Zizhi Tongjian

The Zizhi Tongjian was a pioneering reference work in Chinese historiography. Emperor Yingzong of Song ordered Sima Guang and other scholars to begin compiling this universal history of China in 1065 CE and they presented it to his successor Emperor Shenzong of Song in 1084 CE. It contains 294 volumes and about 3 million words .

The book chronologically narrates the history of China from the Warring States period in 403 BCE to the beginning of the Song Dynasty in 959 CE. The major contributor of this work was Sima Guang, from collecting previously existence events and dates in ''Twenty-Four Histories'', to drafting and publication.

It changed a tradition dating back almost 1,000 years to the ''Shiji''; standard Chinese dynastic histories primarily divided chapters between annals of rulers and biographies of offcials. In Chinese terms, the book changed the format of histories from biographical style to chronological style , which is better suited for analysis and criticism. According to Wilkinson, "It had an enormous influence on later Chinese historical writing, either directly of through its many abbreviations, continuations, and adaptations. It remains an extraordinarily useful first reference for a quick and reliable coverage of events at a particular time."

Derivative works

In the 12th century, Zhu Xi produced a reworked, condensed version of Zizhi Tongjian, known as Tongjian Gangmu, or Zizhi Tongjian Gangmu . During the Qing Dynasty, Kangxi Emperor had the latter translated into the Manchu Language, and the French Jesuit missionary Joseph-Anna-Marie de Moyriac de Mailla made use of the Manchu translation to produce his own French translation, ""Histoire générale de la Chine, ou Annales de cet Empire; traduit du Tong-kien-kang-mou par de Mailla", published posthumously in Paris in 1777-1783, in 12 volumes.