Herodotus And Sima Qi The First Great Historians Essay

Herodotus and Sima Qian: The First Great Historians of Greece and China is a book that provides historical context on both ancient Greece and ancient China written by Thomas R. Martin; Additionally the book provides primary source documents written by ancient historians Herodotus and Sima Qian, who tell the history of their nations through numerous anecdotes. Although the two historians have different motives behind their works since Sima Qian writes the history of ancient China for personal gain and Herodotus writes to preserve the history and doings of ancient Greece, they both share topics such as honor in war and women in leadership positions that represent the morals and ideals of the two ancient civilizations. The contrast in the motivation behind the creation of these two works is created through the attitudes and theories in play during the time in which the author’s lived in. Looking into Sima Qian’s motives which he attributes to the desire to â€Å"†¦have paid the debt of my shame, I will have no regret if I am killed ten thousand more times!† (Sima Qian, 93). The debt being the humility he has brought his family name after being castrated for speaking out of line to the emperor. The punishment and the reaction to this punishment reflect the two major schools of thought present during Sima Qian’s time. These two schools of thought were the ideas of Confucius and Legalism. The ideas of Confucius supported tradition and the respect for ancestry (McKay, 103) while