Sima Qian (司马迁，约前 145—？) wrote Historial Records. He began to write it at the age of 42, completing it 11 years later. The records cover a period of 3,000 years, from the legendary age of the Yellow Emperor to the Han Emperor. It is the first comprehensive history in the form of biographical records in China. These records consist mainly of three sections, which contain more than half a million words. In the first section, an account of each emperor’s reign is given. In the second section, Sima Qian wrote essays on music, calendar, astrology, rivers, canals, economics, and other topics. The third section presents biographies of many major and minor historical figures. The literary quality of this history has always been regarded as extremely high, and as a model of biographical literature, the records have had a strong influence on the literary development of later prose writing, including fiction and drama.
Notes：1）legendary传说的；2）comprehensive综合的；3）bi-ographical传记的；4）reign统治；5）astrology占星学；6）literary文学的；7）fiction小说
9.谁写的《汉书》？
Who wrote The Book of the Former Han Dynasty?
The Ban family wrote this book. Ban Biao (班彪) began writing the book, and his son Ban Gu (班固) constituted it, writing the bulk of the book. Ban Zhao (班昭), Ban Gu’s younger sister added a few chapters after Ban Gu’s death.
This book records the historical period from the first year of Gaozu (高祖元年), the first emperor of the Han Dynasty until the fourth year of Dihuang of the Xin Dynasty (王莽新朝地皇四年). It covers a total of 229 years. As the book deals with the Former Han, it mainly borrows materials from Historial Records. Although Ban Gu’s historical approach is not as enlightened as that of Sima Qian, he is also regarded as a great historian. He stressed objective historical facts, and the book has become the model for each dynasty’s historians in composing official accounts of the events of the previous dynasty in ancient China.
Notes：1）bulk大部分；2）enlightened有知识的
10.你对明清章回体小说了解多少？
How much do you know about episodic novels in the Ming and Qing dynasties?
The traditional Chinese novel developed as a literary form during the Ming and Qing dynasties. It is episodic in nature, relating the adventures of a large number of characters in a string of loosely connected events. Its thematic range is broad, including historical romances, chivalric tales, ghost stories, social satires and love stories. Most of the novels depend heavily on the ancient tradition of popular storytellers in the marketplaces and teahouses. This dependence results in two consequences. The first is that the long, episodic novels are strong in fascinating detail but weak in unified plot. The second is that the authors tend to be collectors, editors, and adaptors of earlier materials. There follows a few of the best-known novels that still remain popular among current Chinese readers.
Notes：1）episodic情节不连贯的；2）adventure冒险活动；3）loosely松弛地；4）romance浪漫情调；5）chivalric侠义的；6）satire讽刺；7）dependence依靠；8）consequence结果；9）fascinating极好的
11.《三国演义》讲的是什么？
What does The Romance of the Three Kingdoms talk about?
This novel is thought to have been compiled by Luo Guanzhong (罗贯中) between the end of the Yuan Dynasty and the beginning of the Ming Dynasty. It is based on existing written and oral accounts of the last years of the Eastern Han Dynasty and the Three Kingdoms Period of Wei (魏), Shu (蜀) and Wu (吴). The novel traces the rise and fall of the three kingdoms and shows the different approach of the three political groups in their aspirations to unite China and live in peace. It contains 400 characters, of which Cao Cao (曹操), Liu Bei (刘备), Zhuge Liang (诸葛亮), Guan Yu (关羽) and Zhang Fei (张飞) have captured the imaginations of generations of readers. The language in the novel is a mixture of the literary and the vernacular, and it sounds easy and fluent. The novel has given rise to many other novels and stage plays related to The Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Notes：1）account记述；2）approach接近；3）aspiration志向；4）imagination创造力；5）fluent流利的
12.《水浒传》讲的是什么？
What does Outlaws of the Marsh talk about?
