Sima Qian (ca.

145 or 135 BCE – 86 BCE) is a Prefect of the Grand Scribes of the Han Dynasty.

He is regarded as the father of Chinese historiography for his highly praised work, Records of the Grand Historian, a "Jizhuanti"-style general history of China, covering more than two thousand years from the Yellow Emperor to Emperor Wu of Han.

His definitive work lays the foundation for later Chinese historiography.