The official dynastic historiography of China had developed during the Western or Former Han Dynasty 前漢. The historians Sima Tan 司馬談 and his son Sima Qian 司馬遷 had invented a style of history writing that divided the whole book into two to five different types of chapters. The first are the biographies of the emperors (benji 本紀 or simply ji 紀), strictly chronological inside the report and not only reporting enfeoffments or military campaigns, but also important metaphysical events like thunders, earthquakes, and so on. The second chapter type are the biographies of important people (liezhuan 列傳 or simply zhuan 傳), beginning with the empresses and consorts, down to the scholars, and to geographical reports about foreign countries. Except these two types, there were some biographies of noble families (shijia 世家), chronological tables (biao 表), and treatises or monographies (shu 書 or zhi 志). This biographical-monographical style of historiography was called jizhuanti 紀傳體 "biographical style", because the biographies are the guideline for division into chapters. To have an overview over a person's life or a special topic like penal law or tax system, this style is adequate, but it fails to depict the historical context of a whole aera. To give a context for historical causes and results, a simple chronological style is much better. The classical book Spring and Autumn 春秋, the annals of the state of Lu 魯 during the early Eastern Zhou period 東周, is the forerunner for this type of historiography. It is strictly chronological and lists the events of every year under the respective season or the month. This type of historiography is called biannianti 編年體 "chronological style - linking year after year". The Song Dynasty 宋 scholar Sima Guang (1019-1086) - who was, by the way, an opponent of the Wang Anshi 王安石 reforms - decided to compile a universal history in this style that reached from the Warring States period 戰國 (403 BC) to begin of Song Dynasty (959 AD). His book should serve as a guideline for the crown prince to govern in a righteous way and to learn from the faults of the past, and from the wise and clever rulers. The book was given the name Zizhi tongjian 資治通鑒 "Comprehensive mirror to aid in government". The Zizhi tongjian is divided into 294 chapters (juan 卷) that treat historical periods in dynastic parts (ji 紀, like Zhou ji 周紀, Wudai ji 五代紀). Sima Guang has added an index (mulu 目錄) in 30 chapters and "investigations into differences" (kaoyi 考異) in 30 other chapters. For the compilation of this vast book a whole staff of historians and archivists was created, lead by many famous people like Liu Shu 劉恕 (a Shiji 史記 expert), Liu Ban 劉攽 (a Han period expert), and Fan Zuyu 范祖禹 (a Tang period 唐 expert). In a first step they collected all historical reports of the particular periods and arranged them chronologically by a simple cut-and-paste method. In a second step this material was revised and checked for inconsistencies, producing a long version (changbian 長編). The third and last step this long version was reduced to the well-readable version that was published in 1084. The compilation staff had made use of many historical books, official and private, as well as of archival documents that have perished since. Many historical details are thus preserved in the Zizhi tongjian that we otherwise would not have known. The chronological arrangement allowed it to Sima Guang to add his judgements about events and their outcome. He used the phrase "the historian says" (shi chen yue 史臣曰). Although the biographical style of historiography was in use until the end of Qing Dynasty, the new "comprehensive mirror" type became so popular that people of the next generations and centuries wrote sequels of the great opus of Sima Guang, and even filled the time back until the year when Sima Guang let his book begin. Here the most important examples: Zizhi tongjian waiji 資治銅鑒外記 by Liu Shu 劉恕 (1032-1078), from mythological times to the end of Spring and Autumn period Xu Zizhi tongjian changbian 續資治通鑒長編 by Li Tao 李燾 (1115-1184), Northern Song: 960-1126 Jianyan yilai xinian yaolu 建炎以來繫年要錄 and Jianyan yilai chaoye zaji 建炎以來朝野雜記 by Li Xinzhuan 李心傳 (1166-1243), from 1127 on (Southern Song) Zizhi tongjian qianbian 資治通鑒前編 by Jin Lüxiang 金履祥 (1242-1303), from mythological times to the end of Spring and Autumn period Song-Yuan Zizhi tongjian 宋元資治通鑒 by Wang Zongmu 王宗沐 (16th cent.), Song and Yuan Dynasties Zizhi tongjian houbian 資治通鑒後編 by Xu Qianxue 徐乾學 (Qing Dynasty), Song and Yuan Dynasties, lost Xu Zizhi tongjian 續資治通鑒 by Bi Yuan 畢元 (1729-1797), Song and Yuan Dynasties The commentaries (音註 yinzhu) of Hu Sanxing 胡三省 (1230-1287) are today an integral part of the Zizhi tongjian itself and include the shiwen 釋文 commentary of Shi Zhao 史炤 (1100-1160). Yan Yan 嚴衍 composed an addition to the Zizhi tongjian (Zizhi tongjian bu 資治銅鑒補) until the year.... The Ming scholar Wang Yinglin 王應麟 (1223-1296) wrote a geographical compendium for Sima Guang's history, and a reader's digest of questions and answers about this huge universal history. There exist many other commentaries, revisions and thematical essays about the Zizhi tongjian. Source: Zhongguo da baike quanshu, Zhongguo lishi Contents 1.-5.周紀 Zhou 1-5 6.-8.秦紀 Qin 1-3 9.-68.漢紀 Han 1-60 69.-78.魏紀 Wei 1-10 79.-118.晉紀 Jin1-40 119.-134.宋紀 (Liu-)Song 1-16 135.-144.齊紀 Qi 1-10 145.-166.梁紀 Liang 1-21 167.-176.陳紀 Chen 1-10 177.-184.隋紀 Sui 1-7 185.-265.唐紀 Tang 1-81 266.-271.後梁紀 Later Liang 1-6 272.-279.後唐紀 Later Tang 1-8 280.-285.後晉紀 Later Jin 1-6 286.-289.後漢紀 Later Han 1-4 290.-294.後周紀 Later Zhou 1-5

