Twenty Four Histories

• The Twenty Four Histories or ‘Standard Histories’ are the official books of Chinese history.
• It is a collection of 3,213 volumes covering the period between c. 3,000 BCE to c. 1,664 CE (the end of the Ming Dynasty).

Sima Qian

• The Chinese historian Sima Qian (c.145-c.86 BCE) completed the first official history of China.
• Because of his influence on subsequent compilations, he is considered to be the Father of Chinese historiography.