefly reviewing the transmission of the Shiji in Korea, this paper reviews the state of translation and study of the Shiji in South Korea from the nearly four decades from 1971 to 2010 and offers an objective evaluation of some shortcomings and gaps in this research.