Exemplarious translation: 卷第六十五，漢紀五十七，孝獻皇帝庚[...]建安十三年（戊子，公元二零八年) [...]亮曰：「豫州軍雖敗于長坂，今戰士還者及關羽水軍精甲萬人，劉琦合江夏戰士亦不下萬人。曹操之眾，遠來疲敝，聞追豫州，輕騎一日一夜行三百餘里，[...]且北方之人，不習水戰；又，荆州之民附操者，逼近勢耳，非心服也。今將軍誠能命猛將統兵數萬，與豫州協規同力，破操軍必矣。操軍破，必北還；如此，則荆、吴之勢强，鼎足之形成矣。成敗之機，在於今日！」權大悦，與其群下謀之。[...] 進，與操遇于赤壁。時操軍眾已有疾疫，初一交戰，操軍不利，引次江北。瑜等在南岸，瑜部將黄蓋曰：「今寇軍我寡，難與持久。操軍方連船艦，首尾相接，可燒而走也。」乃取蒙沖鬦艦十艘，載燥荻、枯柴、灌油其中，裹以帷幕，上建旌旗，預備走舸，系于其尾。先以書遺操，詐云欲降。時東南風急，蓋以十艦最著前，中江舉帆，餘船以次俱進。操軍吏士皆出營立觀，指言蓋降。去北軍二里餘，同時發火，火烈風猛，船往如箭，燒盡北船，延及岸上營落。頃之，煙炎張天，人馬燒溺死者甚眾。瑜等率輕銳繼其後，雷鼓大進，北軍大壞。操引軍从華容道步走，遇泥泞，道不通，天又大風，悉使羸兵負草填之，騎乃得過。羸兵為人馬所蹈藉，陷泥中，死者甚眾。劉備、周瑜水陸并進，追操至南郡。時操軍兼以餓疫，死者太半。[...] 65. Records of Han 57, Emperor Han Xiandi, [...]13th year of the reign period Jian'an (cyclical signs wuzi, 208 AD) [Zhuge] Liang said: "Although our armies of Yuzhou have been defeated at Changbang, the people returning together with Guan Yu's naval army are ten thousand well equipped man, and there are not less than ten thousand soldiers who fought at Jiangxia under Liu Qi. On the other side, Cao Cao's men are tired and exhausted, pursuing the Yuzhou army, their light cavalry did not have a rest for one day and one night on a distance of more than 300 miles. [...] And, the northern people are not accustomed with water ways. Cao Cao's followers in the area of Jingzhou do not serve him with their heart and feelings. Uniting the armies of the fierce generals, counting several ten thousand men, and join their forces with our Yuzhou army, we will definitely beat Cao Cao. He cannout but withdraw to the north, and the areas of Jingzhou and Wu will be strong, shaping China to a three legged pot (symbolizing three kingdoms). The chance to beat Cao Cao has come!" [Sun] Quan was very pleased and sat together with his officers to make out a plot. [...] They advanced and met with Cao Cao at the Red Cliff. At this time, the army of Cao Cao was very numerous, but the soldiers were already weakened by a pestilence, and during the first clashes, Cao Cao suffered a defeat and withdrew his troops to the north bank of the Yangtse. [Zhou] Yu and the others camped at the southern bank. Zhou Yu's division general Huang Gai said, "The troops of the bandits (of Cao Cao) are numerous, but we are left alone; it would be difficult to hold our position for longer time. Cao Cao has tied his war-ships together. If bow and stern are firmly bound together, it is easy to burn all the ships and make him run away." Huang Gai made use of ten big war-ships, filled them with fire wood and dry reeds, soaked with oil and stuffed with fabrics. On the top he erected his flags, and provided also ships to push these burning ships forward, binding them at the stern of the burning ships. He had written a letter to Cao Cao, pretending to go over to him. At this time, a fierce wind came from the south-east, and HUANG GAI moved forward with his war ships, the burning ships forward. In the middle of the Yangtse stream, he hoisted up the sails. The other fighting ships followed them. The soldiers of CAO CAO's army all left the camp to gaze at the incoming ships of HUANG GAI who had pretented to desert. When the distance to CAO CAO's camp was two miles, they incended the ships at the same time. In the fierce wind, the ships immediately kept fire and rushed forward like arrows. The fire burned down CAO CAO's whole northern flot and immediately spread to the camp where the flames reaches high up to the sky. Masses of people and horses died in the flames. ZHOU YU commanded his troops, and they advanced, with the sound of thunder drums and earthquake. The northern army was badly defeated, and CAO CAO looked for a gateway for his army along the road of Huarong. Unfortunately, they came into a swampy area that made it impossible to pass through, and the wind was still very fierce. The most emaciated soldiers were ordered to collect reed and to pile it upon the swampy locations. Finally, the cavalry could pass, but under the feet of horses and men, many exhausted men were stamped to death. On land and water, LIU BEI and ZHOU YU marched forward and reached the prefecture Nanjun. Of CAO CAO's army, more than half had died of pestilence and starvation. Translated by.