Sima Guang
Sima Guang, also known as Mr. Sùshuǐ, was born in 1019 in Sushui Village, Xia County, Shanzhou (present-day Sima Ying Village, Xia County, Shanxi). He is a well-known historian of ancient China who composed 20 species of historical works spanning more than 500 volumes, including the most famous "Zizhi Tongjian" (Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government). It is the most excellent historical masterpiece after Sima Qian's "Shi Ji" (Historical Records), which was highly appreciated by historians since its publishing and still has great influence on the future development of China's history.
When he was barely twenty, Sima passed the imperial examination with the highest rank of jìnshì. After finding no comprehensive records about China's history, he decided to edit one by himself. He published a fairly detailed eight-volume "Tongzhi" (Comprehensive Records) in two years, which chronicled Chinese history from the Warring States period to the end of the Qin Dynasty. The emperor Yingzong was very satisfied with his work and issued an edict for compiling a groundbreaking universal anthology of the history of China, granting Sima full access to the imperial libraries and allocating funds for all his costs, including research assistance by experienced historians such as Liu Ban, Liu Shu and Fan Zuyu.
After Shenzong succeeded the throne, the new emperor not only confirmed the interest his father had shown, but proclaimed his favor by changing the title from "Tongzhi" (Comprehensive Records) to the more ornamental and impressive "Zizhi Tongjian" (Comprehensive Mirror to Aid in Government). He considered the book as a mirror that gave him reference and guidance. "Zizhi" means "helping," "tong" means from "ancient times to now," and "jian" means "precaution and lesson." The task took 19 years to be completed, from 1065 to 1084. Since the first day he undertook the job, Sima got up early every day and worked until midnight every night, completely exhausting his energy. The compilation needed two houses' worth of space just to contain the first draft.
The "Zizhi Tongjian" narrates 1,361 years history of China from the Warring States to the Five Dynasties (402 B.C. to A.D. 959) under the format of separate chronicles containing 294 volumes, with an additional 30 volumes of other content and 30 volumes of investigations into differences. It totals about 3 million Chinese characters and is still highly popular even today. As Sima Guang exhausted all his energy for "Zizhi Tongjian," he died at 67 years of age in 1086, two years after the book was finished.
