edHelper.com Ancient China

Sima Qian

---

Sima Qian
Reading Level

	edHelper's suggested reading level:	grades 8 to 10
	Flesch-Kincaid grade level:	9.12

Vocabulary

	challenging words:		benji, biao, in-force, liezhuan, shijia, well-versed, chronicle, in-depth, magnum, spanning, happening, comprehensive, hailed, olden, penned, knowing
	content words:		Sima Qian, Yellow Emperor, Sima Tan, Grand Historian, Emperor Wu, Western Han, Lang Zhong, Palace Attendant, Li Ling, When Emperor Wu

---

Print Sima Qian

Print Sima Qian  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)

Quickly Print - PDF format

	Quickly Print: PDF (2 columns per page)
	Quickly Print: PDF (full page)

Quickly Print - HTML format

Quickly Print: HTML

Proofreading Activity

Print a proofreading activity

---

Feedback on Sima Qian

Leave your feedback on Sima Qian  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

---

Sima Qian By Vickie Chao

---

¹     The Chinese have always been fond of writing. Almost as soon as they developed their own writing system, scholars began to diligently and dutifully record everything that had been happening around them. But, by far, none had done so in a more methodical way than Sima Qian whose Shiji (or Shih-chi, literally meaning historical records) covers events spanning nearly 3,000 years. This masterpiece includes everything from the time of the mythical Yellow Emperor to the contemporary era during which Sima Qian was living. When putting the book together, Sima Qian felt that documenting everything in a long laundry list was simply not good enough. Hence, in addition to using the usual chronicle approach, he also wrote biographies for emperors as well as other important figures before his time. His new method completely revolutionized how history should be written and became the "in" style that everybody followed. For that reason alone, it is not hard to see why Shiji has always been hailed as one of the greatest treatises in Chinese literature!
 
²     Sima Qian was born some time between 145 B.C. and 135 B.C. His father, Sima Tan, was the Grand Historian for Emperor Wu of the Western Han dynasty for thirty years. Right from the beginning, Sima Tan had very high expectations for his son. He wanted him to inherit his post and make a name for himself. To be sure that the young boy was up for the challenge, he sent him to study with the most prominent scholars of his time. By the age of twenty, Sima Qian was already well-versed in classic literature and knew a great deal about astronomy. (In the olden days, a Grand Historian was in charge of not only jotting down pivotal turns of events, but also making astronomical observations to devise new calendars.) Shortly after he celebrated his twentieth birthday, he embarked on a journey around China. He used the occasion to visit many ancient sites and conduct field research.
 
³     Upon his return, Sima Qian was made Lang Zhong or Palace Attendant whose main duty was to inspect different parts of the country with Emperor Wu. In 110 B.C., his father fell gravely ill. Knowing that his days were numbered, Sima Tan summoned his son forward and urged him to carry out his dream of writing a comprehensive, in-depth history book for the generations to come. After he relayed this particular wish of his, the old man took his last breath and passed away. Two years later, Sima Qian inherited his father's position and became the new Grand Historian. One of his earliest accomplishments was to take part in introducing a new lunar calendar in 104 B.C. This new calendar (dubbed as "Taichuli") used January as the beginning of a year. (The previous version used October.) It also stated that there were 29.53 days in a month and 365.25 days in a year. At the time, Taichuli was the most advanced calendar that the Chinese had ever created. It remained in-force for nearly 200 years.

Paragraphs 4 to 5:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable

---

Weekly Reading Books

Create Weekly Reading Books Prepare for an entire week at once!

---

Ancient China

Ancient China

---

More Lessons

High School Reading Comprehensions and High School Reading Lessons

---

Social Studies

Social Studies

2004 Elections         2008 Elections         United States History and Theme Units         American Government         Ancient America         Ancient China         Ancient Egypt         Ancient Greece         Ancient India         Ancient Mesopotamia         Ancient Rome         Biographies         Canadian Theme Unit         Country Theme Units         Crime and Terrorism         Economics

European History: 1600s-1800s         Explorers         Famous Educators         Geography         Grades 2-3 Social Studies Wendy's World Series         History of Books and Writing         History of Mathematics         How Can I Help?         Inventors and Inventions         Middle Ages         Renaissance         World Religion         World War I         World War II         World Wonders

---

More Activities, Lesson Plans, and Worksheets

Back to School Graphic Organizers Alphabet Worksheets Sight Words Math Worksheets Mazes 50 States Education Teaching Monthly Themes January February March April May June July August September October November December

Fractions Place Value Time and Calendar Money Earth Day Solar System Analogies Nouns Following Directions Listening Capitalization Cursive Writing Patterns and Sequencing Dinosaurs All About Me Kindergarten First Grade Second Grade Third Grade Fourth Grade Fifth Grade Sixth Grade

Multiplication Division Main Idea Cause and Effect Measurement Decimals Rounding Order of Operations Verbs Community Helpers Adjectives Plants Grammar Addition and Subtraction Contractions Bulletin Board Ideas Word Searches Crossword Puzzles Printable Puzzles Reading Comprehension Reading Skills English Language Arts

Copyright © 2013 edHelper