{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Intellectual History","slug":"new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753","podcast_index_feed_id":1045753,"rss_url":"https://feeds.simplecast.com/w9MOrNGB","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com","image_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/ea7b1c52-c072-4295-b066-cec4067bc5e2/849571c7-bcd2-4e7f-b939-f60b0b82e141/3000x3000/7b472a09e0ba06314b3d8cd1401cd52a.png?aid=rss_feed","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":600,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history","last_synced_at":"2026-09-19T12:22:14.721883+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753"},"episode":{"title":"Sima Qian–China’s Grand Historian","slug":"sima-qian-china-s-grand-historian","published_at":"2026-08-12T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753/sima-qian-china-s-grand-historian","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753","url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com","audio_url":"https://injector.simplecastaudio.com/ea7b1c52-c072-4295-b066-cec4067bc5e2/episodes/bfac0b02-9d3c-4702-8dd3-efd4dc66b963/audio/128/default.mp3?aid=rss_feed&awCollectionId=ea7b1c52-c072-4295-b066-cec4067bc5e2&awEpisodeId=bfac0b02-9d3c-4702-8dd3-efd4dc66b963&feed=w9MOrNGB","summary":"John Ross chats with repeat guest Tim McGirk about Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC), the Father of Chinese History. He earned this accolade for his monumental work, the Shiji (usually translated as Records of the Grand Historian). It covers more than two thousand years, from the legendary early emperors up to Emperor Wu, under whom Sima Qian lived and fell afoul. Sima Qian would use his history writing to criticize cruel leaders, most notably Qin Shi Huang, the despotic first emperor of China, who burned books and attacked the humanistic legacy of Confucius. The backstory of the Records is one of the great bibliographic tales of all time. And as McGirk explains, the man and his work were inspiration for his historical novel, The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers. Books discussed: Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian (English translation by Burton Watson, Columbia University Press, 1961, 1993, 1996). The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers by Tim McGirk (Plum Rain Press, 2025) Related episodes: In BOA episode 53, John chatted with Tim about his Plum Rain Press novel The Wondrous Elixir of the Two Chinese Lovers. It weaves the story of archeological discoveries in modern-day Mexico with that of Xu Fu, a Taoist alchemist/priest sent to bring back the secret of immortality. And in episode 65, John and Tim talked about Simon Winchester’s biography of Sinologist Joseph Needham, The Man Who Loved China. The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/intellectual-history","meta_description":"John Ross chats with repeat guest Tim McGirk about Sima Qian (c. 145–86 BC), the Father of Chinese History. He earned this accolade for his monumental wor…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":1958,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753/episodes/sima-qian-china-s-grand-historian/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-intellectual-history-1045753/sima-qian-china-s-grand-historian.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}