| 史记 | Shǐ jì | Records of the Grand Historian, by 司馬遷|司马迁[Si1 ma3 Qian1], first of the 24 dynastic histories 二十四史[Er4 shi2 si4 Shi3] |
| 民不聊生 | mín bù liáo shēng | (idiom) the people have no way to make a living (from Records of the Grand Historian 史記|史记[Shi3ji4]) |
| 太史公 | Tài shǐ gōng | Grand Scribe, the title by which Sima Qian 司馬遷|司马迁[Si1 ma3 Qian1] refers to himself in Records of the Historian 史記|史记[Shi3 ji4] |
| 司马迁 | Sī mǎ Qiān | Sima Qian (145-86 BC), Han Dynasty historian, author of Records of the Grand Historian 史記|史记[Shi3 ji4], known as the father of Chinese historiography |
| 渤澥桑田 | bó xiè sāng tián | lit. blue seas where once was mulberry fields (idiom, from 史記|史记[Shi3 ji4], Record of the Grand Historian); time brings great changes / life's vicissitudes |
| 道高益安，势高益危 | dào gāo yì ān , shì gāo yì wēi | More moral strength increases one's safety, more power and influence increases one's danger (idiom, from Records of the Historian 史記|史记). cf Unlimited power is apt to corrupt the minds of those who possess it (William Pitt the Elder, 1770). |