Sima Guang

Sima Guang was one of China’s leading political figures and the author of Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government (Zizhi tongjian), a historical account of over a thousand years (403 BCE–959 CE) of China’s early imperial past. Produced in the context of fierce disputes at the eleventh- century imperial court, Zizhi tongjian’s didactic message of how to maintain imperial power and ensure dynastic longevity helped to shape a belief in China’s unbroken political tradition and contributed to the formation of a Chinese self-identity. He is often associated with his opposition to the reform proposals of his rival Wang Anshi.