The Letter to Ren An and Sima Qian's Legacy

SimaQian(firstcenturyBCE),theauthorofRecordoftheHistorian(Shiji),isChina'searliestandbest-knownhistorian,andhis"LettertoRenAn"isthemostfamousletterinChinesehistory.Intheletter,SimaQianexplainshisdecisiontofinishhislife'swork,thefirstcomprehensivehistoryofChina,insteadofhonorablycommittingsuicidefollowinghiscastrationfor"deceivingtheemperor."Inthetwentiethandtwenty-firstcenturies,somescholarshavequeriedtheauthenticityoftheletter.IsitagenuinepieceofwritingbySimaQianoranearlyworkofliteraryimpersonation?TheLettertoRenAnandSimaQian'sLegacyprovidesafulltranslationoftheletterandusesdifferentmethodstoexploreissuesintextualhistory.Italsoshowshowideasaboutfriendship,loyalty,factionalism,andauthorshipencodedintheletterhavefar-reachingimplicationsforthestudyofChina.