The Grand Scribe’s Records, Volume VI: The Hereditary Houses, III

The Grand Scribe’s Records, Volume VI, contains annotated translations of the hereditary houses for the Ch'in and Han dynasties. Such houses were an invention of Ssu-ma Ch'ien and in early periods treated the history of various states. Here, however, the subjects vary, often containing merely biographies of their main protagonist. The volume begins with an account of the rebel Ch'en She in chapter 48, whose house consisted of the other rebel leaders he spawned into action against the Ch'in dynasty, and ends in chapter 60 with the memorials concerning the reigns of the sons of Emperor Wu of the Han born to concubines, men whose reigns ended badly. Besides accounts of the kings from the royal Liu family, included are the stories of the maternal relatives, empresses, and imperial consorts, as well as the major statesmen and military leaders who guided the Han victory.